The "Work Vacation"

The past four weeks have been very eventful. Each weekend has been wonderful and unique, the highlights are plenty, like visiting the museums, going to the opera, taking a ferry over to Euboea, climbing the Mycenae acropolis, or simply relaxing in the clearest, bluest sea water after a long walk under the blazing sun. There are not enough weekends to do everything. Although, seeing all these ancient remnants of magnificent cities at the sites and museums is not as stimulating as digging them up yourself. It is a fantastic thing to experience the satisfaction of finding something, slowly and carefully uncovering it, and finally being able to pull it out of the ground. The problem is the most fantastic artifacts are not so easily found as in a museum. And once found, does not usually come with the helpful plaque explaining what it is. So it is exciting to overhear the "purple ideas" as to what each significant find could be. Of course, not every object is a mystery, most, we are taught how to identify by type and timeframe. From what we have uncovered so far I am very impressed, Eleon was certainly no hamlet. I will have to remember to return 50 years from now, after many more seasons of study and excavation to see and learn, along with the tourists, the history we do not know yet.

This weekend is special for many EBAPers. Tomorrow is Canada Day but we will be celebrating today as tomorrow is a work day. What does it matter? Even if we did it tomorrow we still wouldn't be partying the same time as everyone else back home.

What to do when you find an artifact

Pottery: Pottery sherds are the most common find at ancient Eleon, and there is a lot of it. Pottery is a great way of dating a site, so it should be handled with as much care now as it would have all those years ago when it was being made. The first thing to do when pottery is present in a trench is to try to not break it with your pick. Whether you don't see it at all or you see it at the last moment when your pick is about to hit the ground, that sherd with one ancient break can turn into many more little pieces. Sometimes, if youre lucky, a sherd many be buried next to its other pieces, so it can be a good idea to search around the immediate area. After you remove it from the ground, put it in a bucket that has been tagged with the appropriate locus and lot number. After you leave the site, brush the sherds with water and a toothbrush to get the dirt off. They will later be sorted into fine, medium, and coarse wear. Terra cotta: Terra cotta finds need to be handled with more care than a pottery sherd. When you see one in the ground, brush around it and carefully remove. Then search the immediate area to see if any other pieces are present. Once it is out of the ground, cover it and keep out of sunlight and water because any remaining paint will be destroyed. Wrap it in Tyvek and place in a container. Do not put in a plastic bag because the heat will cause it to sweat. The wonderful ladies on the conservation team will then conserve the artifact from being destroyed after being removed from its micro environment. The dirt will be carefully scrapped off and any breaks will be mended with an adhesive. Roof tiles: Roof tiles are generally not kept, but the trench supervisor will make note of its appearance by either weighing or counting them according to locus. Some coarse wear can often be confused as roof tiles, so it is useful to double check if you are unsure. Bone: If a significant amount of bone is present in an area, it is put in the separate bag from pottery according to it's locus and lot number. It will then be washed in a similar fashion as pottery and then identified. Bone is a useful find because it gives insight into which animals were once present at the site.

Pits

We’re two thirds of the way through the dig now and only have two weeks left. After the first couple of weeks the weather turned and we have had hot, sunny weather since. This makes it incredibly hot at the dig site. Luckily the sun shades have been built and they protect us to some extent from the sun and its heat. Because of the high heat we have changed the starting time to 6:00 am instead of the previous 6:30.

Last week was my first time in the Northwest where there are many features in the trenches. There are also lots of pits though. These pits are created by previous settlers on the site as well as animal holes. It is quite easy to find the pits as the soil is often looser and darker than the surrounding soil. No one likes these pits as it means that we don’t know when all of the pottery in them dates to and part of the level could be contaminated pottery from a later period. This week I found one such pit and I was told to see how far down it went. I dug down as far as I could but the pit kept going and it wasn’t big enough for me to go into it to keep digging down. Hopefully it doesn’t go much further. In the rest of the trench it is common to come into lots of little pits caused by animal burrows which don’t go down very far, but it is still common to find later pottery than you expect in these holes. The biggest pit on site is in the neighbouring trench to the one I was digging in this week and takes up most of the trench. Luckily these pits are really only seen in the Northwest and the rest of the trenches are free of the disappointment of finding them.

Another group shot. Almost everyone is here. 

Group photo of most of the team from 2013

Today marks three weeks of excavation at ancient Eleon in the village of Arma.  Our group has been working very hard, sometimes in extreme weather (rain or high heat). We are currently on short break this weekend for well-deserved rest. Some have gone to Nauplion to explore the archaeological remains of the Argolid (Mycenae, Tiryns, Epidauros), others to Skyros, Delphi or Athens. Some have remained at Dilesi to enjoy the peaceful surroundings and garden so well-cared for by our landlady of the last seven summers, Mrs. Mamoni. We are forever grateful for her hospitality, kindness and generosity.  

For Mrs. M.