Historical Archaeology in the Ancient Mediterranean

Last Field Day

Three days ago we spent our last day in the field.  During the next few days students will finish their photo journals, written journals, and GIS projects while staff write final season reports.  Despite the loss of my luggage, two broken cell phones, a broken GPS unit, and an interesting geomorphologist I have had an excellent season.  My competence in ArcGIS continues to grow and we collected a nice assemblage of Eastern Terra Sigillata pottery.  Below I have posted a few pictures from our second annual soccer game against the kids of Guzelyayla.  Like last year there was a sizeable turnout and like last year we lost but the game was much closer 10-7.  Despite scoring 4 goals (5 if you count the one I scored on our own goal) and I did not almost cut my finger off (like last year), I still hate soccer!  Note the wonderful gravel playing field, the random cars and tractor parked on the field, and the nice crowd.  Thanks to everyone for a great season and see you next year. 

Esen Tepe GIS Work Completed

After 12 days of georeferencing, rectifying, and digitizing I, with the help of Ben Woodward, finished a contour map of Esen Tepe (ancient Alexandria in modern Iskenderun).  As I explained in a previous post the site and its immediate environs has suffered from modern development, which in turn has made it very difficult to conduct a traditional Total Station survey.  Rather than dragging the Total Station out to the site and taking points where it would be feasible, we decided to use a series of Iskenderun municipal maps and ArcGIS to create a contour map.  The first step was to georeference the municipal maps to a Quickbird satellite image (first picture below).  By georeferencing the municipal maps we essentially gave the image a coordinate system.  After georeferencing the maps we digitized all the modern roads, rivers, highway, and contour lines from the municipal maps (second picture below).  Once this information was digitized within a coordinate system we were left with a contour map of the site and data that we could use to create a TIN image (third picture below).  Although the process took the better part of 12 days, we now have an accurate contour map, which we could not have secured through traditional methods (ie with the Total Station).

 

 

Spiders, Snakes, Birds, Scorpions, Mangy Cats, Wild Dogs, and Turtles

This year on the Mopsos Survey I am struck by the amount of "wildlife" we have encountered thus far.  The 2009 field season did start a month earlier, which have something to do with it.  I just do no remember many dancing snakes, massive spiders, turtles, or birds flying in the classroom last year.  Below I have posted pictures of one of the many turtles found in the field and one of the two softball sized spiders I smashed (one in my room and one from Carrie Hritz's room). 

 

Nemrut Dag

Yesterday we spent the day at Nemrut Dag.  Nemrut Dag is one of my favorite archaeological sites.  Built by Antiochus I Commagene during the first century B.C., the site sits atop Mount Nemrut.  The monument served as a place of worship for Antiochus and a series of both western and eastern deities.  The sites consists of a large tumulus, eastern and western terraces, and a large fire altar.  Simply amazing!  P.S. Sorry about the beard, going on 12 days without my bag!

Off to Nemrut Dag

Saturday and Sunday we will have a break from fieldwork and go on our annual big field trip.  This year we will be going to Nemrut Dag and the Gaziantep museum.  Tomorrow I will write up a summary and post some pictures.

Ancient Alexandria (Iskenderun) and GIS

One of the primary goals of the 2009 Mopsos field season is to create topographic maps for a series of archaeological sites discovered during previous field seasons.  Most of the sites are mapped by taking several hundred points with a Total Station and uploading the data into ArcGIS to create the map.  The ancient city of Alexandria in modern Iskenderun must be mapped but modern development and urban sprawl have made Total Station mapping impossible.  One of my tasks this year is to rectify a series of municipal maps to a Quickbird satellite image and digitize all the modern roads and contour lines of the ancient city.  I have rectified all the municipal maps, digitized the roads, and, along with a student volunteer, have began the digitization of the contour lines.  The whole process will take some time but in the end we will have a nice accurate map of ancient Alexandria.

Chased Out of the Field by Snakes!!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Antakya to begin the long and arduous process of obtaining a residency permit.  It requires going to the police station for a tax rate, going to the tax office to pay the taxes, and then going back to the police station (with a tax receipt) to fill out paper work and finally obtain the permit.  In previous years, the last step has taken upwards of five hours.  In the end I received my residency permit and since I am going on day 6 without my luggage, I bought some ridiculously cheap Turkish clothing.

Today I spent the day in the field.  One of the main objectives of the Mopsos Survey this year is to create topographic maps of a hand full of major sites discovered during previous field seasons.  In the field a few people work the Total Station while another group conducts systematic collections at randomly assigned points on the site.  While working with the Total Station, Dr. Hritz, Ben, Abby, Nicole, and I had a bit of a surprise.  When taking the last 25 points of the day, two black snakes slithered out of a hole in the ground and started fighting.  The would coil up together and then lift themselves up right.  Strangely they were not afraid of us, even though we were less than a meter away!  As soon as they began to inch closer we packed everything up and left the field.  Hopefully tomorrow there will be more points and fewer snakes…

Still No Luggage

Unfortunately when I flew from Cyprus to Athens, Istanbul, and then Hatay my bag was lost along the way.  At the Hatay airport I was assured by the baggage claim person that my luggage would arrive in Hatay at 5:00 pm the next day.  After a follow-up phone call, I was told that it did not make that flight but would be on the 12:00 am flight.  Now I just heard that they have no idea when or if it will arrive.  Although it is a little annoying being without clothes, bathroom essentials, and various electrical (GPS and camera) cords, I really wish I could go out in the field.  A pair of shorts, a dirty t-shirt, and sandals are not the ideal attire for survey in Turkey.  So for the last few days I have been rectifying maps and writing up the GIS final.  I sure hope that bag comes soon.

Time Sure Does Fly

My last three days in Cyprus were full of excavation, bumper cars, and the odd game of 500.  As for excavation, I was a little disappointed that I could not close out my trench.  It was not a matter of man-power, as Justin, Rachel, and Jon were excellent diggers, just time.  I am not worried, however, it is in excellent hands.  We hit bedrock on the north side of the north wall so, with the exception of the extreme southern end of the trench, the stratigraphy should be pretty straight forward (floor, fill, and then bedrock). 

I am in Turkey now with the Mopsos Survey Project on an incredibly slow Turkcell dial-up modem.  I would like to thank all the PKAP staff and students for one of my most enjoyable years.  Now let’s see if I can load at least one photo…

More Excavation and Missing the Family

Today we spent half the day excavating and half the day playing football on the beach (luckily no broken ribs this time).  At week's end the trench is really coming together.  We have defined at least three walls and it appears that the area between the northern and southern walls is the interior of a building.  Nothing monumental, we have found lots of mud-brick, potsherds, and a few very diagnostic pieces.  It struck me today that I have only two full field days left!  Tomorrow I have to write up a trench report and fill in the new trench supervisor on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I hope I will have the opportunity to dig a little further so that I can make good sound conclusions.

Today I felt a little home sick.  I left my wife, daughter, and son in Denver with my parents to ride out the summer.  I fly back to State College from Turkey on June 30th and my PhD comps start the next day.  I have my oral defense on July 12th and then finally I can fly to Denver and reunite with my family.  Of the many challenges associated with archaeological fieldwork, the worst by far for me is being away from my family.  So rather than post random excavation pictures I thought I would show all the readers pictures of my daughter Alexis (almost 3 years old) and my son Caleb (5 months).