When I heard about this program it seemed so outrageous that I just had to go. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to do real archaeology– it was one of the careers that my parents joked about me doing, but not something I could ever picture actually becoming a reality; it seemed almost above me somehow, a mystery. Over the course if this month though, I’ve learned enough that I could see archaeology as a feasible possibility, should I want to continue. Between the readings and the work itself, we were exposed to a variety if the basic techniques and ideas, from the history of archaeology as a discipline, to opening locuses, to different soils, to how to hold a trowel properly, just to name a few. I also delved into the field of bucket carrying, of which I think I may have mastered at this point.
After the first few days of clearing brush and hauling rocks, one of the more memorable points for me was the first real find up on the acropolis. We worked hard those first days and the progress was very satisfying, but when Morgan found the big stone with the clear cross engraving it was a real ‘wow’ moment for me, the first evidence that we really were uncovering the remains of a human story.
I have to say, the couple of days that I spent packing for the trip gave me more anxiety than anything else before leaving. To students going next year I would just say, for dig clothes it doesn’t really matter what you bring because you’ll sweat through absolutely everything. Any clothes that you don’t mind destroying are fine, and besides that it’s really just a matter of how much you want to be protected from the sun. Expect to sweat. Expect to drink more water than you ever thought possible. Expect to eat more bread than you ever thought could fit in your body. Expect the best baklava on the planet (and tea, and schnitzel, and kofte, and watermelon, and peaches, and okra, and jam, and olives, and cheese, and dondurma…. the list is endless). Expect a good time.
In conclusion, this experience was unlike anything I’ve ever done before, and I am extremely grateful to have spent a month digging at Antiochia ad Cragum. Archaeology probably isn’t what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, but if I ever came across another opportunity like this one, I would definitely jump at the chance to get dirty and uncover some more history. It’s something special.