Visiting My Happy Place

So this weekend I got to take a road trip.

Not my first, because I am a PD officer, so we get out more than your average bear...er...Foreign Service Officer.

But this one was for fun.

The CLO (Community Liaison Officer) organized a trip to the Gracanica Monastery and Ulpiana.

We started off at the monastery, a Serbian orthodox monastery established in 1321 on the ruins of a 6th century church.

Gracinica Monastery

The monastery is really beautiful and has some absolutely amazing frescoes inside. You aren't allowed to take pictures inside in order to protest the frescoes, but I did take some shots from outside.

After the monastery, we grabbed some lunch...

Ribs and creme with pitalka...yum!

And then headed to Ulpiana, a Roman city located about 30 minutes outside of Pristina that was established in 169 AD and reached its peak of development in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

We were given a tour by the head archaeologist, who also is an alum of one of our programs. They are doing amazing work there despite the challenges they face (like that the country can't afford to buy the land and so they lease it for 3 years at a time and have no security in being able to keep it. Plus the land is divided up into tons of parcels, most owned by Serbian farmers who distrust the Kosovo government, so they have been able to excavate only a tiny fraction of the site. Even so, they have uncovered a massive basilica, a smaller basilica with a baptisterium, a Roman bath, and several cemeteries.

Basilica 1

Basilica 2 with Baptisterium

Roman bath

Necropolis

Definitely need to go back. Archaeology is clearly my happy place!

Kõige parem päev Eestis!

Today was my best day in Estonia so far.

I am not sure if I wrote sometime back that when I was in Estonian training, I read an article about an archaeological excavation going on near my apartment here. I wasn't sure exactly how near, but I gathered it was pretty close.

Turns out, close is practically across the street.

Basically, the Art School tore down an old building and Estonian cultural heritage law requires that they do excavations before they rebuild. In their excavations, the archaeologists found a medieval suburb of Tallinn.

When I got here, I happily realized I could see the excavations from my window...so I have been watching...waiting....for any signs of work. And this morning, I noticed that one area had a new tarp. So I watched for a minute, and saw a guy walking around, and he was wearing...knee pads! Meaning he was expecting to be kneeling in the dirt....digging!

So I walked over this morning when I took my dog out and the head archaeologist showed me around a bit. I told her I was an archaeologist before I joined the State Department, and she invited me to come dig with them. How could I resist? The weather is perfect!

This afternoon, I walked over without Noostie and chatted with some of the students and volunteers. It was excellent (and exhausting) Estonian practice. The Masters student on the site showed me some of the stuff they have found...ceramics as far back as the 13th century and from all over. Wood. Leather. Bone. Wonderful stuff that never preserves on our sites back home!


Then I went down into the units and looked at what the volunteers were finding. I chatted a lot with one young guy who was digging next to an older guy. The older guy was just plowing through what looked like a burn feature, putting the dirt into a bucket and tossing it on the backdirt pile.

Earlier, a woman had walked up to the Master's student and showed her a sherd. Where did you find it, she asked the woman in Estonian. I didn't understand the word she used but I understood the expression. I said, she found that in the backdirt, didn't she?

Yep.

So I was watching the old guy toss dirt into his bucket, and I saw a sharply angled object. I pulled it out. Deer mandible. Wait, we want to save that said the young guy, and put it in an artifact bag. I started feeling though the dirt and found lots more bone, and put it in the bag. The old guy looked at me and laughed, and the young guy asked if I wanted some gloves. But I don't usually use gloves because I can feel more fragile artifacts with my hands without them. So I said I was fine. He looked at me and shook his head and asked, "What did you say you do again?" I said I am a diplomat. and he shook his head and laughed and said, you are a strange diplomat.

Truer words have seldom been spoken!

The old man said I needed to go wash my hands, and I said I was fine. And he said, no, you are putting your hands in shit. I said I was okay, and he decided that meant I didn't understand him. so he clarified. Shit means to poop. Yes, I know. But even if there is poop in this feature, it is really dang old poop and I am not worried. But the young guy then decided I really needed to wash my hands. So I went with him and washed my hands.

He has no idea how good it felt to have them dirty.

They will be there through November, and when the rest of my clothes arrive, I am totally going back out there and getting dirty.

Because even the backdirt pile is happy when archaeology is happening!