I have the last two Harvard Summer School student posts today. I'm a bit tardy with the first but it is a good read. Thanks to all the students and staff who contributed to the blog this year.
So, first up Stela:
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Hello! My name is Stela Martins, I am from Brazil, where I live and study architecture and urbanism.
As I started meeting the other volunteers and telling them about my nationality, they
always asked, “Aren't you sad you're missing the World Cup?” The answer was always no. As the brazilian team entered the soccer field, here I was on the other side of the world entering an archaeological field for the first time as part of the Harvard Summer School Program in Ashkelon trying to determine if archaeology is what I wanted to do for life. And as the players put on their uniforms and got ready, I grabbed my hat and trowel, and started my own personal match, trying to grow and beat the difficulties of using turreahs, guffas and patiches for the first time. Soon my colleagues and I became a team: together we helped each other into achieving the same goal. Our supervisors worked as the golees, letting no knowledge pass, and being there for us anytime we needed them.
As Brazil scored goals in Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, I scored some goals on Grid 20, Square 68 and in the compound. After only a couple of weeks I'm able to identify layers, foundations, I know how to use every tool, I can use the flote-tech machine and know how to separate floatation samples into heavy and light fraction, and I have even helped with pottery diagnostics!
As the excitement of the Brazilian people grew after we beat Colombia and reached the semifinals, my excitement in Ashkelon grew as we reached the 4th week. It's amazing to think that in such little time besides the field work, I have also learned how to use OCHRE, the total station, and have acquired so much knowledge from our lectures! And as Brazilians in Brazil can't wait for the final match, this Brazilian here in Ashkelon can't wait for the final week, when I'll be able to look back at all that we accomplished, at all of our beautiful findings - that so far go from beautiful Roman columns to Hellenistic walls - and at how much this experience has been enriching and life changing for me, as it was crucial to help me with my decision of pursuing a career as an archaeologist.
So, after all, I believe that i have taken part of a personal World Cup that led me to one of the best experiences of my life.
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To finish things off, a picture from the Megiddo Ashkelon group enjoying some much deserved gelato and the final student blog post which comes from Caroline.
Megiddo Ashkelon Group
I'm Caroline Marshall and I am a rising sophomore at Harvard and a member of the Harvard Summer School in Ashkelon. Last week the volunteers from the dig in Ashkelon were given the option of staying to finish out the season with a week of digging at the site of Megiddo. Eleven volunteers and 3 Ashkelon staff members participated in the Megiddo dig. The skills that I learned while digging in Ashkelon have proved transferable; we've fallen right into the routine here at Megiddo and are helping with their excavation. The archaeological experience at Megiddo has somewhat differed from that of Ashkelon for me. In Ashkelon, I was digging in Grid 51, a previously excavated residential and commercial area. In the past few days at Megiddo I've watched a site transform from rubble and indistinguishable topsoil to a fully functional archaeological square in the beginning of the excavation process. Being able to participate in two different archaeological digs has been a valuable experience. It has opened my eyes to the adaptability of archaeological skills and techniques while simultaneously showing the differences in geography, architecture, and soil composition that can be found when digging even within the same country.