My goal for this internship was to gain introductory experience in as many different aspects of archeology as I could, and this week’s work answered my wishes with me being redirected to the small bath for the duration of the week.
I began the week by uncovering the mosaics in the hallway. They had become quite damaged from the later workshop work and the walls that were built right on top of them. I proposed that the weight of the later east-west wall had made the wall sink in a little, making the mosaic on the south side slope down towards it. On the north side, the main damage was done by the oil press, which has now been moved to the nearby frigidarium. Such damages have left the mosaics in patches, and the tesserae on the unsealed edges easily fall out. This made the uncovering of the mosaics challenging, as they were burried under clay that required vigorous scraping to get off. Despite my best efforts, some loose tesserae did fall out, but I was able to individually bag them and pin-point exactly where they came from, so that the conservators would be able to put them back into place.
After all of the clay was removed, the conservators were called in and they kindly allowed me to work with them. One of the things that archeology is continuously teaching me is patience. I was itching to do the fine work of a conservator, to do the restoration work. But instead I was made a janitor and told to clean the mosaic before any further work could be done. The mosaics needed to be thoroughly brushed – about 5 times through – and then washed with wet sponges and brushes until the colors came through. And I purposefully say “brushed”, not “dusted”, as the mosaics were covered with the residue of clay, not dust, that had to be scraped off with a brush. Hours later, when I had finally completed the task of cleaning, Michael Hoff visited the small bath. After consulting with Leticia, it was decided that a boulder that was sitting on top of the mosaic had to be removed, as it was not part of any structure. This was a fair judgement, but how I wished that it had been made earlier, as the work of the last hour got covered in dust and clumps of clay. But on the bright side, I did get to sit in the shade, on a pillow the Turkish students gave me, for a half hour more and listen to an audiobook, doing a fairly good job at ignoring my numbing hand.
I was noted for my careful work though, and after some trowel work and sifting at frigidarium 4 I was called to help Asena at uncovering a kiln on the east side of the bath complex, which I will continue to do next week. We are hoping to at least find the entrance to the kiln before the season ends, as Asena fears that the downpour of the winter rains could damage the fragile kiln.
