5 days have passed since I first arrived at the Istanbul Airport (Ataturk) and a lot has happened. First I had a the chance to take a quick run through the city sightseeing at various points of interest, all while being enamored by the exotic beauty of the country which is so new to me. The whole time the excitement of participating on this dig was stewing underneath. I can truly say this whole experience has been a long time coming, and my parents will back me up on this. Archaeology has been a life-long interest of mine but only recently, in the last few days have I been able to really get my hands dirty. And I cannot believe how dirty they have gotten. In this first post I’ll give an intro into covering my first day.
The site itself is quite distinct from the rest of Antiochia, both in age and usage. Unlike the architecture of the lower building which is massive, and more decorated the Acropolis where I have been working is relatively humble. It’s building were constructed at various times during the Late Antiquity/Roman/ Early Byzantine periods about 4th-8th century to the best of my understanding. It is quite a hike up to the Acropolis. Each day after breakfast we walk through the remains of the city to the foot of a steep hill. Perched high above us sits a tight cluster of buildings precariously lodged on the edge of massive cliff which plummet straight into the Mediterranean sea. The view is spectacular, like nothing I have ever seen. Likely this was the lookout point of ancient pirates who operated with Antiochia as one of their major bases. On a clear day in the winter I am told one can see all the way to Cyprus.
For the two days I have been working on the city I have been mostly removing a layer of rocks fallen from the walls and ceiling and fill that has accumulated from centuries of abandonment. To get the the floor layer and occupations we must remove all of these rocks and debris painstakingly one bucket at a time. That isn’t to say there nothing exciting to be found in this layer. On my first day I found a fragment of a 6th century byzantine ossuary. There was a circular decoration and stylized face with enlarged eyes that Professor Howe used to date the piece. This was a great highlight and hopefully a sign of what is more to come. However for the time being it seems like there is a lot of hardwork to get down to the richer layers underneath our feet. The only way to is to just keep digging!