Week Two

Our second full week started well. We got a new (wooden!) closet, custom made to fit our beautiful tree. This will hold our valuable equipment onsite so we don't have to carry too much up everyday. We also had an earth mover flatten out our backdirt pile and stone heap on Saturday. This will improve the overall appearance of the site. Our only concern is that the new flatter, larger back dirt pile will cover potentially interesting archaeology for our successors in decades to come. For now though, we're are very happy with the way the site has been cleaned up so quickly and looks really great for any visitors. Our 2015 team has proven to be an EXCELLENT selection of students and volunteers. They are engaged in ceramic studies - fighting for copies of Moutjoy - and our working diligently to learn modern Greek. They also work very hard with a happy attitude. 

This morning, Tuesday 9 June 2015, was remarkable to many because we all awoke at 4:09 am to a 5.2 magnitude earthquake. It seems to have been centered right off the coast between the mainland and the island of Euboea which our home town of Dilesi overlooks. The quake was strong and it's remarkable that for our proximity we did not see any noticeable damage. Some students said they saw some tiles come off in their kitchen. Thankfully no other damage or injuries have been reported in the local papers. We will all be aware of Poseidon's power!

Having started off the day with some great difficulties, reflecting on the fragility of life, we all rebounded, came together and focused on the work at hand. The weather cooperated nicely - sunny, breezy and not too scorching hot. My car read 32 when leaving the site - not terrible (I've seen 44 before! - this is around 92 to well-over- 100 for our Fahrenheit readers). 

The work day ended with a delicious crowd-pleasing lunch: Classic Greek mousaka by Stavroula! A small Greek masterpiece. We are extremely lucky to have such great food so expertly prepared for us in the village of Arma by Stavroula and her incredibly welcoming family. 

We will enjoy dinner at the Delion taverna by the sea - seafood tonight I believe.