Sadly, this is the last blog post that I will be writing as our time at the site has ended. I had the most amazing summer and already miss it terribly. I loved having a routine, finding things every day, talking to new friends and spending time with people that I would not have met had it not been for this project. I have learned that archeology is a lot more than just digging in the dirt and uncovering an ancient statue. It involves a lot of careful planning, clearing, excavating small shards of pottery and patience. When you do get a find though, it makes all this worth it.
Another thing that I have learned is what Turkish draino is called and how to purchase it. My shower was not quite able to keep up with the number of showers that were being taken in my room and we became very familiar with the draino process over the four weeks. If I have any recommendations for future students, it would be to have this on hand, a lot of towels and a stool to put your stuff on or otherwise the bathroom will be a modern-day Small Bath. My most memorable experience on the dig was working with my team on ACNS3. The ‘lore’ that was created was such a good way to pass the time and helped lift the spirits of the dig site. I of course loved finding a lot of artifacts and getting to know the environment, but the internship would not have even been half as rewarding without such an incredible team. Being on this internship made me realise that I want to work with history. I have not had an experience before that made me sure of anything that I would want to do, but the excitement that I felt when finding something unknown, or just the fact that I managed to get up at 5 every day to go to the dig is extremely telling. Since being home, I have not been seen before ten. I would love to explore my options and It is rewarding knowing that I got not only a once-in-a-lifetime experience out of this internship, but I also got a plan. I would love for future participants to understand that the work Is always going to be hard in the first week, but there is nothing that can be done to change this. Although it is hot, humid, and strenuous, once you get past that it is shade, discovery, and cat visits. Understanding that everyone is probably feeling the same way as you are and that not every grievance needs to be stated to the whole site is something that would probably help make the first week a little easier. Despite there being many different obstacles on this trip, I would definitely do this again. The memories and experiences that I gained from this internship are unparalleled and they have evoked a genuine interest in archeology that I had not been aware of before July. I am disappointed with myself as sometimes instead of just getting on with it and pushing through little issues, I let them get to me and unfortunately this changed my entire attitude when on the site. If I were to do this again, I would try not let things get to me as much as they did so that my teammates were unaffected. I don’t think that it was fair of me to let my personal issues get in the way of my work. I am glad that I am being given the opportunity to self-reflect and overall, I had the most incredible summer in Turkey, and I am excited to see what the fall term brings.