Working at Antiocha ad Cragum was an honor. It was a chance to discover the story of people who haven’t walked this Earth for hundreds of years. It’s easy to forget that the people of the past had a normal routine in addition to the historical events that they contributed to. We discussed earthquakes and noted that the house survived two and was rebuilt after that. It’s a sign that there were enough people living in the town with each other that they found value in rebuilding. I love learning about history, and it was a really gratifying experience to understand the everyday life of people long ago.
While working at AAC I’ve learned an abundance of skills such as interacting with people of different cultures, including when there’s a language barrier. It’s important to value every member of a team and the Turkish students and workers that I excavated alongside were amazing people who had so much to teach me. I’ve always been a detail-oriented person, but this archeology trip has really refined that as we don’t want to lose any part of history. Coins and pottery can be dateable and determine when a house was in use or when a wall was built. Everything has something to share, both the people, and the artifacts that we encountered. In addition to communication and being detail-oriented, I was given multiple experiences that helped to refine my analytical skills such as deciding the best way to excavate a large room when time is running low. I have been able to determine and confidently make decisions on whether a rock or section of ash was an indication of a wall/floor or an ash pit respectively. I wholeheartedly believe that I was taught in a way that I trust my own judgements and feel confident in making them.