Tag: photography
-
Rome is Home
When I returned from the 2017 summer field season, I was riding high on optimism for my archaeological career but running on fumes for money. Very fortunately, though, the stars aligned and offered me not one but two promotions in about a month’s time, providing me the means to stabilize my finances. Since this is…
-
An Island Called Cyprus
The last 6 months of my life have been a roller-coaster; my physical, mental, and emotional state have hit some new highs and new lows. Without getting into details, that’s my best excuse for the epic delay in concluding my chronicle of last summer’s field season. I’ll be slowly making some changes to The Starving…
-
The Plow-Zone
The past couple of weeks have been quite busy at Aeclanum. My trench (Saggio 8) received two, bright eyed, bushy tailed new participants who were eager to dive deep into all the mysteries that the archaeology of Aeclanum holds. What are those mysteries? In case you missed my post from the last block, our trench’s…
-
Charles IV, a couple Alpine border crossings, and a quagmire of red tape.
Well everybody, it’s been a long time coming but the field season is finally here (and after too much delay, the first blog post of the season as well!). I’m finally in the field…digging. There is a verifiable amount of dirt on my trowel so it’s official! It has (quite literally) been a long road…
-
The Career of an Archaeologist
In my last post, I highlighted that archaeology’s importance lies in its ability to turn the narrative of history into an experience, which contributes to the heritage of global populations and the formation of a unifying world heritage. The natural followup is how we turn these slightly abstract and idealistic notions into real-world applications and…
-
My Travel Guide: Getting There
Once you’ve sorted out both the mental preparation and picking a destination, it’s time to start making concrete plans. At this point, budgeting remains a persistent theme. Don’t get discouraged and keep in mind that your adventure can be the ends to a means of saving and working hard! Hopefully, you’ll find these strategies maximize the value…
-
Ending the Season
Well, my field season is officially over (Cue “This is the End” by The Doors). Friday was my last day digging at Sainte-Candie. A tiny part of me is saying Hallelujah; the other, larger part is a bit melancholy about leaving the field. I’m feeling the same nervousness I had when I was leaving Aeclanum…
-
Appreciating the Little Finds in Life
Stratigraphy can be a fickle beast. In a previous post, I explained at length how it can become a nightmare. I’m sure I’ve alluded to the stratigraphic terrors that I’ve been unveiling here at Sainte-Candie. Nevertheless, here’s a quick refresher for the newbies or the ones who were sleeping in the back of class: Stratigraphy…
-
Tools of the Trade
Frustration continues near the summit of Sainte-Candie as we struggle to excavate through increasingly difficult stratigraphy. Compact brownish silt has given way to soft fine-grained pink sand, which was easily removed and underneath was compact grey clayish silt, which, when excavated, was mixed with pinkish sand and a grittier reddish sand. Underneath all of that…
-
Layers
So you may have detected that my account of the past couple weeks has turned somewhat grim. I must admit the differences between sites I’ve dug before and this one, not to mention the lack of certain comforts derived from living in a tent were really bringing me down. I’ve done some adjusting and I’m…
The Starving Archaeologist 