We started the day with a lecture on archaeological stratigraphy. After that, we finished cleaning the top soil off of our site so that a picture could be taken of the surface layer. By the time that was finished, it was lunch time, followed by a lecture on osteology. It's a good thing we had that break, because our next activity was to begin removing the surface layer. We picked and shoveled, and shoveled and picked until every muscle in our bodies ached! Besides all that picking' and grinnin' (a reference that goes back to HeeHaw - that's really dating me!), I walked to the site, to the school and back at lunch, back to the school, then to the grocery store and back. And boy are my dogs tired! Anyway...in this surface layer, we found nails, plastic, pottery, tiles, metal, bricks, and some other things that lead us to believe that the layer was deposited as a result of construction work that was occurring nearby. We also found a human tooth - specifically an upper left molar.
I'm sitting here at midnight typing up this blog, when all of a sudden a loud banging noise starts. When you combine that with the church bell, it's quite a midnight cacophony. When we couldn't stand it any longer, we investigated. As it turns out, Altopascio was celebrating the birth(?) of the patron of Altopascio, Jacob somebody (sorry, the person that was telling us this story spoke very broken English) and so they were celebrating with fireworks...big fireworks. So there we stood, in our pajamas, on a street corner of Altopascio, watching fireworks. Only in Italy!
Italian phrase of the day: Ho grattato la superfiscie oggi. (I scraped the surface today).
By the way, Allen, one of the Italian archaeologists from Pisa has promised that if I help him with his English, he'll help me with my Italian. Italian group, watch out!
More tomorrow, at which point I hope I can tell you that we found some human remains!
Hi MB, I tried to send a comment yesterday and instead sent you an email. Hope this works today.It all sounds very interesting. Why were you still up a midnight? Early to bed, etc....weren't you tired? I can't believe you're looking for human remains. Ugh! Bye for now. lm
ReplyDeleteYou're the only person I know who can get excited at the prospect of finding human remains -- in Italy no less!
ReplyDeleteYea!! You just started and already found a tooth!! Eureka!! Hope you find more tomorrow. God bless you and your sleeping arrangements. I feel sorry for your team as we know you can be quit cranky in the a.m. ha ha!! You're secret's safe with me. Just put on a happy face, Senora.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your next installment.
Good luck a pickin and a grinnin!!
p.s. don't correct my spelling or grammar!! I see a typo!
ReplyDeleteMaria Betta, this is such fun reading. The home page of your SSU instructor was fascinating and inspirational, as well. Here's hoping you unearth good stuff, sleep well on your cot in the gym, and continue to improve your Italian. Il tuo gruppo italiano sarà storditi alla tua scorrevolezza! (which I hope means, your Italian group will be stunned at your fluency.) Thanks for the vicarious Italian archaeological experiences.
ReplyDeleteHey mom!!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting.... A TOOTH!! a little creepy but I would imagine that whatever you find next will only be more creepy... Considering your digging in a grave site. Does that make you a body snatcher?!? Lol, can't wait to tell people about my mom "the body snatcher"!
Can't wait to see more pictures!
Ly
Jess