Fall quarter this year (October-December 2011), I will be joining my very first archaeological dig! The project is in Edfu, Egypt (the project website can be found here). Since this is the first time I've ever been in a foreign country for longer than a few weeks, let alone on a dig, I thought a blog would be a perfect way to keep everyone informed! Internet access is spotty, with only one person at a time being aloud on our rather shaky connection. However, I hope to blog as often as I can, even if it means writing my posts in word and posting in bulk every few days.
The lead on the project is my adviser, so I'm not jumping into this completely blind (plus, Dan and I visited the site on our honeymoon!). I'll also have at least 3 other girls that I know coming with me. We'll be meeting a couple of my adviser's friends for a few weeks at a time throughout the season (including one of my old professors who now lives in Copenhagen), so it won't just be us UofCers all the time. For the most part, I'll be drawing pottery. What does that mean? It means that there are tons and tons of sherds of pottery from the dig site that a friend of mine is using in her dissertation:
We can't bring anything out of the country, so everything has to be documented. Photos don't show exactly how thick a shard is, nor its orientation, size and exactly how it was made, so everything has to be drawn. Basically, I'll be taking a broken piece of pottery and turning it into something like this:
For now, I'm just going to keep stocking up on the things I need (who knew you needed so much stuff to go dig in the dirt?!) and studying for my big exams (which are scheduled for just a week or so before we leave). I'm also going to keep practicing my pottery drawing so I can get them as perfect as possible for Tasha!
PS. Exact dates haven't been set yet, because a lot depends on the political situation over there. I promise that we'll only go if it's safe.
The lead on the project is my adviser, so I'm not jumping into this completely blind (plus, Dan and I visited the site on our honeymoon!). I'll also have at least 3 other girls that I know coming with me. We'll be meeting a couple of my adviser's friends for a few weeks at a time throughout the season (including one of my old professors who now lives in Copenhagen), so it won't just be us UofCers all the time. For the most part, I'll be drawing pottery. What does that mean? It means that there are tons and tons of sherds of pottery from the dig site that a friend of mine is using in her dissertation:
 |
| This photo doesn't do justice to how many sherds there are. There are something like 10 more of these blankets full of sherds. |
For now, I'm just going to keep stocking up on the things I need (who knew you needed so much stuff to go dig in the dirt?!) and studying for my big exams (which are scheduled for just a week or so before we leave). I'm also going to keep practicing my pottery drawing so I can get them as perfect as possible for Tasha!
PS. Exact dates haven't been set yet, because a lot depends on the political situation over there. I promise that we'll only go if it's safe.
