archaeology

Who knows anymore.

Turns out I'm hella wicked with a fas kabir and craig and am able to move about two cubic metres of dirt before second breakfast when I put my mind to it.

I can also rock the show when it comes to baulk drawings. Meh. I really shouldn't brag...or take the time to explain what that entails. Well okay, it's basically measuring everything out carefully and drawing the stratigraphy of all the wonderful
trenches we dug.

I may have found some sort of 2.6m wide compacted earth track and I guess that's something, but mostly I just moved dirt. And worked out...but I managed to eat so much I am now obese. Heh. Well that's a lie, but I did eat a hell of a lot at every meal (good food in abundance = stuffy times), but it gave me the energy to rock the show so I shouldn't complain.

Because I could only get 3 of my 4 baulk drawings done on my last day on site I had to go back two days later on 'back fill day'. This is basically the Bedouin running around in a pack with wheelbarrows and shovels and dumping everything we moved out of holes back in. Basically protect some of the things we found, and make so that any child, goat or vehicle that might come by won't be too seriously damaged or at least has the chance to escape. Thrilling stuff. Also a very interesting day to watch the Bedouin work dynamic.

Many of them I would not call the keenest workers in the world...as great a senetence as that is. But when they're all together and there's a set job (you go home when it's done kind of thing) one would assume a certain certainty in purpose. Instead what you get is them arriving en masse at a specific site that needs to be filled, they then frantically go to work hauling dirt into arbayas (barrows) and dumping it into holes....sometimes along with the arbayas onto fragile mud brick walls. Oops. But that only lasts about 20 minutes, then you see one or two lounging on the dirt pile, then the arbayas slow down, then suddenly everyone is sityting and there is chai all over the place.

Inevitably a cheerful fellow will come up to one of the white folks to confirm that they've done a good job and they are in fact done. They're always shocked when they're not. In this case I think doubly so because all morning they were were with a staff member who is at times more interested in being friends than being a task master. Whatever the case...it was all done eventually.

I was a more than a bit grumpy, given I was working on my reports until late the day before and very tired as a result. Then when things weren't getting done, well being the hero that I am I single handedly moved 456,000 tonnes of earth. Or thereabouts. Whatever. Once the work was done I became less grumpy, hopped on the bus after much handshaking and cheek kissing and was headed back to Aqaba.

Everything archaeological is now done. My report is submitted and hopefully I'll get invited back next year. Don't know if I'll be in the mood then but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.