A man can only take so much. Only so much slogging through contaminated fill, only finding so many topkek wrappers and redbull cans in an otherwise ancient site before he cracks. Luckily, despite engaging in over 3 weeks of both of those things, I have not yet cracked, and the trench is beginning to show the signs of the legendary outer apse that so many, myself included, had believed to be a myth. To fully understand the pure joy that came from reaching what appear to be an apse wall in trench AC2E, one must understand the work which I have been performing. 3 weeks ago I took a large pick in my hand and began to pick dirt off a cliff. Despite hitting several notable features on the way down, bedrock, a weird rectangular wall that is still not understood, and several fake walls, it has never felt like real progress was being made. Even as my hands began to blister and several cubic meters of soil dissipated, the pick in my hands had nearly convinced me that my time on the site would never be without a pick. Then I saw the glory. The delicate curve of an apse wall began to make itself apparent, there was something smiling through the darkness. The exterior apse has been located, now it must be uncovered.
There are only 3 days of work left at Antiochia ad Cragum, and I now have a plan for all of them. The aps will be articulated to its foundation, and I will finally be able to lay the accursued pick to rest. At least for now…
