Written and Produced by Rhian Jones
Back in Cyprus for my fourth year, it’s like I never left. The sun is still hot, the beer is still cold and the Apollo is still here…just! The team all arrived on Sunday, only to discover on Monday that the disused toilets in the storeroom have spent the last 12 months pumping water onto the floor. With no experience in underwater archaeology, we have to mop and salvage as best we can and leave everything to dry in the sun. Mind you, it doesn’t take long as it’s so hot!
Started the two new trenches on Tuesday: 6x2m extension to the west of 10F, which Ronan Mc Eleney dug last year and I’m finishing off 10G, removing the last of the rocky fill from the Nymphaeum building. We’re only here for 3 weeks, so we have to be realistic about what we can get done. I’d love to finally expose all of the Nymphaeum’s mosaic floor…we’ve only been waiting 4 years to finish it off!
As a supervisor this year, I like to motivate my team with helpful phrases like “dig harder”, “you’re doing it all wrong” and “I don’t care what the other trench is doing. If the other trench jumped off a cliff would you do it too?”. Only joking, everyone is hugely enthusiastic and working as a smooth, well-oiled machine in the trenches. It helps that the team is mostly people returning for their second, fourth or sixteenth years! But it’s nice to see new faces: different people bringing new jokes and new silly games to keep us laughing on site.
As always, it’s great to meet so many specialists. Whether learning more about the pottery, the inventory system, the small finds or finally understanding just how to draw the inside profile of a pot, this dig has always been full of wonderful, talented people who are so generous with their time and knowledge. Thanks!
So looking forward to three fabulous weeks of archaeology, amusement and Ace’s. See you all at the beach!
Back in Cyprus for my fourth year, it’s like I never left. The sun is still hot, the beer is still cold and the Apollo is still here…just! The team all arrived on Sunday, only to discover on Monday that the disused toilets in the storeroom have spent the last 12 months pumping water onto the floor. With no experience in underwater archaeology, we have to mop and salvage as best we can and leave everything to dry in the sun. Mind you, it doesn’t take long as it’s so hot!
Started the two new trenches on Tuesday: 6x2m extension to the west of 10F, which Ronan Mc Eleney dug last year and I’m finishing off 10G, removing the last of the rocky fill from the Nymphaeum building. We’re only here for 3 weeks, so we have to be realistic about what we can get done. I’d love to finally expose all of the Nymphaeum’s mosaic floor…we’ve only been waiting 4 years to finish it off!
As a supervisor this year, I like to motivate my team with helpful phrases like “dig harder”, “you’re doing it all wrong” and “I don’t care what the other trench is doing. If the other trench jumped off a cliff would you do it too?”. Only joking, everyone is hugely enthusiastic and working as a smooth, well-oiled machine in the trenches. It helps that the team is mostly people returning for their second, fourth or sixteenth years! But it’s nice to see new faces: different people bringing new jokes and new silly games to keep us laughing on site.
As always, it’s great to meet so many specialists. Whether learning more about the pottery, the inventory system, the small finds or finally understanding just how to draw the inside profile of a pot, this dig has always been full of wonderful, talented people who are so generous with their time and knowledge. Thanks!
So looking forward to three fabulous weeks of archaeology, amusement and Ace’s. See you all at the beach!
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