I often have little more to say about myself and more about the dig site (Acropolis) and archeology, but as required, I’ll talk about myself and the conditions I faced during my first week at the dig site. First and foremost, it is boiling in Turkey. It is so hot that oftentimes when the sun comes (it can be very humid sometimes at the dig site), I always have to continue drinking water to feel cool in my body. Whether or not it is the sun I am complaining about, it is my physical stance on squatting or lifting heavy objects like rocks or buckets despite going to the gym 4-5 times a week for almost 2 years. I think the more I complained about those things the more I began learning about myself and thought, “How can I manage to live in those conditions?” With this question in mind, I always want to improve and think of a way I can solve it. My first answer so far is taking time, meaning the first week will be the hardest but over time the body will be able to stand those conditions and will leave me stronger as my co-workers were saying. Another answer can be focusing more on the slowness of the dig site while taking care of my body than focusing more on moving things faster which can cause my body to be more tired. Either way, I felt it’s important to complain (by yourself) and figure out how to solve those problems. This experience at the dig site did leave an impression on the importance of keeping my body maintained while being able to learn more about the dig site and its history.
Now onto the fun part, Acropolis. But before that, I always thought Archeology was just digging and collecting artifacts and analysis to be able to tell those conditions. It is often true but one or two main keys that make a dig site successful through archeology are teamwork and effort. Teamwork is what makes the dream work through partnership, communications, and sharing ideas on a piece of object or the site in general. Effort is what I need to put on the most when it comes to archeology because putting the work and effort through a dig site is crucial for a dig site to succeed in any conditions with a group or exploration of a city. With that in mind, researching and exploring the Acropolis opened my eyes to being able to see and feel what it’s like to not only live in a residence up on the hill but also living in Antiochia from 2500 years ago. Despite my prior knowledge of learning ancient cities through textbooks at school, the only difference is not only the set of skills I will be learning like teamwork and digging, but being able to physically be on the site I am excavating rather than reading through a textbook like back then. To acknowledge the structures and pottery people had built during the late BC and early BCE is somewhat a different type of experience I have faced because of being able to stand where people used to live more than 2500 years ago which makes it crucial and exciting to be in an actual dig site to excavate any hidden objects, structures, bones, and/or small little creatures. Before ending this blog from what I had learned so far, one thing that had started to stick with me during my first week at the dig site was, “How will I be able to achieve what I needed to achieve?” To answer this question, I just wait and be patient to figure it out on my own with the help of my teammates and professors.