After spending one month working at an archaeological dig site, I can confidently say that I learned a lot about archaeology. One of the most surprising things I learned was that we don’t keep everything, even though we might want to. This was a lesson we learned back in week one when we kept making “pottery piles.” One of the most memorable experiences from this research project was finding a coin over at the small bath. It was one of my first days working at the small bath and my first time excavating anything. I will never forget the excitement I felt when I dug it out of the ground. This project has put into perspective that we are the first people in hundreds of years who have seen the stuff we are working on. When we are washing pottery, sometimes we will come across a piece of pottery with a fingerprint or a defining feature, and it feels as though we are reaching out through history and connecting with the people from the past.
Some advice I would offer future archaeologists would be to pack a tennis ball and a foam roller. The tennis ball would be used to roll out your feet after standing for so long, and the foam roller for your back after a hard work day. I found myself wishing I had these two items as they would’ve helped with muscle pain and soreness. I would also say that you should just relax. This is an experience; you don’t need to stress if something doesn’t go as you planned; it will all work out in the end, and the people around you have your back.
I would participate in another archaeological excavation because my experience here was very fulfilling. I very much enjoy work where I can see the progress I have made, and archaeology is definitely one of those things. Watching our units get lower and lower as the days went on was very satisfying to see, and you could really tell that we were making progress. Overall this was something I would like to repeat in the future.