The Half-Full Glass

The section of Beta Theta East where I worked this week

Kenny and I on our Delphi misadventure

The best view we could find of the valley in Delphi on our random hike


Kenny and I in the amphitheatre in Delphi

The valley at Delphi with the Temple of Apollo in the foreground

Akropolis at night from Mount Lykavettos

Sunset over Athens from Mount Lykavettos

The new Akropolis Museum at night

As I got comfortable with my second rotation this week, some things have started to become routine and have started to lose that “new-car” smell and feeling. The homesickness I was feeling during the first few weeks has also started to subside, which is very welcome. I’m getting closer and closer with the friends I’ve made here, and I’m getting more and more confident in my abilities and judgment as a field excavator. I’ve even started to get some new ideas for what to do with myself after graduation next year! But along with this new sense of normalcy comes the discovery of some unexpected personal struggles.
This week, I started working in a trench called Beta Theta. Unlike my last trench, BZ, Beta Theta was just opened recently. In fact, up until 2 seasons ago there was a 5 story apartment building standing right on top of the soil we’re excavating. Last summer the excavators spent much of their time removing the rebar and cement remnants (left over from the apartment building’s demolition) from the trench, and this season we’re just starting to discover the history of the place based on what we’re finding. Beta Theta is the largest and newest trench of the project, so there is a great need for people-power to assist with moving a lot of soil to get down into the desired archaeological levels. The trench is divided into East and West sections, and there are about 15 diggers split up between these two areas. Both sections are still in fairly “modern” levels, so we’re finding a lot of Turkish and Byzantine era glazed pot sherds. This pottery looks like typical glazed pottery that you could find in a store today, but typically the Turkish pottery we’ve been finding is green or yellow and the Byzantine pottery we’ve been finding is brown. We’re also starting to find more and more walls that can give us clues as to what the area(s) may have been used for. The ultimate goal, however, is to dig down several more meters and get into Classical levels- although this goal won’t be accomplished until next season, at the earliest. The reason we want to get into Classical levels is because we have reason to believe that the Painted Stoa (or the Stoa Poikile) is buried directly beneath the Turkish and Byzantine levels in Beta Theta. The Painted Stoa is one of the Agora buildings that has yet to be discovered (for certain) and it is one of the most important buildings of the ancient Agora as described by numerous ancient writers. It is very exciting that we are standing directly on top of it (at least we hope we are) every day! As I said before, however, we probably won’t get down into the levels of the Painted Stoa for many dig seasons.
In the meantime, we are excavating a lot of modern fill (dirt and artifacts from only a few hundred years ago that have been used to create steady foundations for modern buildings) which has a smattering of very random pot sherds from multiple periods. One of the biggest personal struggles for me in this second rotation has been getting used to the shift from Beta Zeta- where I was finding amazing Classical period artifacts such as the face and the lykothos- to Beta Theta- where I’m finding random Turkish and Byzantine sherds, most of which will be recorded and then discarded. The up-side of working in Beta Theta, however, is that because I’m digging out the modern fill this season, other excavators in future seasons will be able to excavate the Stoa Poikile. I’ve learned that archaeology doesn’t happen overnight, and the quality of the work done by one season’s diggers will affect the excavations of multiple future seasons.
Although digging this week has been more challenging than my first rotation, there have been many fun activities during the evenings and over the weekend that have helped to give me motivation. The new Akropolis Museum in Athens has recently opened, which means the city has been buzzing with famous Greeks and interested tourists. Although I haven’t had the chance to get inside the museum yet, I have gotten a sneak peak from the street. On Tuesday night, several of us went to the museum for a special slide show that was being shown on the outer walls of the new building to promote the opening. It was very cool to see some of the artifacts as they came to life in the slide show, and I am especially anxious to see the Greek half of the Parthenon frieze, (the other half is housed in the British Museum where they’ve been ever since Lord Elgin took them off the Parthenon- a subject of great controversy between Greece and Britain). As soon as I find a spare moment when I’m not digging or sleeping, I’ll be touring the new museum.
I also had a few friends from Concordia visit Athens on Wednesday and Thursday! Suzy and Dana were on week 7 of a 7-week tour of Europe, and they asked if I’d be willing to show them around the city for a few evenings. We toured the Agora and I showed them the trenches in which we’ve been working, we had some authentic Greek meals, and we watched the sun set over the acropolis and the city from the top of Mount Lykavettos. It was so nice to act as an Athenian tour guide and to spend time with friends from home! I really enjoyed having them in the city. Their presence also made me realize just how much of a home Athens has become for me since I studied abroad here 1 ½ years ago, and especially how much I’ve come to love the city in the last few weeks.
This weekend, my friend Kenny and I traveled to Delphi, one of my favorite ancient Greek sites, with high hopes. Unfortunately, the excursion turned out to be one of absolute misadventure. We had both been to the site and the museum in Delphi on previous trips, so while it was great to revisit them, the main reason we traveled to Delphi was to hike to a lookout above the village to get the best view of the amazing valley. After we finally found someone who could tell us the location of the trailhead, we stocked up on water and cookies (to fend off the wild dogs we were warned about by the locals) and started climbing. After about 3 kilometers we had hiked up and out of the village and we ran into a locked gate across the trail! It turns out the mountain is closed in the summer due to fire danger, so we were unable to hike to the top. Not to be discouraged, Kenny and I followed some goat trails above the village in an effort to find our desired view- but then the goat trails disappeared and we were forced to backtrack into the village. Along the way, we had the brilliant idea to rent scooters in the village (which I still have not been able to do) and just spend the day exploring the area around Delphi. When we ventured back into the city, however, we discovered that there are no scooter, ATV, car, or bicycle rentals in Delphi! With that unfortunate news, Kenny and I just started to walk down the highway out of the village in search of either a gorgeous view or some other form of entertainment. We ended up at a random backpacker’s campground several kilometers outside the village where we parked ourselves and enjoyed the much deserved cookies. We then realized that we had been walking downhill for almost an hour, thus in order to reach the village to catch the bus back to Athens, we would have to walk uphill for the same amount of time. Our hitchhiking attempts were futile, to suit the theme of the day, but we finally arrived back in Delphi and stumbled upon a great looking restaurant where we could have dinner and enjoy our last few hours in the village. We soon realized, however, that the last bus to Athens was leaving in a few short minutes and we wouldn’t have time for a meal at the restaurant! In the end, Kenny and I caught the bus to Athens and had a wonderful dinner in the Thissio district to treat ourselves after our “Delphi misadventure”. I’m very thankful I was with Kenny, however, because the day could have been very discouraging and frustrating, but we laughed the entire day about our small misfortunes. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a very enjoyable Saturday.
Overall, this week has been full of challenges. I’ve realized, however, that I wouldn’t have my Athens experience any other way- especially because I have such wonderful people in my life (both here and at home) to help me along the way. What would a summer abroad be without some misadventure here and there? After all, I am blessed to be spending my summer in such an amazing place! This past week and weekend have taught me to take what I’m given and make the most of it, and I’m looking forward to many more adventures (and mishaps) in the weeks to come.