After 10 years of study and working within an air condition museum office I have finally been given the responsibility of supervising my own archaeological trench.
This trench designated 10H will over the next 2 weeks hopefully come down onto a 3rd century mosaic and a wall which was partially uncovered in the late 1990’s.
During this time my small team will shift over 4 tons of dirt, multiple stones, fill up buckets full of broken pottery, uncover glass fragments from the present, through the Medieval period, back 2000 years to Roman times and perhaps a few surprises thrown in.
As opposed to last year where I was mainly free of responsibility, this year as I am learning to be a supervisor under the watchful eye of Kerrie, it means I can’t go out swimming or eating with the students after pottery washing nor can I just concentrate on only digging. Instead I must stay back in the dig house checking context sheets, writing in my log book and draw up plans and sections of my trench.
This is what $30,000 of archaeology and museum degrees brings; hard hot work, responsibility over others, sometimes missing out on relaxing with some cool people, and a lot of worrying about whether you are doing the right thing.
But it is worth it, and this is what archaeology is all about. and my learning continues in this fascinating field of science.
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