3.7.04
So it begins...
I'm here and we start digging tomorrow.
No problems with the flight at all, though I didnt sleep as much as I would have liked on the long leg from Chicago to London. Worked out well enough. Met Shorty and Alvin (and probably a couple dozen AAPP first year students) in London and carried on to Naples. Got bags, got a cab, and were at Camping Spartacus within the half hour. Beautiful. I got the same tent space that I have had for the last two years, but then moved over a spot which had more shade. This seems to be the year of the big tent. So many of the first years brought four person tents. They're HUGE and take up much to much ground space. They're squished in in the middle of the little tent insulae in not so comfortable quarters. But it works well enough.
The drinking has also commenced already. Last night was quite a night, and wont be repeated until the weekend. Maybe Tuesday.
Anyway, I'm digging in a completely different area from the one I was in last year. I have a two-room space that joins the House of the Surgeon and the Shrine, a space that should have a lot of interesting material and will answer a lot of questions about how the House of the Surgeon and the Southern part of the block interact, along with the possibility of finding remains of a pre-Surgeon house.
Here's the breakdown. Past archaeologists and researchers have said that the House of the Surgeon is one of the oldest houses in Pompeii which has kept its general form through its entire life span. It has been dated to the 8th century based on its ashlar masonry (big square blocks placed one on top of another). Dating by construction type is not a reliable method in Pompeii as none of the building methods actually correspond to dates. In the last two years, the AAPP has refuted the 8th century date, putting the house in its final phase at 2nd century BC, a considerable chunk of time difference. However, based on things found last year, there may have been a previous house before the one that is standing now that doesnt follow any of the current spacial divisions. I might find corroboration for that in my trench. And I have to say that I'm rather flattered that I was given the space. It's a really important space for understanding the interaction of the two halves of the block. And there is going to be a lot going on in it.
Tomorrow morning I meet my students and we start excavating in ernest. Here's hoping there isn't any asbestos in my trench like there was last year.
Oh, right, and the House of the Surgeon is called such because when it was first cleared of volcanic debris, surgical tools were found in one of the rooms. However, they were gynecological tools and the standing theory is that the owner was an abortionist. But they dont tell the public that.