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...