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Here are some photos of the team who worked under Hugh Thomas’ supervision for the first three weeks of the 2014 excavations.
The 2013 site plan, showing trench locations of the 2013 excavations is at the bottom of this post. The trench supervised by Hugh is in the vicinity of what was described last year on this blog as Excavation Area 3, which was supervised by Hugh Thomas last year.
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Here are some photos of the team who worked on Antonio Bianco’s excavation area for the first three weeks of the 2014 excavations. I took the first two photos when I visited the site for the first time on Friday 10 October. However, Laura Patterson was working at the Andros Archaeological Museum washing finds on that day, so she isn’t in my photos. Callum Ferrell noticed this and so Antonio Bianco gave me some photographs he had from earlier in the season which include Laura – which I have added, below. Thanks, Callum and Antonio.
The 2013 site plan, showing trench locations of 2013 excavations is at the bottom of this post. The trench Antonio is supervising is in the vicinity of trench number 4 (described on this blog last year as Excavation Area 4).
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The Zagora Archaeology Project (ZAP) excavation season duration is six weeks. Volunteers generally sign up for either the first three weeks or the second three weeks or for the entire season. Work takes place on site six days a week, Mondays to Saturdays, except for the middle weekend, this year, 11 and 12 October, when there is no work on site on the Saturday, giving people a clear weekend to rest, relax and recuperate.
Most of the participants who signed up for only the first three weeks were packed up, ready for departure, on the morning of Friday 10 October. They would have returned from a day’s work at Zagora, had a quick shower at Batsi, and then headed to Gavrio for a ferry, mostly to Athens, and then home.
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At the end of every day of excavation at Zagora, whatever artefacts are found (mostly sherds remaining from pottery objects which have broken under roof and wall collapses) are taken to the Archaeological Museum in Chora. There, they are safely stored until they can be cleaned, assessed, sorted, catalogued and, in some cases, repaired.
It’s an important, time-consuming and painstaking job requiring several people’s work every day.
Archaeologist
Much of the work in the early days of the excavation season requires measurements relying on survey data from previous years to ascertain where to excavate.
The next phase is to remove the schist slabs placed over last year’s excavations to protect the surface, and then to remove the backfill which had been placed into the trench to protect it.
Here are some photographs of the work taking place in Excavation Area 1 which is being supervised this year, as last year, by Ivana Vetta.
Archaeologist
[Note from Irma Havlicek, web producer: Here is a post Hannah prepared last week, in the first week of the Zagora excavation season. Apologies for not having published it then – but the blogging has to take a lower priority than the planning, excavations and research during this last year of the currently-funded three-year Zagora Archaeological Project. Processing the posts can take time to write, review, check and publish – grabbing moments to do that work in between the essential archaeology work. This post of Hannah’s provides a lovely glimpse of the first day of excavations. I hope you’ll agree: better late than never.]
There is a definite type of excitement associated with the first day on site. It is both a keen eagerness and anticipation for the day ahead, whilst also that slightly deathly feeling of waking up in what seems to be the middle of the night, when the thought of trekking to a dusty exposed promontory to dig a hole seems an absurd idea!
Archaeologist
In one day at Zagora you can encounter every type of weather. Blasting cold winds up around the 50 km per hour mark, baking sun beating down or driving rain soaking everyone and everything to the core. Along with attempting to protect yourself from these slightly ‘hostile’ conditions, protecting the delicate archaeology definitely takes top priority!
As the clouds drew in on Friday, the thunder started to roll and the rain began to fall, we found ourselves in this predicament. Immediately the teams stopped work and all banded together with one aim – to cover the trenches and the tools as quickly as humanly possible.
Finds management assistant
Having enjoyed my first experience of Andros and the Zagora Archaeological Project in 2013, I was keen to return for the 2014 season. I had mentioned to the Directors of the project at the end of last year’s season that should they need any extra assistance for 2014 that I would love to be part of the team in any capacity.
And so here I am back on beautiful Andros, as a member of the study season team working in the Apothike (basement/storeroom) of the Archaeological Museum in Chora. For me this has been a great experience as I have been able to work with the Project Research team, Director, Stavros Paspalas; Researcher and Archivist, Beatrice Mcloughlin and Archaeologists Kristen Mann and Antonio Bianco, who are both Trench Supervisors for the 2014 season.
By Hannah Gwyther
Archaeologist
There are ferry tickets to book, dig clothes to dust off and endless supplies of Bandaids and Voltaren to purchase (in preparation for the Known Ailments – blisters of slightly scary proportions and joints and muscles aching beyond redemption), we pack and prepare for the season ahead.
On embarking the ferry, you sneak a peak at your fellow travellers, could this be a new dig friend? Looking around for those tell-tale signs – a dusty looking bag or possibly the unavoidable fashion faux pas of the dig boots. While they do no summer frock or board-shorts justice they are simply too heavy to pack and make for an interesting ‘look’. As the boat comes into the port and the ramp is lowered, people, bags and cars all tumble out into the gleaming sunshine of Andros. Then, with the ferry accomplished it’s onto the distinctive little blue island bus, and you are bound for Batsi.
I thought it may be useful to 2014 Zagora Archaeological Project (ZAP) team members who have not yet been to Zagora to get a picture of the site and how the day’s work generally commences. (This year’s excavation season starts next Monday, so many team members will be travelling to Andros this week.)
Breakfast is usually at 5.30am in the Kantouni pensione dining room, with departure for the site in the various Zagora vehicles at 6am. Start times can change according to sunrise time. The aim is to get to Stavropeda, where the vehicles are parked for the day, as the sun is rising, so that team members have enough light to safely walk down the rocky path to Zagora. Safety is ALWAYS the primary consideration. Stavropeda is about a 20-minute drive from the Kantouni at Batsi.