{"id":3156,"date":"2020-04-20T10:47:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T14:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/grs\/?page_id=3156"},"modified":"2021-01-07T09:44:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T14:44:26","slug":"spring-2020-grs-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/grs\/spring-2020-grs-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring 2020 Friends of Greek and Roman Studies Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marianne Goodfellow<\/strong>
\nEditor, FGRS Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Athens is half way between Ottawa and Bangkok<\/h3>\n
\"Marianne\"

Marianne Goodfellow<\/p><\/div>\n

Dear Friends,<\/p>\n

In October 2019 by a wonderful orchestration of people and planes, I found myself in Athens with my husband and all my children for a short week together.\u00a0 (We had discovered while figuring out how we might see one another that Athens is just about half-way between Ottawa \/ Toronto and Bangkok where one of my sons lives.)\u00a0 In those few days we managed so see and do many things.\u00a0 One of the first was a day-long walking food tour in the Plaka<\/a> which was so interesting and so much fun.\u00a0 We made a day trip to Delphi which left my daughter in tears, and another day trip to Aegina and the lovely temple of Aphaia.\u00a0 But otherwise we were drawn towards the Acropolis, up the street to the Tower of the Winds, which is such a wonderful place, and then around the corner to Hadrian\u2019s Library which is home to at least 12 tortoises (by my daughter\u2019s count).<\/p>\n

\"\"

One of Hadrian’s tortoises<\/p><\/div>\n

It is true that the Acropolis dominates Athens; you cannot escape it even if you wanted to.\u00a0 On our second night we found a restaurant in the Plaka beneath the Erechtheion.\u00a0 It was a lovely setting but Mary Chubb writes far more lyrically than I ever could about such an evening in Athens:<\/p>\n

Quite near where we were sitting\u2026the great rock, golden-crested with its splendid fragments, towered up into the last of the evening light.\u00a0 Just as when one looks wherever one happens to find oneself in Athens, for a glimpse of the Parthenon, and never fails to find it, whether sailing against the slow clouds or becalmed in a still blue sky, so the modern ways of Athens never seem to obscure or smother beyond recapture the feeling of continuity with her ancient glory.
\n(City in the Sand<\/em>, p. 4, reviewed later in this newsletter)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I have just finished reading a book about the \u201cRock\u201d, as the Acropolis is known to Athenians today.\u00a0 It is not your usual tourist book or academic or archaeological treatise but something quite unique, quite special.\u00a0 On the Rock. The Acropolis Interviews<\/em><\/a> (2019) is the result of Allyson Vieira\u2019s discovery, as it were, of the Acropolis and the long-standing work of the stone masons, architects, and engineers but especially the stone masons.\u00a0 They are the Greek marble workers who we may even consider the descendants of those who built the original Parthenon.\u00a0 Allyson, a sculptor herself, interviewed about fifteen marble masons and has found a way for us to read the very personal testimonies of the workers, their training, the details of the painstaking restoration work itself over more than thirty years.\u00a0 These are the people whom you may have seen yourself up on the scaffolding or among the column drums when you last walked on the Rock.\u00a0 I have never read anything quite like this.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Family photo in front of the Parthenon<\/p><\/div>\n

It was a lovely week in Athens and we all brought home various souvenirs as has always been the custom of travelers since Antiquity.\u00a0 But now I would like to ask two of my students to tell you of their travels in ancient lands, first Charlotte in Greece for two months, and then by virtue of a wonderful book, Melanie\u2019s review of City in the Sand<\/em> which I just quoted.
\n
<\/p>\n

\n

A Summer in Greece by Charlotte Rahme<\/h3>\n

An Archaeology Student\u2019s First Dig at Argilos, Greece<\/h4>\n
\"Charlotte

Charlotte Rahme<\/p><\/div>\n

This past summer I had the privilege of living out one of my dreams of visiting Greece. For as long as I can remember, traveling throughout Greece was my ideal adventure. Growing up my longing to see this country and to learn more about it guided me to become the Greek and Roman studies student that I am today. After instinctively taking an archaeology course, I fell in love with archaeology and was even more determined to leave Canada and explore this country and field that I had become enamored with.<\/p>\n

In May and June of 2019 all of my dreaming and planning had finally brought me to Greece. I enrolled in a travel history course with Carleton University and in the month of May traveled throughout the mainland. Finally I got to see the places and sites I had learned about: Athens, Thebes, Delphi, Corinth, Sparta, Epidaurus, Pylos, and more! I stood in front of the monuments, of the artifacts, the history itself \u2013 and I cried from joy on more than one occasion. Then in June, I made my way to Asprovalta, a small Greek city near Thessaloniki. There I spent four weeks working on an archaeological dig site, a truly rewarding and life changing experience that only traveling abroad could have given me.<\/p>\n

\"Dig

Dig site<\/p><\/div>\n

Working on the dig site was a spectacular experience. It was exhausting, hard work, but also thrilling and incredibly fun. With the balance of work, traveling, and social outings, being at Argilos was one of the best aspects of my university experience.<\/p>\n

Argilos<\/h4>\n

Argilos, an ancient Greek colony and trading hub, was occupied from the archaic to the Hellenistic period. This colony on the Thracian coast had varying levels of occupation until it was abandoned when Philip of Macedon took control of the area. The site has been excavated for many years, some of the major finds being long cobble stone roads and a series of early shops.<\/p>\n

This year the students participating in the dig such as myself further excavated a series of shops near this cobble stone road. The students were split up into teams, where in groups of four we excavated one shop. Three girls and myself were assigned Lot Four, a shop which had a large press. We worked there for four weeks, both on site and in the museum; digging, documenting, and cleaning and cataloguing the materials we found.<\/p>\n

Responsibilities on the Site<\/h4>\n

\"\"At the dig site and in the museum, students worked under the supervision of Teacher Assistants who helped guide us and show us how to accomplish tasks. Although these supervisors were present, students were responsible for learning and doing all aspects of the work.<\/p>\n

For the first couple of days, we had to open the site, which meant clearing vegetation, sweeping up loose dirt, and taking measurements, elevations, and triangulations of the shop we would be excavating. This work is hard labour and can be tedious, but it\u2019s crucial it is done properly to ensure we have proper data recorded and a clear lot before we begin digging.<\/p>\n

When we did begin digging, it was like a dream! With Trowels in hand we would dig back layer after layer of soil, ensuring to keep detailed records of soil colour and any finds we made. Finding an artifact is definitely the most thrilling and rewarding part of this experience. Whether revealing a piece of pottery, bone, or a bronze coin if you\u2019re lucky, discovering an artifact is exciting and gratifying for the entire team. Uncovering and handling an ancient artifact was beyond my expectations!<\/p>\n

When we needed to dig deeper, we would use pick axes, and sometimes shovels, all while ensuring we were keeping highly detailed on-site records. Digging is destructive. So these on-site records ensured that despite the destruction, we kept the provenience of artifacts, measurements, and other qualitative details that could be useful in the future.<\/p>\n

\"SunsetNot all the tasks we did were what one can call \u201cglamorous,\u201d but they were still very important contributions to the dig site. These tasks included setting up tools, sweeping, and clearing out buckets and wheel barrels of dirt. Doing these tasks and digging in our trench was highly physical and could easily feel taxing on the body. On the beach the high temperatures in Greece were welcomed, but on the dig site in over 30 degrees Celsius, the heat could get suffocating. However, the physicality of the work is part of archaeology! As long as one keeps hydrated and dresses appropriately, the heat is easily handled. Of course archaeology is hard work, but this makes it even more rewarding!<\/p>\n

Life in Asprovalta<\/h4>\n

\"StudentsEven though archaeology is hard work, we students still had lots of fun! During the four weeks, we lived in Asprovalta which was a smaller Greek city near Thesaloniki. This was a beautiful location with various restaurants, bars, and shops. All of the students lived in one of three apartment buildings, each being around a five minute walk to the beach and restaurants.<\/p>\n

After working at the site, we would spend siesta time either napping in our rooms, quietly enjoying the courtyards, or going to the beach. Beyond this, there were scheduled trips to sites, museums, and even to Thesaloniki and the island Thasos. On top of all of this, the entire time you are working, eating, and celebrating with some of your closest friends!<\/p>\n

\n

Joy\u2019s Bookcase<\/h3>\n

Book Review of Mary Chubb\u2019s City in the Sand\u00a0<\/em>by Melanie Price<\/h4>\n
\"Mary

Mary Chubb<\/p><\/div>\n

I took the introduction to archaeology courses in 2018-19 taught by Marianne Goodfellow. Through this class, I was introduced to many incredible books and authors, and in my reading I found an extreme admiration for Mary Chubb<\/a>. She was born in 1903 and passed away in 2003, having lived a long and very interesting life. I read her first book Nefertiti Lived Here<\/em><\/a> and instantly was intrigued by her writing style and story that brought her into the archaeological world. \u00a0She was a member of John Pendlebury\u2019s team in 1930 at Tell el Amarna in Egypt, her first experience of work on an excavation.\u00a0 (The story of Pendlebury on the island of Crete in the Second World War is told by Dilys Powell in The Villa Ariadne<\/em>.\u00a0 Mary talks of his death in the Epilogue to Nefertiti Lived Here<\/em>.) After reading her first book, I found her other less known but equally amazing book City in the Sand<\/em>. This book gave me an appreciation for the archaeological world and the careers of people within it.<\/p>\n

In City in the Sand, <\/em>Mary wrote a joyous, moving, beautiful account of her time in Mesopotamia. A \u201csecretary\u201d and all-around general assistant, she describes the excavations of Ur and Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar) in Iraq in the 1930\u2019s. Working alongside famous archaeologists such as Henri \u201cHans\u201d Frankfort and Thorkild Jacobsen\u00a0among others, Mary writes a very personal account of uncovering such an historical site. Her excitement for the finds and her curiosity pours off the pages as you read:<\/p>\n

There was something particularly appealing to me in that dusty little hoard in the pot. It was the human touch again, a voice speaking down the ages, which I only heard when I saw and felt the small personal belongings of the ancient ones. This lapis lazuli seal had been turned, hour after hour, in a warm brown hand, while the patient tool etched and scraped and dug into its surface. This borer had once bitten down into the heart of the seal, whirling round under the same clever fingers that had been at rest now for 4000 years. (City in the Sand, <\/em>page 101)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"CityHer gift for expressive description really gives way to how her deepening knowledge of ancient history develops throughout the book. You can feel the meaningful connections she makes with others on the excavation and the site itself throughout, and you are captivated right till the end. Mary discovered by chance the life of an archaeologist but an unfortunate bike accident soon left her unable to work in physically demanding places.\u00a0 (Upon returning to England after World War 2, she lost her leg in a collision with an army vehicle.)\u00a0 Mary then turned to writing about her experiences and the people and places she very much loved.<\/p>\n

Many interesting women in archaeology have written about their work and Mary\u2019s incredible stories are among those that we can read and learn from. \u00a0Clare Goff (An Archaeologist in the Making<\/em>), Gertrude Bell (Desert Queen<\/em>), and Hilda Petrie (Letters from the Desert<\/em>) are women of archaeology who present a background through literature and correspondence into such a challenging and fascinating field of work. There is no shortage of biographical and autobiographical literature that gives insight into the world of archaeology; we just need to pick the books up and read them! Mary herself encourages us to do so:<\/p>\n

My hope that this book succeeds in passing onto its readers something of what my tenuous link with archaeology has meant to me \u2013 its frequent ups, its occasional downs \u2013 and, above all, its undeniable fun. (City in the Sand<\/em>, page 213)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you are looking for a book that brings joy, adventure and a different perspective of an archaeological dig then Mary Chubb\u2019s City in the Sand<\/em> is for you. \u00a0You will feel the sand blowing against your face and the excitement of discoveries being made.<\/p>\n

Image Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n


\nHere are some other books that may be of interest: <\/strong><\/p>\n