Oh Schist.

5:10 AM … I wake up at the Dig House to the sound of roosters and phone alarms. I roll out of bed. 5:30 AM … After I fill my water bottle at the cooler, I board the bus. We stop at Total gas station for snacks. I sleep on the way to the site. 6:00 AM … We eat...

Even if it does mean I have to get up at 5 am…

  Here in Turkey our day begins before the sun comes up. Every morning, at 5 am, I wake up to the increasingly annoying sounds of the alarm. I am not a morning person. 5 am is my enemy. I am not very functional at 5 in the morning and every day I groan and...

Inspiring Inscription

A typical dig day goes a little something like this— 5:00 am—Awaken to the first progressing chords of “What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love” 5:01 am—Fight my way into the bathroom, and see if we have been blessed with actually having toilet paper. 5:06 am—Get...

AC Unit 2: A Eulogy

As Friday, 20 July, marked the completion of AC Unit 2, I am now ready to dust off the bedrock, record elevations, and pay homage to this special unit. On Monday, my attention will turn toward a new area, AC 6B, and though I am excited to embark on a fresh adventure,...

Indiana Jones Movie or Real Life??

Growing up watching the Indiana Jones movies gave me a very specific idea of what an archaeologist does. Filled with action, fights, and treasure, these movies make the life of an archaeologist seem glamorous and dangerous, thrilling and suspenseful. I can now tell...

“You guys are like robots”

To begin a hard day’s work of digging and various other work we start by waking up extremely early.  Like at 5 AM with about five other alarms blasting in the small space that is our room.  Because it is extremely hard to get up at 5 in the morning we end up having to...

A Day in the Life of an Intern Archaeologist

A cacophony of alarms sounds at 5am. Calming guitar riffs interact with foghorns, as the sound of 12 people collectively scrambling to stop the noises can be heard throughout our little apartment. Immediately a line forms in front of the small bathroom that we share,...

A Day in the Digging Life

It’s time to finally explain what a typical day on site looks like because I don’t just sit around and eat Turkish snacks the entire time (though we do work it into the schedule). So, here’s a quick outline of my day yesterday, Friday, July 20th, 2018… 4:55 a.m. My...

Beauty in the Background

5:00 AM, it’s time to wake up. It’s time to get out of bed, brush teeth, put on clothes, and not wake the late sleepers. 5:35, the bus is coming. The bus is crowded, most get to sit, an unfortunate few stand. 6:10 the bus arrives at the dig-site. Breakfast is served...

Interview? What interview? I thought this was a blog post…

The field of my work, also known as AC Unit 2 (aka Gamora), is the main place where I have practiced some professional skills. As you know, there in fact is a Unit 1 named Drax the Destroyer, which lies right next to Gamora. Since both Gamora and Drax share the same...