By Emilee Lawrence
Taking a break from excavating? All you need is a comfortable stone to sit on! (Photo by J. Olszewski)
This week on site has been one of the more eventful weeks spent here at Mukhayyat. Up until the beginning of this week, we had spent the majority of our time excavating and moving hundreds of guffahs (buckets or pails) of dirt a day. But this week, in anticipation of finishing our square, we began mapping and drawing all of our baulks. My lack of artistic ability made me more than a little bit nervous about these new tasks.
We paired up for mapping, so Laila and I worked together – with one person measuring out points and the other drawing on the graph paper. It was a slow start, but I was surprisingly content with my first attempt.
The next day was a very exciting day for everyone in our square. After three and a half weeks, and at a depth of almost four metres, we hit bedrock! We worked on cleaning up the square for final photos and tying up any loose ends. It was a bittersweet moment, closing the square, as working in C55 was my, Luke, Laila, and Sabrina’s first real go at archaeology and excavating. And to be leaving the square after spending so much time working on it was a mix of emotions.
On Thursday we migrated with all of our bags and tools to our new square, C12. I had forgotten how difficult it was pickaxing through the topsoil with its layer of grass and weeds, even though we had just done the same thing three weeks prior. The energy levels were high; it was the last work day of the week, and the excitement of the potential finds in the square kept all of us in good spirits.
I am very excited for the upcoming work week. We spent so much time in C55 learning how to fill out the forms, trim the baulks and map the square. In opening a new square, we all have a general idea of what to expect and what is going to happen, and I personally feel like I can contribute more to the tasks of this square.