In uncovering Antiochia, I am interested in the cultural connections to the city’s past and present, before and after the Roman Empire. Reading about the city and its people’s ability to welcome Roman culture but keep their own is fascinating and impressive. I wonder how much stayed or changed over time. Pieces of culture from the Roman Empire still live in the Catholic Church and Italian culture (like naming a bunch of your kids the same thing. It’s kind of ridiculous. I have four uncles and an aunt named Anthony. Are we serious??? Who is Anthony?) I’m sure Turkish culture has pieces of past culture ingrained into it, and I would love to understand it.
A concept I hope to explore or understand more is the role of women and family dynamics. Women are usually left out of history, as it focuses on male victories by those in power. Perhaps I missed it in a reading? I hope to learn more about what they did and what choices they had. Also, I’m interested in what connections outside of Türkiye and the Roman Empire looked like. I mainly know Roman and Korean history, and know that Roman imports have been found in Korean Tombs, specifically from the Silla Dynasty. How far along must have trade gone? How long must that journey have been before reaching the Silk Road?
Reading about the ethics of archaeology, specifically archaeology and tourism, reminded me of ethical tourism. As a Filipino, I am aware of the struggle a country faces, especially its people face, when its main source of income is tourism. I am especially aware of tourism in museums after working for a large aquarium gift store for three years. A main point of archaeology and tourism is the desire for artifacts and objects. These are often stolen, traded, and replicated for wealthy people at the expense of the poor. This reflects on the average person as well, looking for souvenirs in gift shops that replicate specific artifacts or pictures of them. In my gift store, small gifts came in the form of cheap toys and plastic rocks sold for well over a reasonable price with a 10% tax. These items are not locally made or owned, but instead are mass-produced and sent to hundreds of other American museum gift shops.
While I am unsure of my role in this research program, I wonder where the artifacts we find go after we wash them or after they’re studied. Will they go to a museum, framed behind a glass wall and identified with a piece of paper? Will anyone learn anything from that? Who would care for a fragment of pottery behind a wall if they couldn’t hold it in their hands or make one of their own? If not, they would never know its story. Similarly, at historical places, a point was made that people touching or entering certain spaces depletes the condition of the space, such as inside the pyramids of Egypt. However, these spaces were never meant to be touched. The graffiti etched into ancient walls is frowned upon by modern people, but has been done by others thousands of years before them. How can people enjoy and understand such spaces without damaging them or being heavily surveilled? Can something so old truly be accessible and stay the same? I believe that, especially in a museum, education has to be engaging. Although I may not know much, my interests lie in museum sciences, and I hope this program amplifies that.
I wonder what will happen to the site of Antiochia after it is fully discovered. If it is opened to the public, will its research continue in silence, or will it face another path? I often look for those who come after me, and what they will do, and find this to be no different.