The beautiful nature of extended experiences like this is that you get to see your peers at their best and worst. By living with my peers and new friends for two weeks now, I have had the chance to interact with everyone at their best of times and worst of times. While I’m not revealing the bad moments, it feels refreshing to see everyone for who they really are as people instead of the ephemeral facades we create for ourselves at school. So whether I’m sitting alone on my balcony contemplating life under the stars or being brought to tears from laughter, the good moments have become richer and the friendships that I’ve forged are becoming more special.
As far as digging goes, unit ACNS 2 is in the midst of an intense grind. Work is tedious but rewarding given the amount of soil, rock, and root we are capable of removing in a day. I am continuing to learn that archaeology requires a fortuitous mind, as I’ve spent countless hours in a squat while I closely examine the soil in an attempt to discern rocks and dust from objects of interest. The constant concentration becomes mentally exhausting over the course of a day; however, a full pottery bag, a few bones, and more meters of soil ejected from our unit make for a rewarding conclusion to a full day of work.
I am also continuing to understand how data driven archaeology is; the little things matter. I am learning that wall-chasing and mosaic-hunting may elicit great finds, but ultimately little data about life proper at Antiochia. Additionally, I am glad that we are appreciating what the remains of animals and past residents of Antiochia tell us about their eating habits, farming practices, and/or funerary traditions; bones are not simply an obstruction to murals that slow the pace of an excavation.
Having the opportunity to work at Antiochia has given me immense appreciation for the people who lived and worked at this ancient city many hundreds of years ago. I continue to be impressed with the ways in which buildings have been incorporated into the landscape and repurposed to suit different needs. Even though some archaeologists may find subsequent natural or human-made changes to the buildings to be shocking, I think it contributes to the human history at this site by demonstrating how these structures have served many purposes for many people throughout time.
