“So, you have archaeology in Türkiye on your resumé; tell me about that.” As the caressing rays of fluorescent light cast down by electrified mercury vapor fill the room, the question floating around the room like a laden bee, expected, yet uninvited to the thoughts of interviewee. With an inhale, the interviewee thinks best on how to condense such an experience into but a few words…
“My time in Antioch Ad Cragum is not an experience that can be easily summarized, as it was an incredibly formative experience for my professional ambitions. It has taught me a number of generalist skills that can be used in most, if not all professional environments. First and foremost would be the attention to detail we had to keep during the dig, the only thing that would usually keep someone from accidentally disposing of something notable like a coin would be one of two things. Either whoever dug it up had a keen eye and noticed the find, or it would be because of the meticulous work we had to apply to our unit. This didn’t just apply to the findings we dug up as well, but also the very dirt itself, which we had to pay very close attention to as it could reveal additional clues about whatever room we were digging up. This also extends to paying attention to recording our finds, which often requires us to recall a significant amount of information from memory, which we then have to note down in a succinct style. It’s kind of like being a detective in a way, learning how to piece together the information we have & can see before reaching the most likely conclusion. Actually doing a real excavation has taught the realities of Archeology better than any amount of study ever could as well. I’ve learned that we’re often going to have to make sacrifices in order to meet arbitrary deadlines with whatever amount of resources we’ve been given, and that preservation of these sites is often the exception, not the rule.”
“Alongside the job related skills we honed during the excavation, we also had many opportunities to tune up our teamwork and people skills, as we worked with a local Turkish team. Working alongside them has provided invaluable experience in regards to excavation technique and linguistic skills, with our Turkish counterparts teaching us random words while we’re digging away . It’s also taught me how to treat these sites with a bit more respect, along with how to work with local interests and agencies respectfully, at least with middle eastern interests anyhow. Some examples of how we’d do this would be stuff like how we should be very tight-lipped about our findings, find a way to write our reports in both Turkish and English if we can, how much local economic interests can decide the deadline and location of our digs, et cetera et cetera. It has overall been an incredible experience, both formative and summative, but it’s also been one that’s awakened me to the one true reality of this line of work, a reality that I’ve ultimately accepted and made peace with; we can never attain the full truth of the past in this line of work, but we can certainly try our hardest to get the closest approximation.”
And then it was over, the interviewer simply staring impassively as the word dump was delivered. Upon looking up at that light once more, the small print is shown to be just barely legible, revealing the origin of its manufacture; Türkiye.
