Carly Hemminghaus

I have always been interested in archaeology, even when I likely thought the discipline involved digging for dinosaur bones! (Pro tip: do not ask an archaeologist if they have found any dinosaur bones recently.)

While I have loved my time taking theoretical, classroom-based courses in Anthropology and Archaeology at Trent, I can safely say that this field school experience has been one of my most fulfilling yet!

Excavation

While our first few days started with a mostly indoor orientation, by the midpoint of our first week, we began working out in the field! We were all split into smaller groups, and now I have officially been a part of the “Bears,” excavating OA8 on BcGn-15. Through the first week, excavation felt relatively slow (this may have been in part due to the sheer number of rocks below the surface of our excavation unit, and of course, we are novices and needed practice to get faster)! We began finding a plethora of artifacts across Context 1 of our unit, including a 10k gold signet ring (pictured below). Our entire group agreed that we all felt a bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings when we had to part ways with it in our artifact bag. In addition, we found many household items and building materials: glass, metals, plastics (oh my!). My favourite types of finds are definitely the bones, as I have previously taken a few bone-focused courses. It is so fun to attempt to identify the type of bone we have uncovered and what animal it comes from. Our excavating skills improved a lot through the second and third weeks of the course. Our ability to wield shovels and move rocks became much faster, and we were able to uncover a lot in our unit in the spaces we could excavate safely.

Mapping

Excavation is not the only part of archaeology. With every context uncovered, we create a new map to ensure we understand and record what has changed between each context. We first ensure the site is photographed, and then we get busy using tape measures and planning screens to record the context! I have never been an artist or a numbers person, but it is great to get a wellrounded picture of what being a ‘real’ archaeologist might entail!

Lab Work

On rainy days, we took to the lab to begin washing and sorting the many artifacts collected in the field. These days are fun, giving our muscles a break while still getting our hands dirty in murky water as we rediscover artifacts during washing. These days are also exciting, as it is interesting to see what artifacts have come from units other than our own. For example, I spent a whole morning counting over 2,000 nails from the “Foxes” unit!

My field school experience has been wonderful. Thank you to James and Kate for providing us all with such well-rounded practical experience! It has been a blast.