Going into this experience, I knew next to nothing about Türkiye. While I still speak absolutely no Turkish, I have had the privilege of meeting many kind individuals from the area, around the city and on site. I have eaten so much delicious food and had lots of amazing çay. The country of Türkiye is so beautiful, and it is truly a privilege to walk around the city we reside in for this experience. I have felt so welcomed by everyone and am excited to get to meet more of my Turkish colleagues, eat more food, explore new places, and learn more about Turkish culture as a whole. The heat and humidity have been difficult elements to adjust to, however I can safely say that I feel myself getting slightly more used to it every day.
I have learned that I am much more physically capable than I thought. The work here has been very difficult, with long daily walks on top of the archaeological work, and I am not a very athletic person. However, I have really enjoyed the work. Working five hours a day in 90 degree humid weather in the sun is not necessarily my favorite thing to do, but digging and discovering artifacts makes it completely worth it. I had no idea that I was capable of intense work like this, let alone be able to actually enjoy it. My entire body is sore after the first week, and I am using muscles I didn’t know I had, but at the end of every day I feel accomplished and proud of myself for completing a full day of difficult labor. Hauling buckets and huge rocks, using pickaxes, and being covered in dirt is a small price to pay for the ability to contribute my own meaningful research to society. In addition, the beautiful turquoise waters of Pirate Cove at the and of each week help make everything worth it.
Archaeology is not something that I ever envisioned myself doing. I love history and art history, but being the one to discover artifacts was beyond my comprehension. Like so many others, my only impression of archaeology was Indiana Jones, and although I knew that was obviously not even close to anything real archaeologists got up to, those movies were still my only exposure. Being in the field is an amazing experience, and I feel like I have already learned so much. Being able to identify types of pottery, bones, and working to identify building layouts is such cool knowledge to have, and I am so incredibly excited to learn more. I know that I am learning things that can only be taught through doing, and I feel so privileged every time I step on the site.
Antiochia has revealed itself as a living city to me one day at a time. On the first day, discovering pottery sherds was cool, but hard to interpret as they were out of context and not diagnostic. The following days, discovering diagnostic sherds, bones, and even a nail has helped me fully comprehend that we are not just working on an ancient settlement- we are working to reveal as much as we can about very real individuals who once inhabited the area we are now excavating. Antiochia is not just a place that once existed, it is a living city that holds so much information awaiting discovery. Every pottery sherd was once a part of a handmade vessel, residing in someone’s home or neighborhood area. We cannot forget the individuals whose belongings and dwellings we are now working to find, and we cannot forget that they deserve as much respect and dignity as any living being; that is what has become most important to me about this excavation.
At the end of every day, I am sore, tired, and covered in sweat and dirt. And yet, I love being on the field. I have discovered my love for archaeology, my colleagues, and Gazipaşa and I wouldn’t have it any other way.