-Odyssey 14 (trans. Fagles)

 

Girding themselves for the battle of the Fall semester, the students and faculty of the Classics Department dined heroically on the evening of September 10, 2009 at the house of Professor Jeremy Hartnett (who was ably assisted by English/Rhetoric interloper Professor Jill Lamberton and their son, Henry, a veteran of Classical lands).

 

The evening’s menu, as prepared by the Classics faculty: grilled pork loin (in Cuban lime or vaguely Mediterranean mustard-rosemary marinades), creamy roasted potatoes and spinach, Greek salad, pasta salad, macedonia, and homemade fruit cobbler à la mode.

Among students late-night debates rage about different departments at Wabash: Which is the hardest? Which requires the most reading? Which has the snappiest dressers? From the stagehands and actors of the Theater Department to the budding policy wonks of Poly Sci, each offers their own answers to these questions. But for Latin, Greek, and Classical Civilization majors and minors at Wabash, another question joins the canonical list: Which department puts out tasty grub and best feeds its students? At this year’s Classics picnic, the question was answered yet again.

Excavating in Crete this summer was an amazing experience. When I first got to Mochlos I was apprehensive not to mention jet-lagged having traveled for 3 days by plane, bus, and ferry. However, the apprehensiveness was soon replaced with awe. Mochlos is a beautiful place. Surrounded by mountains and the Aegean Sea, the only way in or out of the village is one very long windy road. The archaeological site itself lies on an island directly offshore from the village. The village is small, only a few hundred inhabitants. Yet, from my first experience to my last I found them to be very friendly and hospitable.

 

            The excavation was directed by Dr. Jeff Soles, Professor of Archaeology at UNCG and ran through the INSTAP East Crete Archaeological Center under the direction of Dr. Tom Brogan, the assistant director of the excavation. The team was composed of 8 undergrads, 1 grad student and 3 PhD trench masters, as well as 10-15 Greek workman. A typical workday began with leaving the dock at 6:30, breaking for lunch at 11, and leaving the island at 2:15 or so. The first 2 weeks of the season were spent excavating a trench that yielded very little. All that was found was Hellenistic pottery, very little architecture and bedrock. Later on in the summer I had the opportunity and pleasure of excavating a Minoan street. A section of the street had been excavated during the previous season, it was my job to continue to follow it west and see where it led and ended. After 3 weeks and many loci, I excavated roughly 12-15 meters of the street. The finds included the usual multitude of sherds, obsidian, and plaster but also included a whole LM1B lamp in situ and several decorated whole pots found outside threshold stones. Three threshold stones were found exiting onto the street. One of which led into a LM1B house which we excavated.

 

The experience of excavating was amazing. Though certain parts were not as fun as others, namely washing pottery and emptying the wheelbarrow, the experience was invaluable. It means so much to hold a living breathing piece of history in your hands and not just read about it in a book! Not only did digging provide a valuable archaeological experience but it also further developed in me an appreciation of Minoan society and history. Furthermore, living among the Greek people was amazing. Interacting with them every day was an ongoing cultural exchange. They learned from me as I did from them. I became associated with their habits, customs, and language and they with mine.

 

Because of the nature of the dig, we were able to travel on weekends. We visited cities and sites in East Crete such as Agios Nicholaos, Ierapetra, Sitia, Kato Zakros, and Monastraki. We also had a day trip to Chryssi, an island 10 miles of the south coast of Crete. (As a side note, Chryssi is not only the site of a LM1A archaeological site and the most southerly point in Europe but also one of the best beaches on Crete.)

 

 

Furthermore, after the season was over, I and a group of students traveled to Egypt for a week. One of the cataloguers of the excavation lives and works in Egypt for the Supreme Council of Antiquities. She not only put us up in her apartment but also arranged a guide for us. We visited sites in Cairo such as Giza, Sakkara and the National Archaeological Museum. (See attached photos). We also had a day trip to Alexandria where we visited the Roman Forum, the harbor, Pompey’s Column, the Alexandria Archaeological Museum and the “New” Library of Alexandria. In short this summer was amazing. I gained experience as an archaeologist while living and learning from the Greek people. I wouldn’t have spent the summer any other way.