I’m truly having the time of my life. I’m hot, sweaty, sore, and exhausted almost all the time. And yet I also feel empowered, giddy, and above all curious. Despite this overall positive conclusion I have towards my experience thus far, I won’t pretend as though this has been an easy first week. When my friend from home checked in with how the dig was going I told her that this will probably be the most physically demanding experience I partake in. And yet, because of that, at the end of each day, I feel a whole new level of pride and accomplishment for the things my body is able to accomplish. And truly nothing will ever compare to the joy of yanking out a root. Except maybe the joy of discovering something cool like a coin or human remains, but until then the roots are at the top of my list.
As always, when it comes to Antique world history, I find myself constantly humbled by my limited understanding and background knowledge, even despite having completed the pre-trip readings. And yet, I think it makes my learning process that much more exciting. I never see anything coming! I mean, what do you mean cloud harvesting was a technique to collect water?! Ancient peoples and societies never cease to surprise me, and that has continued to be the case here at Antiochia. Similar to the strength and resilience of the plants in the surrounding area, much to my dismay and personal suffering, I am amazed by the tenacity of this ancient city as the people constantly rebuilt following earthquakes and the survival of walls, glass, and pottery thousands of years after the people left. While I have become comfortable with this humility, I have also discovered the much more important skill of asking questions. Afterall, curiosity is what leads to knowledge 🙂
But don’t you worry, I’ve been humbled in other aspects of this trip as well! While I have certainly been asking questions about the ancient peoples and cities, they are nothing in comparison to the quantity of questions I have about what I’m supposed to be doing each day. And nothing is more humbling than Rahmi-Bey silently taking a tool out of your hand and completing your task not only better, but quicker and without sweating a drop. That being said, I in no way expect to know more about archaeology than the Turkish community who have lived this experience for decades. While it feels at times like I’m doing glorified yard work, we are also expected to show restraint and caution as we look for pieces of pottery, glass, etc. while wielding a pickaxe. I didn’t realize that I would be getting a lesson in both strength and caution. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt, but while I am certainly giddy to start excavating and discovering what is within unit ANS8, the yard work aspect of the work so far is really playing into my perfectionism and even competitive spirit. Needless to say, I never thought I would complain about Chai break coming too soon because I wanted to finish getting a root out. But this trip has been full of surprises.
As I reflect overall about my first 7 days of my time here in Gazipasa, I feel a resounding sense of gratitude for the people, food, gorgeous views, and the opportunity to have these experiences. I have been amazed by the kindness of all the Turkish people, both at the site and around town. There is an evident love and pride for this city and the work at Antiochia ad Cragum, and it’s crazy contagious. While I have loved all the food I have tried around town, with a special shout out to literally every fruit juice you can buy at A101, nothing can compare to the lunches prepared for us at site. Although I certainly felt like a strange American my first day, I feel very embraced by Gazipaşa and its people.