When I arrived in the small town of Gazipasa just a few days ago my biggest concern was the heat. I’m someone who loves winter and craves those cold nights when you need to bundle under layers and layers of blankets to stay warm. During hot and humid Minnesota summers I hide from the sun and revel in cool air-conditioned rooms. I have been running from heat my whole life, and now my time has come. But you know what? I’ve survived, and I’ve realized that being constantly sweaty really isn’t the worst thing in the world. The heat is the price I have to pay for getting to uncover history that hasn’t been touched for two thousand years. I think it’s a fair trade off.
The first two days of work were the most physically taxing days of my life, and after the first day I was terrified I physically wouldn’t be able to work like this for four more weeks. But the human body is an amazing thing. The heat is beginning to feel tolerable, and I know that as the weeks go on I will only grow stronger and stronger. First days are the hardest, as they say.
After only two days of work, it’s hard to have a clear perspective on archeology, or my experience here, but I think I can be allowed a favorite part. On my second day I got to try my hand at articulation, which means using a trowel to uncover objects and seeing whether that object is important, like part of a wall or floor, or whether it’s just a rock. I love this process because you never know what is coming next. In my trench as we articulated around rocks, the TA, Lizzy, realized that some of the rocks were mortared together in a curved pattern, and decided that we had found a wall. The shape of the building unfolded before our eyes, and what was just a pile of dirt suddenly told a story. I don’t think the heat will ever feel pleasant, and the work will never be easy, but I know it will be so, so worth it for that thrill of discovery.
