This summer, I spent a month working at the site of Antiochia ad Cragum alongside excavators from other American universities and from Turkey. When the location of our dig site came up in conversations with my family and friends before leaving, more often than not I got a wince and some comment about how we’d all surely melt on the dig site. To be sure, lifting rocks, carrying buckets, and pushing wheelbarrows wasn’t exactly easy work, not least in the heat and humidity of coastal southern Turkey in August, and it required adaptation and perseverance on my part.
Our excavation also demanded soft skills like communication and teamwork. In a small trench, personal space is at a premium. You’re forced to get along with the people you are working with, and to work out a rhythm of operation, emptying buckets of dirt and dumping wheelbarrows to keep everything running smoothly.
In another sense, this program taught me the importance of communication – outside our group. The past month has been an excellent chance for me to work on my Turkish, and I’ve made some great connections with Turkish people along the way. But even language fails sometimes and meanings are lost or misunderstood. As such, I’ve practiced creative communication – question-asking, hand gestures, and careful listening.
While our program is organized through an American college with other American students, our interactions with locals, government officials, and Turkish university students on site have cultivated a sense of humility. We may be coming to study and work as archaeologists, but any sense of arrogance or superiority must be left behind; this is their country, and it’s essential take into account how Turks understand the history and heritage of where they live when working there.
I hope to continue my archaeological studies and field work, but the reflections and experiences I’ve had as a visitor to Turkey this summer aren’t just applicable to a potential career in archaeology – they extend far beyond in their impact and value.