80-something-degrees is a nice temperature especially after some scorching 100 degree afternoons. Now besides my new found ability to roast in the sun slowly, I have discovered — or more like rediscovered — the joy of the slower and more tedious kind of work. Today I was able to do some bone drawings at the small baths, which was a different experience from the digging at the Acropolis. At the Acropolis, digging started out as long days that seemed to last forever but recently it feels as if the whole 7 whopping hours had just begun (mostly felt in the shade). While having the chance to soak in my surroundings at the small bath and carefully observe the bones was very relaxing throughout the 3 hours roughly spent there. However, sitting and staying still is still a challenge wherever I am. Even so I am doing my favorite thing while being surrounded by so many amazingly talented people.
While I don’t have as much background knowledge or history under my belt, I continue to learn and let curiosity lead the way. Sometimes to make an unexpected new friend at a restaurant. Another time trying to figure out what locations have different things like honey to be initially used for the yogurt. Now back to a little bit about the site. My unit which is located beside the cistern has much rock fall which creates small intriguing holes that you want to keep digging to see where it leads. Usually leading to licking anything you might think is tile, bone, or pottery. So far our recent digging has brought us the discovery of a column in our unit which I thought was awesome! In addition to the column, hearing about the people who lived in Antiochia with their own version of Christianity and social life makes the city even more amazing as the digging days go on.