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...

“Is this pottery or rock?” and other questions

Some people think that archaeology is a really specialized field, that the skills you learn can only be applied to very specific situations. And yes, I have learned specialized skills such as the proper way to hold my trowel when excavating and how to determine if a...

Week Two

I have learned many skills at the Antiochia ad Cragum dig site. During the past two weeks, I worked with archaeological tools, including the trowel and pickaxe. I took elevations using a level, measuring rod, and scales. Additionally, I cleaned and drew pottery. As I...

How to Wield a Trowel for Dummies

Potential employer: So, you have archaeology in Turkey on your resume. Me: *smiles* Yes! Potential employer: That must have been a fun vacation. Me: *confused* Um– Potential employer: Why did you waste your time on a vacation? Me: *shakes head* Allow me to...

Archeological learning

Archeology has a surprising amount of global skills that are applicable in many situations. Calling an archeological internship opportunity a “vacation” is at best counterproductive. It might be true that the work was fulfilling and Turkey is an amazing place, with...