Month: June 2013

Archaeology Blog: It’s Not All Fun and Games

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Today brings us to the end of week two of the dig season. How that happened so quickly I do not know but it is a bit scary. While the first week was fairly cruisey, this week has reiterates something I relearn every time I go on an archaeological dig: It’s not all fun and games. Though eight members of the dig crew going to the hospital within three days is a bit excessive.

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As I have mentioned, the process of digging does not relate to the romanticised view that many people hold. We do not brush tiny rocks and use tiny tools to make detailed beyond detailed recordings, we do not dig up gold, silver and bronze treasure and we do not dig dinosaurs! This week we have faced deadly killers plants, stomach bugs, spiders, turtles, scraps and bruises, sun burn a plenty and as I type there is minor surgery going on on a foot wound at the end of the table… Welcome to the reality of archaeology.

In relation to the dig itself, apart from a number of team members being relocated to the sickbed for a day or two, we have generally made excellent progress. The agora area has seen two trenches completed and photographed which is both good and a bit annoying. The reason why they were so quickly finished was due to a complete lack of mostly anything. The central trench went straight down to bedrock so that was the end of that. We think that there was originally more there but it was likely washed away due to the trench’s location in a natural floodway. The second trench to the East at the edge of the walkway had a similar outcome.

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On the possible temple though we are seeing more features. Stones are turning up that are parallel in size and positioning to previously found features on the main temple of the site. This is exciting because there could be more features underneath. The mosaic is also coming along nicely with a huge amount uncovered. Hopefully this will lead to further conservation and eventually tourists being able to come visit the site to see it in all its glory. Up in other areas of the site the Turkish contingent are clearing more from around the shop area with plans to re-erect some of the fallen columns at some point so that visitors in later years can imagine what the colonnaded street would have looked like.

The wonderful thing about field school is it allows students to visit nearby archaeological sites here in Turkey and to see what completed and associated sites looked like. Tomorrow we are going to Side near Alanya. I went there last year and you can read more about the site if you search for Side in this site’s archives or go the Archaeology Travel Blog option in the menu bar. But last weekend the students went to Selinus, which you can also search, which is an awesome site with an amazing view. Unfortunately it involves a huge and deadly climb up steps. Deadly due to the spikey evil plants of death, hence half the hospitalisations this week. But they will survive, part of archaeology adventures.

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Archaeology Blog: The Empire Strikes Back

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1016579_285801521565831_1127392435_nToday begins week two of session one of the Antiochia ad Cragum Research Project and field school. Finally we have stratum! Today’s misconception by the students: that anyone can swing a mattock and use a shovel. The archaeology and the dirt is fighting them back.

The site area we opened up in the agora yesterday is now a hive of activity as students, archaeologists and Turkish workmen from the planet Turkjeon (which was destroyed by the dreaded dictators of Capitalism from the realm of Capitivia forcing the Turkjeons to flee and settle on Earth and become SuperTurks who gain their powers from sunlight). In the centre of the possible temple area we are now uncovering numerous tesserae which is unexpected. It is unfortunate though that no intact mosaic seems to appear there. In the centre of the agora we have finally got rid of the roots in the centre of the trench and uncovered the majority of a large marble block with a standard decorative border and a spiral design which we can’t see the end of at the moment. And finally we have finds! Okay just a few pottery fragments and some tile but better than nothing. I once dug for two weeks on an Iron Age hill fort and only found two pieces of charcoal…

Over by the mosaic area the inscription is almost uncovered but appears to be cut in half from wear and time. Hopefully the other piece is still lying somewhere in the dirt near by because it’s hard to translate only half an inscription. So far though it appears to be a statue base dedication which is associated with the large niche in the East wall of the bath house. Hopefully it will make a nice publication later in the year.

Outside the dig site is just as interesting as on the dig itself. The area is little visited by tourists except for the few stray ex pats from Germany and England who are far between but can generally be found congregated at the Green Oasis Cafe in Gazipasa owned by Konrad and his wife Pauline. Which is where we are generally found when not digging too. Funny thing about archaeology: when not on a dig most tend to drink sparingly a few glasses a month at most, while on a dig it is necessary to have a beer at least once a day. Remember, we are digging here in forty degree (one hundred and ten Fahrenheit) heat on the worst days.

In terms of learning experiences they still come about for the experienced archaeologist but they come by the minute for the field school students. At least most realise quickly that they have no idea what they are doing and thus ask insightful questions. The shovel, the pick, the trowel (especially the trowel), the mattock and the wheelbarrow are skills and tools that require accuracy and technique otherwise unexperienced outside of archaeology. Rahmi the SuperTurk has long been skilled in these ways and I am happy to have picked up many useful skills but these are new to the students and it is admittedly a little amusing watching them as they get confused by the fact the 61 year old Turkish foreman can remove four times the amount of dirt in half the time. But none seem too disillusioned yet. Though my trench was the envy of a few of them because it was actually going somewhere. Archaeology is an experience and experience is archaeology.600164_285801491565834_1912571675_n

The Tarsus mountains are all around and one of the many reasons to try archaeology becomes also obvious. This is a beautiful country. Digging let’s you appreciate a country like you never have before. And thus archaeology in Turkey can be an eclectic mix of super human Turks, broken toes, death trees, beautiful scenery, troubled students, sun burn and fun.

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Archaeology Blog: Back in the Trenches

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1044826_284063198406330_1967207058_nI write this page to educate people on archaeology and history but there is nothing more educating than experience. My first week back at the site of Antiochia ad Cragum has been revealing and fun. Revealing because you realise that even those people with the enthusiasm to actually go on a dig for the first time come with so many preconceptions which is something I often forget because I have now been digging so long. Fun because I’m back in the trenches with awesome eccentric people, archaeology breeds eccentricity and craziness.

After flying into Istanbul for a few days we are now in Gazipasa in Southern Turkey after a long commute down to Antalya and then through Alanya on the bus for three hours. The Antiochia ad Cragum Research Project is a joint venture between field school students, specialists and enthusiasts like myself, staff from the University of Nebraska, Clark University and Ataturk University. So despite having been at this dig before, it is a whole new assortment of faces and experience levels. Most common experience level being zero. But that is good too, we get to mould minds and they get a life changing experience because that is often what archaeology is. It gives you a new appreciation of history, hard work, team work, new cultures and the wind on a very hot smouldering day where you feel like you are dying but somehow manage to get through it before falling into the pub for beer.

This year we are focusing on the agora down by the larger bath house inside the city gates. The area has not previously been excavated and has grown over significantly. The bath house itself is the realm of the Ataturk University team led by Professor Birol Can. This year they are extending the excavation of the mosaic (which you can see in the news) which is one of the biggest in the area. So far they have uncovered approximately half of it in previous years and half of a pool with a marble base. The mosaic also appears to extend outside the doorway that was discovered at one end of the mosaic last year. It will be a while until they are in a position to excavate more of the area inside the bathhouse itself but so far they have uncovered an inscription on the wall which I will be translating and hopefully preparing for publishing later in the season. Which is exciting because Bean and Mitford have previously published most of the inscriptions on the site so a new one is awesome. Additionally I personally am working on two dice oracle inscriptions in the block field near the temple on the site and a Latin milestone which has somehow made its way into the early Christian church outside the city gates. But first the agora…

We spent the first two days of the dig clearing a forest of brush that covered the area of the agora. The Turkish workmen, led by the SuperTurk Rahmi, were an amazing asset considering they had a chain saw and superhuman skills that makes me believe that they are in fact aliens from the planet Turkjeon. Underneath the brush you could already see columns from the original structure scattered throughout the area. As brush for gradually removed more features came to light including a possible temple area and a raised walkway area. A number of decorated marble blocks could also be seen after the central area of thick bush was removed. After the bush was finally removed and the tedious dragging of trees and twigs back and forth to the spoil pile finally drove us all mad, the digging could finally begin.

Out of the group this year digging in the agora there are only three members who are actually archaeologists: Myself, my partner Rob and Helen who is an Australian archaeologist from Melbourne dipping her toe into Classical archaeology. And thus the three site supervisors were born! So far we have begun opening five trenches. Three are located on or next to the possible temple mount, one has been placed on the walkway to the side of the main area up several steps and full of roots, and the last is located in the main open area where the marble carved blocks were located previously. This year the field school students appear to be an excellent bunch. They have already proved to be hard and diligent workers in the initial brush clearing stages and they have enthusiastically thrown themselves into the trenches. While some have admitted that they never expected this and expected brushing of small rocks, none have taken a step back and are instead asking intelligent questions for the most part and are keen to learn which is great and somewhat unusual. Hopefully the heat won’t kill any of them before we get the work done…

The Clark University students are up in the block field and going slightly mad in the heat but have already made a great start into drawing and mapping the blocks from the temple for future reconstruction. And with that I end my first blog back in Turkey. Let the archaeology continue. 🙂

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Philology: Introduction to the Significance of Language Analysis

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When you first enter an ancient history or archaeology degree you are introduced to several sets of material evidence. Notably, the archaeology, material evidence, and philological evidence. But the philological side is more often than not rarely mentioned again. This is quite a shame considering some of the most interesting and revealing information comes from the ancient written sources. People generally fall into the trap of ignoring the writing in favour of the archaeology and artefacts and frankly you can’t really blame them because humans are naturally attracted to pretty visual things. I see this every day with the likes and shares on my Facebook page. But philology is all important too and if students can learn even a little about ancient writing and textual criticism, a whole new side to history and analysis opens up to them as it should.

DSCN0428BB - Clay Tablets with Liner B Script
DSCN0428BB – Clay Tablets with Liner B Script (Photo credit: archer10 (Dennis))

Philology is derived from the Greek terms φίλος (love) and λόγος (word, reason) and literally means a ‘love of words’. It is the study of language in literary sources and is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics. Philology is generally associated with Greek and Classical Latin, in which it is termed philologia. The study of philology originated in European Renaissance Humanism in regards to Classical Philology but this has since been combined to include in its definition the study of both European and non-European languages. The idea of philology has been carried through the Greek and Latin literature into the English language around the sixteenth century through the French term philologie meaning also a ‘love of literature’ from the same word roots.

Generally philology has a focus on historical development. It helps establish the authenticity of literary texts and their original form and with this the determination of their meaning. It is a branch of knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development and relationships of a language or languages. This makes it all the more significant to study as language is one of the main building blocks of civilisation.

There are several branches of philological studies that can also be undertaken:

Comparative philology is a branch of philology which analyses the relationship or correspondences between languages. For instance, the commonalities between Latin and Etruscan or further flung languages of Asian or African provinces. It uses pre-determined techniques to discover whether languages hold common ancestors or influences. It uses comparison of grammar and spelling which was first deemed useful in the 19th century and has developed ever since. The study of comparative philology was originally defined by Sir William Jones‘ discovery in 1786 that Sanskrit was related to Greek and German as well as Latin.

Cognitive philology studies written and oral texts in consideration of the human mental processes. It uses science to compare the results of research using psychological and artificial systems.

Reconstruction of the missing Greek text on th...
Reconstruction of the missing Greek text on the Rosetta Stone

Decipherment is another branch of philology which looks at resurrecting dead languages and previously unread texts such as done and achieved by Jean-Francois Champollion in the decipherment of Hieroglyphs with the use of the Rosetta Stone. And more recently by Michael Ventris in the decipherment of Linear B. Decipherment would be key to the understanding of still little understood languages such as Linear A. Decipherment uses known languages, grammatical tools and vocabulary to find and apply comparisons within an unread text. By doing so more of the text can be read gradually as similarities and grammatical forms become better understood. The remaining text can then be filled in through further comparison, analysis, and elimination of incorrect solutions.

Textual philology editing is yet another branch of philology with includes the study of texts and their history in a sense including textual criticism. This branch was created in relation to the long traditions of Biblical studies; in particular with the variations of manuscripts. It looks at the authorship, date and provenance of the text to place it in its historical context and to produce ‘critical editions’ of the texts.

Significant Examples:

The importance of philology is exhibited in its use and achievements. Without philology the bible translation would be even more wrong, trust me read it in the original Greek. We would not be able to translate hieroglyphs, Linear B, Linear A, Sanskrit, any ancient language. Our entire written past would be blank, we would not have the information we have now on mathematics, social structure, philosophy, science, medicine, civilisation, transport, engineering, marketing, accounting, well anything really, knowledge would not have been rediscovered or passed on without the ability to study texts and language. Understand the love of words.

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Studying for History Exams and in General

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My students are reaching the dreaded exam period. So here are some tips for studying history and other subjects.

Go over past exams and write the papers. You will see that they are very similar from year to year so you are doing yourself a disadvantage by not going over them.

Having issues concentrating while studying???

There are several options to help you! Try using these techniques:

  • Writeordie.com – Write or Die is a new kind of writing productivity application that forces you to write by providing consequences for distraction and procrastination. http://writeordie.com
  • Pomodoro Technique – The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down periods of work into 25-minute intervals called ‘Pomodori’ (from the Italian word for ‘tomatoes’) separated by short breaks. http://www.focusboosterapp.com/
  • ASPIRE Technique – http://www.studygs.net/aspire.htm

  • Concentration music – sounds naff but it works for some people.
    • Whatever you choose make sure there are NO words to singalong to
    • Epic music is also good as long as it is purely instrumental. It eggs you on.
  • STAY OFF FACEBOOK! and Twitter, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Reddit, Youtube, etc etc…
  • Work away from home – Often people are easily distracted at home because there are many things around them so go study in the library at the university or your local library if you need a quiet space. But do not accept lunch and coffee requests in the middle of studying. Set a time. Don’t get distracted.

Studying for essay writing

  • Go over past essays – they are on ilearn and in the library
  • Plan essays in mind map form
  • Stick points you forget to your bedroom ceiling above your bed or behind your bedroom door
  • Set times for study – make a study plan, stick to it, don’t spend all your time making the plan instead of studying! Take an example from this of what not to do!

  • STAY ON TOPIC – If you need a break from study then do something related so you are relaxing a bit but you don’t completely lose your flow. ie. History podcasts, documentaries, historical fiction. This can also help to inspire you.
  • Take the time and sit and do the essays as if you were in an exam environment

Writing Paragraphs – It is amazing how many people forget basic structure in the stress of an exam environment. So here is a simple way to remember things.

PEED
P = Point: State your point clearly and concisely.
E = Explain: Elaborate, provide more information.
E = Evidence: Use information from texts, quotes etc. to back up your point.
D = Draw conclusions

For example:
Shakespeare was a product of his era. The reigns of the Tudors and Stuarts were times of preoccupation with black magic and witchcraft. James 1 personally condemned witches to death. The fascination with the occult is particularly seen in the play ‘Macbeth’ in which the three witches put curses on innocent sailors, make evil brews and mislead Macbeth to his ultimate ruin. The snares of the occult are equally prevalent in our time. The play ‘Macbeth’ is as relevant today as the day it was written.

You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies.
Try to develop and appreciate the following habits:

  • Take responsibility for your own study and learning! – Recognise that you only have yourself to blame for your study habits and results. Make decisions about your priorities, time and resources.
  • Don’t let your friends and acquaintances dictate what you do – everyone studies differently
  • Follow up on priorities and don’t let others or your interests distract you
  • Discover your key times and places of productivity and remove yourself from distracting environments
  • Look to continually challenge yourself – if you are content with what you know then still go the extra step and learn more, give yourself that extra edge

Most of all TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! Learning is your responsibility in the end. Ps do not make careers! If someone says to you Ps make degrees then they are not worth listening to.

Remember (especially 1st years)

  • This is not high school
  • No one cares what you got in the HSC (or equivalent)
  • This is a new opportunity – Take it
  • Analyse, compare and contrast
  • Do not narrate!
  • Read and follow instructions

Do your best and good luck!

And stick this one as your screen background.

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