(Guest post by Anna Wilson)
After adjusting to the timezone and the excitement of being in Cyprus last week, the second week has begun. Initially, we thought that our working hours would be scattered due to the shooting schedule of the nearby military base. But last Tuesday they changed their schedule. The new schedule allows us to dig five days a week, seven hours per day, until the last week of July; during which we will do lab work and process our findings at Terra Ombra (the name for the local archaeological museum’s off-site storage facility). We were all happy about this schedule change. The first week proved more fruitful than any of us could have imagined. Within the first four days, we rediscovered two sling bullets, two coins (one of which is an Alexander the Great tetradrachm minted in Babylon soon after his death), a small pendant, and an intact in situ bowl. On Monday, we all gathered around as the trench supervisor of EU 20 extracted the in situ bowl from the ground.
The 4 am alarm was unwelcome at first, but now it spurs an excitement for what the day might have in store for us up on site (it’s still real difficult to get up though…). Living with others in my major, and those from other institutions, whom I do not typically interact with has given me the fun and unique opportunity to get to know them better. There is nothing quite like hitting the beach, going out to dinner, or exploring downtown Larnaca with those you just spent a full day of excavation.
