Fieldwork Report: Emily Yankura

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Sophie Rosenthal

[vc_row fullwidth=”true” attached=”true” css=”.vc_custom_1496247803139{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”96202″ img_size=”1000×300″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fullwidth=”true” css=”.vc_custom_1496682730308{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1496683820796{margin-right: 10px !important;}” offset=”vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_column_text]

SHARE

[/vc_column_text][mk_image src=”http://www.asortest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/social-fb-icon4.jpg” image_width=”42″ image_height=”42″ hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.facebook.com/ASOResearch/” margin_bottom=”0″][mk_image src=”http://www.asortest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/social-tw-icon4.jpg” image_width=”42″ image_height=”42″ hover=”false” custom_url=”https://twitter.com/ASOResearch?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor” margin_bottom=”0″][mk_image src=”http://www.asortest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/social-in-icon4.jpg” image_width=”42″ image_height=”42″ hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-schools-of-oriental-research” margin_bottom=”0″][mk_image src=”http://www.asortest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/social-ml-icon_7.jpg” image_width=”42″ image_height=”42″ hover=”false” custom_url=”mailto:info@asor.org” margin_bottom=”0″][mk_image src=”http://www.asortest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/blog-icon3.jpg” image_width=”42″ image_height=”42″ hover=”false” custom_url=”http://asor.org/blog” margin_bottom=”0″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496683923840{margin-right: 20px !important;border-left-width: 2px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;border-left-color: #99422f !important;}”][mk_divider divider_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.01)” thickness=”1″ margin_top=”3″ margin_bottom=”3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”ca-sidebar-39801″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1487276122024{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 30px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]

Petra: A Long-Expected Journey

Emily Yankura, P.E. MacAllister Scholarship for Fieldwork Participation[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]My field experience in Jordan this past summer was one which was both long awaited and highly anticipated. I was originally scheduled to participate in the 2020 field season but, for obvious reasons, was unable to go until this past summer. It was an experience that was well worth the wait!

To be honest, I was initially very nervous to be finally leaving for Jordan. This trip had already been delayed so many times that a part of me thought I would graduate before I could go, and the prospect of now actually having to face the challenges I knew were coming was daunting, to say the least. I would be surrounded by a new language and culture, working outdoors in a desert climate, and hiking to site every day in said climate. There would be new food, new physical challenges, new customs – and that wasn’t even touching on the new tools and strategies I was going to have to learn for archaeological field work.

Now, though, I am so glad I went, and so glad I was able to go! I was able to acclimate relatively quickly and soon found myself appreciating the language and culture of Jordan. There were so many differences, large and small, as well as similarities, that had me thinking twice about my own cultural biases. And, once we began excavations, I was relieved to find myself up to the challenge.[/vc_wp_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=”96195″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1711999521877{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_padding_divider][vc_wp_text]I spent the first three weeks of my time in Jordan excavating in Wadi Mataha with Dr. David Johnson, and then an additional two weeks excavating on the Ad Deir Plateau with Dr. Cynthia Finlayson, under the direction of Dr. Allison Lee as crew chief. Throughout our two months in Jordan our group also had the opportunity to visit various historical and cultural sites. All of these experiences together were an invaluable learning opportunity and opened my eyes to the incredible nature and value of Middle Eastern culture. I gained an appreciation for both the ancient and modern inhabitants of this area by visiting the sites, and through daily interactions with local residents and workers.[/vc_wp_text][vc_single_image image=”96196″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1711999639735{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_padding_divider][vc_wp_text]My favorite aspect of archaeology is the connection it allows me to feel with the past. I have experienced this before with written reports and theory, but I was thrilled to experience it in actual hands-on fieldwork as well. While excavating, Dr. Lee would often ‘quiz’ us on what we were seeing in the soil – ashy lenses, certain types of artifacts, soil composition – and challenge us to connect those smaller details with a larger picture. These brainstorming sessions were meant as field theories and first impressions, to be checked against further research and site reports later on, but it helped me personally to see how several sherds of coarseware pottery could connect me to the lived experience of ancient Nabataeans at a specific moment in time. It also helped me to better understand how archaeologists transition from digging and uncovering artifacts to using them for analysis. These artifacts we were uncovering would help us to build a picture of the ancient civilization that had left them behind. Archaeologists are actively reconstructing ancient cultures in an attempt to better understand them – and, by extension, ourselves.

At Ad Deir, I learned the value of archaeological context. The area I was assigned to work in was a portion of the Great Circle, which was a water feature/pool on the plateau. In ancient times it would have been filled by seasonal rains; this meant that many of the artifacts we were recovering there had been washed in by water and erosion. Before beginning, I did not fully understand how context could still be derived from objects which had been so clearly taken out of theirs. Now, I know that even these types of objects have value: the different stratigraphic units (SUs) of the Great Circle provide a relative chronology, and within that the types of pottery we find (coarseware, fineware, painted wares, etc.) can help us to know what was being used when. For example, one of our SUs showed a large concentration of pottery and burned bone, along with multiple ashy lenses. This could be an indicator of a cooking and/or eating space, which would mean that the Great Circle was already out of use as a water collector at that time.

The trips we went on were also very educational. They exposed us to other parts of Nabataean culture that were either not present at either of our sites or else still under excavation. Dr. Johnson took us on a tour of Wadi Mataha that showed us the broader context of the tomb complex that we had been excavating. We saw a sprawling network of dozens of other tombs, cisterns, and water channels, most of which remain unexcavated. On a later trip to Little Petra and a High Place we saw what Nabataean worship may have looked like. These glimpses into the broader scope of Nabataean society helped me to better understand the objects and features we were finding back on site.[/vc_wp_text][vc_single_image image=”96200″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1711999979902{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]The most exciting moment of the entire two months, for me, was finding an amethyst bead at the Wadi Mataha site. My Master’s thesis research has been on jewelry found in burial contexts, so when I saw an amethyst bead in the screen it felt almost unreal – I had spent so much time reading about objects like these and looking at small, black-and-white photos of them, that it was hard to believe I now had one right in front of me! There was an inexplicable feeling of connection as I dusted it off to reveal the carefully drilled holes on either side. Someone, a long time ago, had taken the time to take a beautiful stone and shape it into something that could be worn. A human being had created beauty for the sake of beauty (and possibly profit), and it had survived two thousand years to end up in my hand.

My experiences in Jordan are ones which I will never forget. It is a country rich in history and culture, and I hope that one day I will be able to work there as an archaeologist once again![/vc_wp_text][vc_single_image image=”96202″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1712000520030{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]Emily Yankura is a Master’s student at Brigham Young University studying archaeology and museum studies. Her main areas of interest are the history of the ancient Near East and the portrayal of archaeology in popular media.[/vc_wp_text][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Excavation Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

[/vc_wp_text][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Fieldwork Report: Alice Kligerman

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Sophie Rosenthal

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Alice Kligerman

Something Old

Landing in Larnaca, Cyprus this summer was the final exhale from the inhale I took leaving in 2019. My undergraduate field school had come to an end, but I knew I was going to see Makounta – Voules again. Participating in the Makounta – Voules Archaeological Project run by Dr. Grossman and Dr. Paulette, both professors at North Carolina State University, was my first experience with archaeological excavation. As the weeks went on, I found myself falling in love with all aspects of Polis Crysochous. Coming back in 2022 felt like the most natural decision. The museums, exhibits, and sites we had visited in 2019 made their appearances this time too, but I had new questions and observations. I still had the same awe filled reaction to all the sites, however. It was almost comforting to walk through the sites flooded with memories of previous photos backdrops, the best views, and the cool spots around the island. Learning from the first time I was here, I made sure to get gelato as often as possible. The biggest full circle moment occurred when I first saw the open trenches. Being a bit more comfortable with moving fast but delicately, I was reacquainted with the architecture I uncovered and detailed in 2019. However, this time I was removing the buckets of dirt we had put back in at the end of the season on the top of the tarp. I could not merely sit back and watch as they pulled the tarp back and revealed “my” archaeology baby: an in-situ pot smash. I am beyond grateful that the directors let me continue to work on it again. As a young archaeologist, it is beyond thrilling to feel the excitement of finding something new and later being able to work intimately with it again.

Something New

While I was coming back to familiar land, I was entering a whole new chapter in my career. I was bestowed a supervisory position, rather than a field student. A big learning curve came when I had to learn how to sit back and let someone else dig ‘your’ trench, one I was strongly attached to from 2019 as it was the trench I had worked in. It was a new perspective of field notes and final reports. Additionally, I had to let new archaeologists do the tasks that were my favorite (i.e. balk walk cleaning, articulating, and detailing). Being confronted with this invisible expectation I had, that field excavation roles would be the same as 2019, was something I would never have predicted to be difficult to navigate. Also, since this is a field school, I had to learn to be okay with there being accidents, mistakes, and archaeological contexts fudged on accident. These new perspectives on leading a dig only added to the knowledge and experience basket this summer.

Something Borrowed

This year, one of my main emphases was gathering background research for my upcoming master’s thesis. This included traveling around the island to find people to talk to, specific documentation, and other minutia of research. Additionally, some days in the field I had to step out to make sure I was writing and reading. I am very luck to have gotten to know, very well, the directors of the field school. Dr. Grossman and Dr. Paulette are from my undergraduate institution of North Carolina State University (Go Pack!). I owe my love of anthropology and drive for field excavation to these two. Simultaneously, Dr. McCarthy and Dr. Graham (assistant directors of MVAP and primary directors of the Prastio Mesorotsos Archaeological Expedition) are a wealth of information and kindness. What I consider borrowed here is their time, expertise, and mentorship. In addition to the sheer number of credit hours I dedicated to Dr. Grossman and Dr. Paulette, they have always been the source of advice regarding steps towards my professional career. This summer, I was watching how they ran the field school more than last. Not only did this expose me to the process of excavations, but I also listened to the methodological reasons behind specific decisions in the field. MVAP 2019 was my first archaeological field school experience, and I was more interested in excavation and hitting the beach. This year, I found it more interesting to understand more about the archaeology of the site we are excavating and history of the island, specifically in archaeological context to the site. Additionally, they directed me towards the best resources for my thesis research. They helped us get permission to go to the CAARI library, and I gathered a wealth of information. Starting my master’s thesis has been infinitely helped because of the archaeological knowledge I was gaining from them. I consider this borrowed because I will always have the intention to return the favor by learning and using what they taught me in my future as an archaeologist.

Something Blue

Now let’s not forget . . . the site is located on Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean. Aside from the work that went into the archaeological aspect of this trip, I was fully intending on enjoying the island while I could. Trips to the beach were a must. Many times, I would end up doing my work in settings near the water for the pure relaxation. Fridays were field trip days and, on top of seeing the sites around the island and learning about their significance, there was always a beach stop before heading home. Being reacquainted with the clear, blue gradient waters of the Mediterranean was some of my favorite moments from the trip. I swam to different parts of the beaches than last time, even adventuring into the water-carved caves of Aphrodite’s Rock. I felt like I could breathe clearer than above water while swimming. In conjunction with the blue of the sea, there was the clear blue of the sky. There were a few days of overcast, but the blue sky was present for most of the day, creating an almost ‘light’ feeling. The weather on the island throughout this summer, specifically in the area of Polis Crysochous, was ideal for both fieldwork and leisure.

My summer was filled with new and old experiences in the beloved location of Polis Crysochous, Cyprus. After a COVID-19 break of 2 summer excavations, I was finally able to witness excavation continuity. Seeing the opening of the trenches was very exciting, and the closing of the trenches just as heartbreaking. I was also researching for my thesis, so I was gaining more knowledge about the island’s pre-history, culture, and social dynamics throughout the years. Thus, while I was prepared for there to be new experiences, and expected there to be, I would never have predicted what type. While not in a nuptial setting, I believe this popular saying was appropriate when describing the moving parts of the summer and the many memories made.

Alice Kligerman is a second-year master’s student at Florida State University. She received her B.A. in Anthropology in 2018 from North Carolina State University. Currently, she is working on her master’s thesis to defend in the spring of 2023. Her interests lie in the prehistory of Cyprus (7000 BC – ~2500 BC, specifically). She is interested in emergent complex societies and the archaeological evidence of increased social differentiation.

Instagram: @alvkh

Email: ak21y@fsu.edu

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Excavation Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

Browse the News Archive

FOA Webinar Panel: From Tunis to Tataouine

2026 Nominees for ASOR Board Elections

2026 Student Paper Award

ECS Fall Brown Bag: Beyond the Tenure Track

Fieldwork Report: Sofia Kane

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Marta Ostovich

A Typical Day with the Vayots Dzor Fortress Landscapes Project

Sofia Kane, 2022 Strange-Midkiff Scholarship Recipient

Thanks to the support of the Strange-Midkiff Scholarship for Fieldwork Participation, I was able to travel to Vayots Dzor, Armenia, in July of 2022 to participate in archaeological fieldwork. I joined the Vayots Dzor Fortress Landscapes Project, directed by Dr. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, Dr. Arthur Petrosyan, and Dr. Boris Gasparyan.

The Vayots Dzor Fortress Landscapes Project is a multi-period project consisting both of survey and excavation, with concentrations of material from the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age as well as the medieval period.

In the morning, we would wake up and have a filling breakfast prepared by our host. This started with lavash (soft flatbread), cheese, and fresh herbs such as basil and chives, which were combined together into a rolled sandwich. This staple of Armenian cuisine was accompanied by eggs, tea, and honey.

Next, we would split into two teams: one for the excavation, and one for survey. I was usually excavating, although on some days, I stayed at the dig house to illustrate finds, and on other days, I joined the survey team. The drive to the excavation featured beautiful glimpses of the Armenian countryside and a winding final stretch up into the hills. At the end of the drive, we unloaded the van and carried picks, buckets, trowels, and other tools up to the trench.

Once we got to the site, my role was to record sketches of the trench and daily summaries on the record-keeping sheets, and to excavate with pick and trowel. The area we were excavating had already been excavated in a previous season; our goal was to expand the pre-existing trench and to reach bedrock, thereby documenting all layers of habitation of the site.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

We ate lunch in the field and ended fieldwork in the mid-afternoon. After returning to the dig house and having our daily break, lab work commenced. My lab job was to illustrate the artifacts, mostly ceramics. I illustrated new ceramic finds by pencil, and digitally inked scans of penciled drawings from a previous season. I also had the opportunity to teach other students how to illustrate archaeological artifacts.

One question I am often asked is, why illustrate artifacts at all, when photography is faster? One answer is that illustration makes it possible to show objects in section. If one were to slice a vessel from top to bottom, the section is what the slice would look like. The section makes it easier to compare vessels from multiple sites and publications to see whether they are similar. Trying to record a vessel’s section with a photograph would result in a distorted image, and it would require damaging the vessel.

Illustration also makes it possible to re-create what a complete, or nearly complete, vessel would look like from only a few sherds. If one were to simply photograph a sherd, it would not reveal much about what the vessel looked like as a whole.

Meanwhile, photography has complementary uses: it can show the colors of glazes and surface decorations, and close-up photographs are able to show the composition of the clay. Together, photography and illustration create a balanced visual record of an archaeological artifact.

Towards the end of the season, we took final photos of the trench in the early-morning light, and I drew a top-plan of the trench. Drawing the top plan required about five hours of carefully measuring and sketching, because every rock and other feature of the trench needed to be plotted accurately in relation to the rest of the trench.

After wrapping up fieldwork, we carefully packed the artifacts for storage, transported them to the storage facility, and left for the capital city of Yerevan. Although this was my first summer in Armenia, I certainly hope it will not be my last.

Sofia Kane is a master’s student at the University of Crete in Rethymno, Crete in the Department of History and Archaeology, supervised by Dr. Antonis Anastasopoulos. Her research interests include archaeological illustration, medieval through Ottoman material culture, and the Ottoman-European scientific and intellectual networks of the 16th century.

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Student Support” as your gift purpose!