Well it's almost a month since I've been back from my home away from home in Italy, and I'm suffering major summer blues. It's official - all of my summer travelling plans are now complete, autumn has set in and the thought of starting back at uni is well and truly at the forefront of my mind.

If you know me - or have followed my geeky twitter posts or all the snaps that I uploaded to instagram this summer - then you'll know that I spent two months of my summer in Italy taking part of in The Apolline Project. Aside from the travel posts that are coming in due course, and will show off all the amazing places I visited, as well as some of the tips I've picked up along the way, I wanted to write a post all about my wee love of archaeology and the site I dug at this summer.






Archaeology has always been the thing for me - back in primary school I decided it was to be, and for the last thirteen years I've been pursuing ways into the profession. This summer I was lucky enough to go back to The Apolline Project as a trench supervisor, meaning I got to run my own trench, be in charge of the paperwork and boss people about (okay in my own quiet, friendly way).

One of the biggest challenges for me was finding my own voice. At times I can come across as a bubbly & confident person, but truth be told I'm actually a very shy and self conscious kind of gal. It's different hiding behind the computer and sharing everything about my life. In the real world its a whole different story. Anyone else manage to perfect the hiding behind people during class and not make eye contact with the teacher just to avoid answering a question (and the ever present problem of going extremely red?). I'm sure everyone from my school will remember my wee red face. . . On the dig I quickly became comfortable. I think it was partly due to the fact I love archaeology and thought I knew what I was doing (most of the time) as well as the people - which I'll be coming back to - that made me feel so much more at ease. Although I didn't have the loudest voice, I slowly began to get more and more of a voice. I got to take charge of the tool shed each morning and called out 'Tool Time' at 8.30 each day. I even learnt some Italian so that I could ask for the keys each day - it may not have been perfect, and the guys in the office may have laughed each time I stumbled through posso avere le chiavi but I enjoyed that bit of responsibility.



The site itself was incredible. This is the first year that The Apolline Project has worked at Aeclanum, and despite excavations occurring in the past by others, lets just say they weren't up to standards. So the potential of this site is incredible - there's so much to discover and learn about this site and this could change the history of the area. There's a whole settlement to be unearthed - with developments through Late Antiquity and the Medieval period, so nothing can be predicted. I spent my two months excavating a pool in the bath complex, and to say I was happy is an understatement. The pool was lined with marble, although some had been spoliated in later times it was still impressive nonetheless. Unfortunately, we found out during my last week that the pool had already been dug in the 1958 excavation (see the issue of not completing paper work) which explained our problem of not finding the continuation of the pool walls. However, what we did find was pretty awesome, and I'm so chuffed that I can point to the pool and say that I dug it.



I had incredible teams throughout my whole time with the project, and they all made it so much easier to take on my role as supervisor and really helped to settle my nerves - you know those pre-event jitters and butterflies? Well lets just say mine were worse. I was nervous that people wouldn't respect me or take me seriously - I was younger than the majority of participants, and am still completing my undergrad. As I was reassured, if you know your stuff then it shouldn't be a problem, and I hope that I seemed confident telling everyone what to do. It's funny how quickly you can get comfortable in a role, but I found myself loving giving the orders of how many people to do what, or how we should continue.



I don't even have the words to communicate my love for the people on the dig and as corny as it sounds I feel like I have made life long friends. Everyone is always so supportive of each other, and that's what I truly love. Some of the friends I made last year were here once again, and getting to see them and catch up was so amazing. And those who I didn't already know were easy to bond with and it was like we had always known each other. Its so different having friends who you work and live with. For a start, we're all there for the same reason so chat can become a little bit geeky and much of our spare time is spent exploring other historical sites together. And when we're back at the house (which was a school for our time there) we do what archaeologists do best - drink. Believe me, drinking and playing games is the way to truly get to know someone, and I can now say I know a lot about some people. It's incredible to say that I have friends in America, Denmark, Italy etc.. and even closer to home in England, Ireland and some fellow Scots - it makes future travelling so much more exciting. And if any of those friends are reading this - well you know who you are and I hope you're blushing at all this flattery as much as I'm cringing while writing it.

(And Sidenote: I checked, I do pronounce 'foot', 'book'  and 'put' correctly)



SO, to summarise this rather long post (and I congratulate those of you who have stuck with me . . . I feel I should do a Louise Pentland type of thing and give you 10 glitter points, although it wouldn't be glitter points from me would it? . . . ) : If archaeology is your thing then go for it - get involved in digs and try your hand at it. Getting practical experience is so important and is also so much fun to be involved in. You learn so much more outside of the classroom and getting hands on experience in the field. I wrote a bit about how important it is for your CV too in a previous post that you can check out here). And if you're interested in Roman archaeology then this project is definitely one to get involved in - and this post will hopefully show how great this project is. Or if you're one of my many readers who follows my posts for lifestyle - well I hope this post shows a little more about my own experiences as an archaeology student ( when should I start calling myself an actual archaeologist? ) as well as showing that taking on a role of responsibility is maybe a little scary at first but is totally worth it.

I can't wait to share some of my travel posts and show off the Campania region of Italy -its SO beautiful. If you're wanting a sneak peak then have a look at my instagram and see all of the photos that I shared while away.

Lots of love,
Emily
xxx

ALSO: I posted a week by week account of my time with the project last summer which you can check out here!

My final week in Italy is offically over, and I have now returned to Britain, and am currently revelling in the luxury of having a double bed and a room to myself while I break up my journey in a Gatwick Travelodge. Returning home has proved more difficult than I imagined, the travelling itself has been smooth and easy-going, the actual act of leaving, on the other hand, brought about many tears. Never did I think that I would become so attached to this project and the people that I would actually cry, but 6 weeks is a significant period of time to spend in a new place. I threw myself into this project and was determined to get as much out of it as possible, I was not aware how much of an impact it would have on me and how much I would not want to leave. It would be a dream to have been able to stay for the rest of the project to see the final result before closing all the trenches, however, normality beckons and reality creeps upon me.

This last week was incredible. After a new rule change, only supervisors and trainee supervisors are allowed in trench in the afternoon, meaning I get to spend my afternoons learning even more one - on - one. My training was in full swing, and I started writing a field journal of all the things that we accomplished in a day. We closed our trench which has the ramp in it, and opened a new one - trench 12 East. It's quite disappointing to know that I won't be able to see this trench through like I did the last, however I feel I've had my fair share of opening and closing trenches during my three blocks. I did get to try my hand at pick axing again - something which I never thought I'd be any good at, nor enjoy, after my last encounter with one left me sweating and with blisters all over my hand. I'll admit that I'm still not a fan of pick axing through volcanic rock, and I'll happily leave that to those who are strong enough and willing enough to offer, however on my last day I got into the swing of pick axing through the rocks and soil of our context and found myself feeling empowered.



After having a super weekend in Ischia, where I bonded with all the people in our group, the dynamics of the house changed a little to suit the closer relationships. I didn't have a single sober night this week (this seems to be turning into a 'drinks diary' rather than a 'dig diary'!) and spent time relaxing while playing many card games on the roof, cards against humanity in the lab, and yet another barbecue at the supervisors house - this time with some amazing seafood dishes as well! It really made for the perfect end to an amazing summer. As I looked out over the bay of naples from our roof late Thursday night, I couldn't help but shed a tear - which proved to be the opening of the flood gates for the whole of Friday.

 I can't thank the people who I've met enough for making me feel so comfortable, and really helping me come into myself. This experience was daunting and scary, as soon as I stepped off the plane at the end of June I was starting to doubt whether I could do it and wanted to hop back on a plane to the familiarity of Scotland. But persevering and swallowing all those fears paid off and I feel I've come away with amazing friends, new found confidence, and a whole bunch of stories to tell everyone back home about.



And that's it for my week by week run down of my dig, thank you for persevering with this although I couldn't post them in actual time and have seemingly neglected my blog over this summer. If you're reading these posts after seeing my status on facebook, then thank you for following me on this adventure as I like to call it! If you're an older reader wondering what the heck has happened to this blog, and where all the regular posts have gone, then fear not as they will return when I get back to uni, as will a regular posting schedule. As you can imagine, this summer has been a little out of the ordinary and it would be a sin not to post about this experience on my wee blog - after all this is an 'everything' blog, all about what I get up to. I can only hope you new readers will keep reading even when I return to my mundane life, and you can always look forward to when I return to Italia and The Apolline Project next summer.



Here's all the previous week's posts if you haven't had a chance to read them yet:

• The Apolline Project | Week One
• The Apolline Project | Week Two
• The Apolline Project | Week Three
• The Apolline Project | Week Four
• The Apolline Project | Week Five

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The One Where I Dug A Hole


As always, I've had another great week- as can be expected when you're in the sunshine all day doing something you love. This week we welcomed another bunch of people to our wee home, and got to know them while having some drinks on the roof of our house. I found it rather odd this week, returning to site and working on the same trench with the same supervisor, but this time with new trench mates. Although we didn't have the same trench games going on that we had last block, we still were chatting away and introducing the new girls to our tarp trench. We are now the only trench on site to have all girls - although the boys humour is missed, we sure are showing 'girl power' as we work away.



I've loved continuing on the same trench as the last two weeks, and we've finished our drawing of one context and now excavated further down to expose the foundation of the ramp - our goal for trench 12. If I'd have to pick a day that was my favourite for my whole time here, this Friday would have to be a strong contender. As I have been here the longest on site (officially the veteran for this block!) my supervisor Gabie asked if I'd help her excavate a little dip we had found in the ramp. Although this may not seem like a huge deal, I was exceedingly happy, as it shows that I've come a long way in my excavating skills, and am trusted enough to do something of this nature. It was really interesting to excavate this area of the ramp as we were producing lots of frescoe, some of which had amazing patterns of flowers and leaves on them. Although we didn't find a coin like we were all praying for, we did uncover some evidence about the building of the ramp, which may help the original research question of when it was built.



Friday was also an amazing day because Ferdinando (the project director) said that I could return next year as a supervisor! This is an amazing achievement for me, to be given this position so early on in my archaeology career is a real privilege. What I hadn't realised was that I was being trained for a supervisor role this whole week, but my official training begins next week, and I will be called a "trainee supervisor". I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time I talked to Ferdinando, nor the when telling people. I can't wait to return next year, hopefully seeing many of the same faces, and be involved in the project with a different perspective then a student. I think this year will be spent on improving my confidence, and I will throw myself fully into the courses that will help me in the field, so that I can be the best that I can be.

This week has had another few boozy nights, and an amazing barbecue with Veronika's incredible burgers - so filling, but so worth it. We've taken the last few days slow in anticipation for the weekend, when we take a trip to Ischia and plan to have a very drunk Saturday night.

Lots of love,
Emily
xxx

Since last week's post was given a title, I feel like this one should be called 'The One With All The Tarp'






This week has been one of my favourite weeks here in Italia. Not just because it began while I was in Rome, but because of the friendships I've made and how much fun I've been having with all the people here.

Rome was incredible to see and even though we couldn't visit all of it in such a short time, I was able to see so many of the sites that have been on my 'to visit' list for years. On the Saturday I visited the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon, and the Sunday the Ara Pacis and Augustus' Mausoleum. All of this interspersed with lots of pasta and gelato, as well as a night out in some Roman clubs to break up the weekend.







Needless to say, I was a little tired at the start of the week, but as soon as I was back on site I regained my energy. We managed to finish our trench, eventually finding the tarp that we were searching for, and started another trench adjacent to it in order to excavate the foundations of the ramp, and hopefully manage to date it. Lo and behold, we came across even more tarp as we excavated, meaning the trench had already been dug before and sending our brains into melt down. Despite this, we all kept smiling and playing games with one another - like 'Kiss, Marry, Kill' and '20 Questions'. We've also adopted a trench mascot, or a co-supervisor, a little lizzard called Rango. He's very friendly, and likes to sit on our drawing board, or eat Gabie's biscuits, and makes us all stop and coo every time he sits and watches us.


This week we had some thunder storms, which were incredible. I never thought I would be happy to see rain, but after four weeks of heat, it was a refreshing change. Both Fiona and I went onto the terrace and danced in the rain, until the lightening came a little too close and we ran back to the safety of our little home. On the Friday night, we had a 'trench garden party' which was adorable. Although the rain changed it from being a garden party to just an indoor party, we still had lots of fun eating pizzas and drinking wine. We then had a party back at our house with all the supervisors and students. The less I say about this party the better, but it began with a great game of ring of fire and ended with me being bedded with a pan and a roll of toilet paper next to my head.

I feel like this week should be entitled 'The One With All The Wheel Barrows'.




After a not so great weekend - where all my possessions got stolen on a beach in Naples - I had to pluck up my courage and put on a brave face meeting all the new arrivals. It was such a weird feeling to see new people in the beds of old friends, and have to build up new relationships while maintaining the ones with the friends who were still there. Nonetheless, it became easy to gell with these new people especially once we were given trenches of our own. I've been placed in a new trench, at the North wall of the bath complex, with the new supervisor. I've started to become attached to this trench, despite the fact we are taking out backfill to re-excavate a drainage system. We are still finding some artefacts missed in the previous sieving, and have come across some patterned siggilata as well as a blue glass tessera.







This week, I've made it my goal to take as many wheel barrows to the dump as possible - which may sound odd, but it's become a real challenge. Previously, I've only managed eight in a day, but this week I've managed two days of fifteen and a day with eighteen! Might I add that this is no mean feat, and involves filling them to the brim then pushing them up a steap hill - or running up the hill, which I like to do. It started off with me trying to prove to my new supervisor that I wouldn't be a weak link, and let my new trench mates know that I was a team player. It then became a personal goal to get as many up in a day as possible, and since we were removing so much back fill, it was quick and easy to do. I'm determined to come back a new woman and be beach body ready!




The evenings have been great fun here, with the new arrivals all being a little bit older than the last bunch and keen for a drink in the evenings and a later bed time. I haven't experienced going to site hungover yet, but who's to say that won't happen with the rate the drunk barbeques and dinners are going at. This weekend I've got a trip to Rome planned which I'm more than a little excited about, and I'll let you know about in the next post!




Caio,
Lots of love,
Emily
xxx

The end of week two brought about mixed emotions. It's the end of my first two week block here, and while I'm staying on, the majority of people aren't. So it was quite difficult saying goodbye to these people who I've spent every single day and night with and become pretty close to.