Today was my last day on site -- I leave for Iraklion in the morning for a ferry to Athens. from there I will head north to Litochoro, a town at the foot of Mt. Olympus. I plan to summit the home of the gods in two days, with a overnight at one of the refuges!
The people I have met on this adventure and the experiences I have had are amazing and complicated and beautiful. I am so incredibly grateful to Dr. Strasser for having me and to the other archaeologists and specialists I have worked with for their insight into life and the future as well as the past.
To all of you whom I've gotten to know, locals, fellow students and directors -- γειά σας
Friday, July 15, 2011
Plakias 7/13
The wind returned this week, but as it's our last full week of digging we must learn to deal with it. It's worse than before, as is unpredictable in direction, timing and force. What we think is happening is a temperature difference between the water and the land. The air mass moves inland at a high altitude, then, hitting the mountains, it cools and sweeps back down slope and out to sea.
Of course this is complicated, since we have so many caverns and outcroppings where we work, there is really to telling where it will go. The only warning we have is a terrible moaning in the hills, then a shriek as the air hits the crags turning and sweeping salt spray and dirt across the site. The best we can really do is face away, close our eyes, duck over anything important and cover our ears. The soil is extremely fine, more like powder, and is like the fine sand that buries cities in desert sandstorms.
It frequently knocks even the stoutest digger off their feet and has tossed zambili, records and my hat over the cliffs, the last never to be recovered. At night it wakes us with almost-human screams, rattling doors and causing the water in our toilet bowls to slosh.
Working in the wind makes us all hungry, so last night the other students and I ate at a fish taverna on the beach called The Muses. We hadn't been before, and their menu was the length of a small novel. However we sussed out what we wanted and ended up splitting 8 large dishes 5 ways. On Thursday we'll bring the whole crew there again!
Of course this is complicated, since we have so many caverns and outcroppings where we work, there is really to telling where it will go. The only warning we have is a terrible moaning in the hills, then a shriek as the air hits the crags turning and sweeping salt spray and dirt across the site. The best we can really do is face away, close our eyes, duck over anything important and cover our ears. The soil is extremely fine, more like powder, and is like the fine sand that buries cities in desert sandstorms.
It frequently knocks even the stoutest digger off their feet and has tossed zambili, records and my hat over the cliffs, the last never to be recovered. At night it wakes us with almost-human screams, rattling doors and causing the water in our toilet bowls to slosh.
Working in the wind makes us all hungry, so last night the other students and I ate at a fish taverna on the beach called The Muses. We hadn't been before, and their menu was the length of a small novel. However we sussed out what we wanted and ended up splitting 8 large dishes 5 ways. On Thursday we'll bring the whole crew there again!
Plakias 7/10
An archaeologist named Graham came to the site Monday to help with the profile drawings. He's a great character and always has a story, each one more interesting than the last. As the trenches are in a checker board pattern each has four profiles, north, south, east, and west. However to get a good idea of the stratigraphy, we're connecting all the trenches in the "C" column running north-south and those in the 05 row running east-west. Graham is working to draw all the profiles that will disappear when the trenches are connected.
First he sets a datum line at a certain elevation -- say 22.5 m -- then draws the strata and any inclusions (rocks or coral jutting from the side) by measuring their distance above or below the datum line. These drawings are different than photos since they are subjective and may show things that are not as apparent in the photographs. This helps us determine any patterns in the stratigraphy. If, for example, stratum 3 is rockier (if that's possible) in the southern region or thicker in the western, we can infer how plant roots may have moved the rocks, and therefore artefacts. The profile drawings can also indicate any minute geologic history, such as rock falls, of the area pre- and post-occupation.
First he sets a datum line at a certain elevation -- say 22.5 m -- then draws the strata and any inclusions (rocks or coral jutting from the side) by measuring their distance above or below the datum line. These drawings are different than photos since they are subjective and may show things that are not as apparent in the photographs. This helps us determine any patterns in the stratigraphy. If, for example, stratum 3 is rockier (if that's possible) in the southern region or thicker in the western, we can infer how plant roots may have moved the rocks, and therefore artefacts. The profile drawings can also indicate any minute geologic history, such as rock falls, of the area pre- and post-occupation.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Plakias 7/8
We have over 20 trenches dug, 5 of which are open at any given time. We try to dig one a day each, but the rocky, clay-filled lower strata make the going tough. The floatation hose broke the other day, so for two hours I sat and held it in place to get some work done -- no trip to the beach that day! Our new trenches are producing a ton of soil samples -- we have had to do 9 a day and are still a bit behind.
Among our new trenches is a new cave trench! The soil there is vastly different due to erosion of the rocks above, sediment and calcite dripping from rain water and the number of uses it has served for goatherds. We have four grids now -- A, B, C and T, the cave grid. We're hitting a lot of coral and bed rocks, but now the name of the game is to move as much dirt as possible and find where the trenches are sterile, to determine the size and shape of the living area.
Among our new trenches is a new cave trench! The soil there is vastly different due to erosion of the rocks above, sediment and calcite dripping from rain water and the number of uses it has served for goatherds. We have four grids now -- A, B, C and T, the cave grid. We're hitting a lot of coral and bed rocks, but now the name of the game is to move as much dirt as possible and find where the trenches are sterile, to determine the size and shape of the living area.
Plakias 7/6/11
The days have fallen into a routine -- we get up at 7:00 and head out to the site, working until our 15 minute tea-break at 11, and then again until 1:00. We take siesta until 4:00 and then work from then until 6:00 either floating, sorting or washing finds.
Today the Director of the American School in Athens stopped by to inspect our work, so we had to make sure the site was tidy -- or as tidy as a dig can be and still look like digging is actually happening. The director was an interesting and kind man, and was very enthusiastic about our work. We took him to dinner at a small taverna way up in the hills at Selia, a village just inland of Plakias.
We were able to try out traditional dishes such as snails, friend cheese, sausage, and orange-chicken. Needless to say it was amazing, and the food is certainly one of the first things I will miss back home!
Today the Director of the American School in Athens stopped by to inspect our work, so we had to make sure the site was tidy -- or as tidy as a dig can be and still look like digging is actually happening. The director was an interesting and kind man, and was very enthusiastic about our work. We took him to dinner at a small taverna way up in the hills at Selia, a village just inland of Plakias.
We were able to try out traditional dishes such as snails, friend cheese, sausage, and orange-chicken. Needless to say it was amazing, and the food is certainly one of the first things I will miss back home!
Plakias 7/2 - 7/3
This weekend we drove up to Plakiamos for two talks at the INSTAP center on two sites. The talks were quite interesting and seeing the beautiful pottery and gravesites they were finding in their Minoan and Mycenae sites made our humble work look a bit drab in comparison. There were many other workers and students visiting with their respective Field Directors so it was fun to get to talk with people our age with the same interests.
We spent the night in a tiny coastal village called Mohlos (Mok-los). There is a small site on an island just out of the harbor of Mohlos, and on Saturday we all swam the 200m distance to hike around it. With us were two grad students who had worked on the site in previous summers, so we got a great tour. We took a break at the very northern peak of the island, where the land falls away to the open ocean. There lies a ruin of a Hellenistic guard tower, and looking out over the deep blue of the water, it is easy to imagine ancient ships like Odysseus' and Achilles' approaching over the waves of the Aegean.
We spent the night in a tiny coastal village called Mohlos (Mok-los). There is a small site on an island just out of the harbor of Mohlos, and on Saturday we all swam the 200m distance to hike around it. With us were two grad students who had worked on the site in previous summers, so we got a great tour. We took a break at the very northern peak of the island, where the land falls away to the open ocean. There lies a ruin of a Hellenistic guard tower, and looking out over the deep blue of the water, it is easy to imagine ancient ships like Odysseus' and Achilles' approaching over the waves of the Aegean.
Plakias 6/29
Today we opened 3 new trenches, and strung up outlines for several more! Our progress has really picked up since we fell into a good pattern. The coral reef still emerges, but with all the new trenches, once we get below the stratum of interest we can move on to a new one. We're breaking ground in a checkerboard pattern, and will fill in the gaps in our last week of digging.
The order of the day begins with cleaning any debris off your surface that might have blown in during the nigh. Then, if you didn't the afternoon before, take the elevations for your spit. Miriam works our total station, which gives you coordinates and elevations to the millimeter. Each time you hit a new stratum or spit, she takes the new elevations in each corner and the center of the trench.
Once the elevations are done, a photograph is taken of the trench with a chalkboard label and scales to show the size. A 25% soil sample is taken from the SW corner (unless there are two many rocks) to be taken to the floatation. As soon as that corner is dug down to the next spit we bring the rest of the trench down to that level, putting the soil in our rubber zambilia to sieve through. At the sieve we can find any small artefacts we might have missed while digging. Once the spit is done we sweep off any loose dirt for our new pictures and elevations.
It's simple enough, but the lower strata are very compacted and full of clay, so with the dense digging and working around rocks and coral it's a long process. On average we each get through 2 spits a day, three if we're lucky.
The order of the day begins with cleaning any debris off your surface that might have blown in during the nigh. Then, if you didn't the afternoon before, take the elevations for your spit. Miriam works our total station, which gives you coordinates and elevations to the millimeter. Each time you hit a new stratum or spit, she takes the new elevations in each corner and the center of the trench.
Once the elevations are done, a photograph is taken of the trench with a chalkboard label and scales to show the size. A 25% soil sample is taken from the SW corner (unless there are two many rocks) to be taken to the floatation. As soon as that corner is dug down to the next spit we bring the rest of the trench down to that level, putting the soil in our rubber zambilia to sieve through. At the sieve we can find any small artefacts we might have missed while digging. Once the spit is done we sweep off any loose dirt for our new pictures and elevations.
It's simple enough, but the lower strata are very compacted and full of clay, so with the dense digging and working around rocks and coral it's a long process. On average we each get through 2 spits a day, three if we're lucky.
Plakias 6/28
Today I worked on the fourth current trench -- they are in a row, every other square meter. The trenches are proving to be difficult with huge masses of an old, fossilized coral reef that we have to dig around. The layout of the site is somewhat like Battleship, or for the younger among us, like real-life Minecraft.
It is set up in a 10m x 10m grid, with the N/S labelling 1-10 and the E/W labelling A-J. The grid itself is labelled "A." Each trench has a label or two letters followed by two digits; AA01 for example. Within the trench there is an additional number corresponding to the locus -- in this case which layer of soil. Since some of our strata can be rather thick, once past the topsoil (locus 1) we dig in 5cm deep "spits." An entire label might be AE06 /5 -- Grid A, trench E06, spit 5. This system allows us to determine any patterns of our finds, such as all heavy objects down hill, which would suggest tumbling or very few small objects in the upper spits, which would indicate wind erosion.
It is set up in a 10m x 10m grid, with the N/S labelling 1-10 and the E/W labelling A-J. The grid itself is labelled "A." Each trench has a label or two letters followed by two digits; AA01 for example. Within the trench there is an additional number corresponding to the locus -- in this case which layer of soil. Since some of our strata can be rather thick, once past the topsoil (locus 1) we dig in 5cm deep "spits." An entire label might be AE06 /5 -- Grid A, trench E06, spit 5. This system allows us to determine any patterns of our finds, such as all heavy objects down hill, which would suggest tumbling or very few small objects in the upper spits, which would indicate wind erosion.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Plakias: 6/27
Today was out first full day on site in a week! A few of us left early to dig in the cave trench (Much better than the Bottomless Pit of Despair!). The cave trench is interesting, but tricky as the cave itself has been in use by goatherds for centuries, covering up our relevant strata with goat dung, fires and meals. Consequently we found a lot of Minoan pottery and burnt dirt and sand as well as charcoal. The burnt dirt and sand combines with ash during downpours to make a horrible cement. The upside is that we could see a perfect outline of the goatherds' makeshift fire pit, even if we have to dig through it to find what we're looking for.
After siesta we returned to the field, this time going to the floating station. I have never actually been, so this was exciting for me to see how it worked. The station is a ways from town where a farmer was kind enough to let us tap his water lines for his olive trees. The station is a simple rig comprised of a 50 gal drum, two filters, a heavy-duty hose and spout.
The drum is filled, then the coarser filter placed on a tray near the top of it and filled with the strata dirt. We work the dirt with our hands, picking out anything we can see that's important right off. Eventually the fine dirt and clay sink to the bottom through the coarse filter and are washed away. The water pours out the spout at the top of the drum and through a fine filter that catches any light organic material. The coarse filter bag becomes the residue that I wrote about before, and finer bag the flot.
NOTE: The internet cafe I am using to update doesn't have a place to upload photos, so those will come as soon as I can either figure out another way, or when I get back State-side!
After siesta we returned to the field, this time going to the floating station. I have never actually been, so this was exciting for me to see how it worked. The station is a ways from town where a farmer was kind enough to let us tap his water lines for his olive trees. The station is a simple rig comprised of a 50 gal drum, two filters, a heavy-duty hose and spout.
The drum is filled, then the coarser filter placed on a tray near the top of it and filled with the strata dirt. We work the dirt with our hands, picking out anything we can see that's important right off. Eventually the fine dirt and clay sink to the bottom through the coarse filter and are washed away. The water pours out the spout at the top of the drum and through a fine filter that catches any light organic material. The coarse filter bag becomes the residue that I wrote about before, and finer bag the flot.
NOTE: The internet cafe I am using to update doesn't have a place to upload photos, so those will come as soon as I can either figure out another way, or when I get back State-side!
Plakias: 6/26
Today was a day off, so we all went to the market to pick up lunch foods and stopped by the local bakery for apple cake and sweet-cheese pies. The resident parrot was unhappy with the prevailing winds and refused to add his usually Greek squawking to our conversation.
Tonight, after an afternoon of laundry, organization and planning the days ahead, we went to the Kri-Kri -- a restaurant named after the possibly extinct native wild goat of Crete. The food was fabulous (we had to have an extra table for our food) and we were treated to traditional live Greek music!
Tonight, after an afternoon of laundry, organization and planning the days ahead, we went to the Kri-Kri -- a restaurant named after the possibly extinct native wild goat of Crete. The food was fabulous (we had to have an extra table for our food) and we were treated to traditional live Greek music!
Plakias: 6/25
I woke up bright and early today this morning and met our geologist -- Gilbert -- from Athens and Rebecca, a long time colleague of Dr. Strasser. We set out west of Plakias in search of raw materials that our prospective Mesolithic group could have used for their tools -- specifically chirt and flint.
They would probably not have ventured far from their homesite, unless on extensive hunting trips where minimal baggage would be imperative. This means that they would have chosen smaller materials that washed down from the mountains to the shore. Taking this into account we drove along the seaside from some time before stopping a small beach-side cafe. The shore was incredibly rocky, littered with smooth, round stones. It was among these that Gil and I found nodules of varying size of black chirt. It was beautifully smooth, but much of it had striations in it, so wasn't ideal for knapping.
We traced the potential path of the stones -- with the help of Gil's Sponge-Bob GPS -- to a wonderful outcropping of limestone. It was full of nodules of black chirt, from a cm in diameter to 20 cm. Most were perfectly round, others a strange series of spheres all joined together. Chirt forms like flint, with sediment filling in the spaces of a more porous rock. Chirt is found in limestone, flint in chalk.
This particular chirt site had once been a shallow cave that collapsed, evident by the strange formation of calcite crystals from broken stalactites. Gil then took us east of Plakias to see Preveli Gorge and look for hand-axes. We were not successful, but the view from the cliffs was phenomenal. The rough scrubby vegetation that covers all but the lowest valleys of the interior gave way to shear bare rock faces. The banks of the green river itself were covered with tall lush palms and tropical flowers.
They would probably not have ventured far from their homesite, unless on extensive hunting trips where minimal baggage would be imperative. This means that they would have chosen smaller materials that washed down from the mountains to the shore. Taking this into account we drove along the seaside from some time before stopping a small beach-side cafe. The shore was incredibly rocky, littered with smooth, round stones. It was among these that Gil and I found nodules of varying size of black chirt. It was beautifully smooth, but much of it had striations in it, so wasn't ideal for knapping.
We traced the potential path of the stones -- with the help of Gil's Sponge-Bob GPS -- to a wonderful outcropping of limestone. It was full of nodules of black chirt, from a cm in diameter to 20 cm. Most were perfectly round, others a strange series of spheres all joined together. Chirt forms like flint, with sediment filling in the spaces of a more porous rock. Chirt is found in limestone, flint in chalk.
This particular chirt site had once been a shallow cave that collapsed, evident by the strange formation of calcite crystals from broken stalactites. Gil then took us east of Plakias to see Preveli Gorge and look for hand-axes. We were not successful, but the view from the cliffs was phenomenal. The rough scrubby vegetation that covers all but the lowest valleys of the interior gave way to shear bare rock faces. The banks of the green river itself were covered with tall lush palms and tropical flowers.
Plakias: 6/24
Today we sorted the residue and flot, searching for quartz, black and brown chirt and flint in the former, seeds, pottery and shells in the latter. We don't have a botanist at our disposal, so the flot is a tricky endeavour -- due to the wind we have found an extensive amount of modern organic matter that has been blown into our trenches, so addition work has to be done to separate modern vegetation from what was actually in the context of the strata.
Much of the residue is simply naturally broken rocks, but there are several promising pieces, mostly chips from the working of quartz to make small tools for butchering. Tomorrow and Sunday we have been given the days off, since no further work can be done on the site in such high winds. Most of the group is going with Dr. Strasser for a day trip to Preveli Gorge, where he found his original lower Palaeolithic handaxes.
I chose to go raw-materials hunting with our resident geologist. A bonus of the long drives and searching in the hot sun -- I get a free tour of the western inlands of Crete!
Much of the residue is simply naturally broken rocks, but there are several promising pieces, mostly chips from the working of quartz to make small tools for butchering. Tomorrow and Sunday we have been given the days off, since no further work can be done on the site in such high winds. Most of the group is going with Dr. Strasser for a day trip to Preveli Gorge, where he found his original lower Palaeolithic handaxes.
I chose to go raw-materials hunting with our resident geologist. A bonus of the long drives and searching in the hot sun -- I get a free tour of the western inlands of Crete!
Plakias: 6/23
Our second day we were blown off of the site -- the wind tore our two sun tents and the sive down. Instead we did some floating of samples from each strata in each trench. Floating separates the lighter things from the heavier, allowing organic matter to rise to the top and lithics to fall to the bottom. The results are two different bags -- the heavier "residue" and the lighter "flot."
The flot can contain any organic material such as bones, seeds, insect casings or charcoal to indicate what the inhabitants might have eaten and details about what their immediate environment might have been like. The residue contains the pottery and microliths that may have been chipped off in the making of tools or in later civilizations, bits of metal that can tell us more about their craftsmanship.
In the afternoon a few of us went out to the site, armed with a camera and a botanical guide to Crete. We took photos of every different plant and (attempted) to identify each. We also counted how many total plants were in a space the size of out site. There were many thistle-like plants with large purple, spiky flowers and a huge amount of wild onions and artichokes. Most of the plants on Crete estuvate -- like hibernating, but the dormant state occurs during the hotter, dry season of summer, rather than winter. This means the flora is relatively brown and dull currently, with the exception of beautiful bunches of purple thyme.
By learning more about the vegetation in the area we can determine what effect the flora may have had on the soil and consequently the artefacts. They can also help us learn what the layout of the site may have been. For an example, A lush plant that grows in damp soil can tell you that water in the area may have brought sediments to create fossils, or, conversely, micro-bacteria to decompose anything organic. A cluster of nitrogen-greedy plants in a site otherwise devoid of them may indicate a fire pit having been located there.
The flot can contain any organic material such as bones, seeds, insect casings or charcoal to indicate what the inhabitants might have eaten and details about what their immediate environment might have been like. The residue contains the pottery and microliths that may have been chipped off in the making of tools or in later civilizations, bits of metal that can tell us more about their craftsmanship.
In the afternoon a few of us went out to the site, armed with a camera and a botanical guide to Crete. We took photos of every different plant and (attempted) to identify each. We also counted how many total plants were in a space the size of out site. There were many thistle-like plants with large purple, spiky flowers and a huge amount of wild onions and artichokes. Most of the plants on Crete estuvate -- like hibernating, but the dormant state occurs during the hotter, dry season of summer, rather than winter. This means the flora is relatively brown and dull currently, with the exception of beautiful bunches of purple thyme.
By learning more about the vegetation in the area we can determine what effect the flora may have had on the soil and consequently the artefacts. They can also help us learn what the layout of the site may have been. For an example, A lush plant that grows in damp soil can tell you that water in the area may have brought sediments to create fossils, or, conversely, micro-bacteria to decompose anything organic. A cluster of nitrogen-greedy plants in a site otherwise devoid of them may indicate a fire pit having been located there.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Plakias: 6/22
My first morning on the dig started at 7 am. We stopped at a local bakery to grab breakfast and lunch before I got my first glimpse of the dig.
Dr. Strasser chose the site for a few very specific reasons: Access to fresh, perennial water (rare in Crete), south-facing shelter and Miocene soil. The site has all of those, and is easily accessible by road. Perched on the edge of the cliffs dropping a dozen or so meters into the Libyan sea, is a small cave. A moderate slope stretches from the cave in the upper cliffs to the lower ones, and it is on this slope that the site is located.
While nothing specific can be revealed until publication, the site is extremely exciting. We are looking for artefacts from a small settlement of hunter-gatherers. Due to the low pH of the soil, we will probably only find stone and pottery, as most organic matter like seeds, shells and bones will have decomposed quickly. This also proves to make carbon dating difficult, so instead a system known as Optical Stimulating Luminascence will be used. Utilizing the half-life of solar radiation instead of C-14, it will be used on strata that has not been exposed to sunlight since the time the artefacts were current. The cores will be kept from sunlight until they are tested.
The first artefact trenches have already been dug, and a grid of 1m squares divides the 25m square site. My role, as newest member, is to dig in what we all fondly refer to as the "Never Ending Pit of Despair." The Pit is the second test trench dug as is used for mapping the depths of the different strata -- soil layers. We have found all the ones we expected, and are now simply trying to get to bedrock as soon as possible.
The site isn't glorious -- a cleared hillside sandblasted by the wind -- but that isn't what matters, Dr. Strasser said. On the ride down he shrugged, "It's not an art walk. They're crappy stone tools, but it doesn't matter -- they're the right type."
Dr. Strasser chose the site for a few very specific reasons: Access to fresh, perennial water (rare in Crete), south-facing shelter and Miocene soil. The site has all of those, and is easily accessible by road. Perched on the edge of the cliffs dropping a dozen or so meters into the Libyan sea, is a small cave. A moderate slope stretches from the cave in the upper cliffs to the lower ones, and it is on this slope that the site is located.
While nothing specific can be revealed until publication, the site is extremely exciting. We are looking for artefacts from a small settlement of hunter-gatherers. Due to the low pH of the soil, we will probably only find stone and pottery, as most organic matter like seeds, shells and bones will have decomposed quickly. This also proves to make carbon dating difficult, so instead a system known as Optical Stimulating Luminascence will be used. Utilizing the half-life of solar radiation instead of C-14, it will be used on strata that has not been exposed to sunlight since the time the artefacts were current. The cores will be kept from sunlight until they are tested.
The first artefact trenches have already been dug, and a grid of 1m squares divides the 25m square site. My role, as newest member, is to dig in what we all fondly refer to as the "Never Ending Pit of Despair." The Pit is the second test trench dug as is used for mapping the depths of the different strata -- soil layers. We have found all the ones we expected, and are now simply trying to get to bedrock as soon as possible.
The site isn't glorious -- a cleared hillside sandblasted by the wind -- but that isn't what matters, Dr. Strasser said. On the ride down he shrugged, "It's not an art walk. They're crappy stone tools, but it doesn't matter -- they're the right type."
Plakias: 6/21
Our trip to Plakias began early, with a 1.5 hour bus ride across the northern coast of Crete. The landscape is like nothing I have ever seen, and is heartbreaking in its beauty. It is reminiscent of the mountains and southwest of the U.S. and Hawaii all at once.
Located on the edge of the European tectonic plate, it sports soaring cliffs of limestone and massive jutting mountains. Free-ranging goats and wild deer navigate the blade-thin ridges that fall dozens of meters on either side. One turn, just before Plakias, the traffic slowed to 30 kmph and we turned on an abrupt switch back. The vast rolling hills and scrubby pink-flowered bushes gave way to a sudden, breathtaking gorge rising on either side with grey limestone cliff faces.
The wind in Plakias is astronomical, but wonderful. The age of the place is apparent in everything from the pre-historic-looking mountains to the rich red clay dust from the soil blown in from Egypt.
Located on the edge of the European tectonic plate, it sports soaring cliffs of limestone and massive jutting mountains. Free-ranging goats and wild deer navigate the blade-thin ridges that fall dozens of meters on either side. One turn, just before Plakias, the traffic slowed to 30 kmph and we turned on an abrupt switch back. The vast rolling hills and scrubby pink-flowered bushes gave way to a sudden, breathtaking gorge rising on either side with grey limestone cliff faces.
The wind in Plakias is astronomical, but wonderful. The age of the place is apparent in everything from the pre-historic-looking mountains to the rich red clay dust from the soil blown in from Egypt.
Traveling: 6/19 - 6/20
The ferry to Iraklion, Crete, left Piraes, the hot-headed port town of Athens, at 9:30 pm, allowing us time to explore. We visited the Piraes Archaeological Museum, home to the oldest bronze statues from the area, and had dinner port-side.
The ferries that make the 200 mile journey to Crete are almost the size of the massive cruise liners that dot the tropics. ours had four passenger levels, the first holding restaurants, an arcade, and shops. While they provided ample seating for those who had deck seats, and airliner-seats for business class, it was nearly impossible to get any rest. At 4:00 am I took a stroll around the open top deck and was treated to the moon shining down on the distant Crete through the remnants of a squall. The sunrise an hour later was stunning, arriving just as we entered Iraklion port, on the northwest of Crete
Iraklion, and Crete in general, are quite different from Athens, though how is hard to pinpoint. We took a room at the El Greco Hotel -- which was built for people far smaller than the 5'3" me. The upside, however, was the working A/C unit. though we had been up most the night on the ferry, sleep in the cool parts of the day is out of the question. Instead we journeyed across town to the ruins of Knossos -- the Minoan palace. The details of the palace that were preserved are beautiful, and the reconstructions of the art and architecture are remarkable.
After a siesta, we returned to the streets. We met a shopkeeper in her 80's who manned a place along the main pedestrian walk. She told us of her family-owned olive groves in Chania to the west, and explained how smaller olive make the best oil. She ran the shop for two of her sons, since her husband had died -- her eyes misted as she described the seven years she had been without him. Not knowing the words in English, she pointed to photographs of her 9 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and put her hand over her heart. No one needs words to understand the bittersweet pride of "Our legacy."
The ferries that make the 200 mile journey to Crete are almost the size of the massive cruise liners that dot the tropics. ours had four passenger levels, the first holding restaurants, an arcade, and shops. While they provided ample seating for those who had deck seats, and airliner-seats for business class, it was nearly impossible to get any rest. At 4:00 am I took a stroll around the open top deck and was treated to the moon shining down on the distant Crete through the remnants of a squall. The sunrise an hour later was stunning, arriving just as we entered Iraklion port, on the northwest of Crete
Iraklion, and Crete in general, are quite different from Athens, though how is hard to pinpoint. We took a room at the El Greco Hotel -- which was built for people far smaller than the 5'3" me. The upside, however, was the working A/C unit. though we had been up most the night on the ferry, sleep in the cool parts of the day is out of the question. Instead we journeyed across town to the ruins of Knossos -- the Minoan palace. The details of the palace that were preserved are beautiful, and the reconstructions of the art and architecture are remarkable.
After a siesta, we returned to the streets. We met a shopkeeper in her 80's who manned a place along the main pedestrian walk. She told us of her family-owned olive groves in Chania to the west, and explained how smaller olive make the best oil. She ran the shop for two of her sons, since her husband had died -- her eyes misted as she described the seven years she had been without him. Not knowing the words in English, she pointed to photographs of her 9 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and put her hand over her heart. No one needs words to understand the bittersweet pride of "Our legacy."
Traveling: 6/18
We took the metro to Monastiraki Square where we found the ruins of Hadrian's Library and the ancient Agora -- market -- of Athens. The Agora was overlooked by the large Temple of Hephastos. We kept to the north of the Acropolis and moved through the market on our way to find Savvas, a place that specialized in gyros and souvlaki. Watching them being cooked was almost as good as eating them.
The National Gardens were our next stop. The traffic sounds faded as we stepped under the cover of trees and plants imported by the king from around the world. The heat of the city was forgotten, replaced by the sound of streams and birds. The surrounding neighbourhoods -- the parliament building and president's house -- were rich and bustling with protestors camped before the parliament in rows of tents. Their signs, in every language i could recognize, begged for peace as busloads of policmen descended on the scene.
The National Gardens were our next stop. The traffic sounds faded as we stepped under the cover of trees and plants imported by the king from around the world. The heat of the city was forgotten, replaced by the sound of streams and birds. The surrounding neighbourhoods -- the parliament building and president's house -- were rich and bustling with protestors camped before the parliament in rows of tents. Their signs, in every language i could recognize, begged for peace as busloads of policmen descended on the scene.
Traveling: 6/17
Three stops away on the red line is the Acropolis and its extensive museum along with the roman market. Nothing can describe the Acropolis, other than poetry. while it was crowded with tourists, everyone was respectful in the face of such beauty. The museum is worth a day in itself, having been built over an archaeological dig. great swath of the first floor are made of glass so you can walk above the dig and see the progress.
On the recommendation of our new friend Tinos in our hotel's lobby, we braved the non-tourist districts of Athens visited Keramikos District, a hopping and hip walk of bars and cafes, as well as Mamacas, a fantastic restaurant, where we ate. On the return trip -- now familar -- we emerged from the metro to find literally thousands of bicyclists had taken the main street Konstantinos by storm. The passed loudly for over five minutes, shepherded by excited bikers with whistles and kazoos and other unfamiliar noisemakers. When we asked Tinos what the ruckus was about he shrugged. "We're Greek. Demonstration, strikes, just for fun -- whatever we want to do, we do it."
On the recommendation of our new friend Tinos in our hotel's lobby, we braved the non-tourist districts of Athens visited Keramikos District, a hopping and hip walk of bars and cafes, as well as Mamacas, a fantastic restaurant, where we ate. On the return trip -- now familar -- we emerged from the metro to find literally thousands of bicyclists had taken the main street Konstantinos by storm. The passed loudly for over five minutes, shepherded by excited bikers with whistles and kazoos and other unfamiliar noisemakers. When we asked Tinos what the ruckus was about he shrugged. "We're Greek. Demonstration, strikes, just for fun -- whatever we want to do, we do it."
Traveling: 6/15
We left in the evening on a double-decker jet -- It was an amazing experience, as the attendants were all bilingual and extraordinarily friendly. Hailing from the U.S. was an oddity. The journey through Paris' airport was an odyssey in its own right -- trying to find our gate, navigate customs and security all within a half hour was nerve racking, even without the 2 km trek across the airport. The different faces and languages were a pleasant change, however, and we made our gate just in time to board. The take off provided a distant view of the Eiffel tower from the east, and tracing the sinuous sage ribbon of the Seine we were able to find Notre Dame.
Our arrival in Athens came with all the chaos of finding ones way without speaking the language. Through 17 metro stops on two different lines and a sudden downpour, we found the simple and charming hotel just off of Omonia Square (Future reference -- not the place to be, though our hotel was nice). Our windows looked out on a courtyard shared with a tall narrow apartment building and a flock of spotted pigeons.
The city is hot and beautiful and intense, the pride of its people shining through whatever hardships they face, whether national or personal.
Our arrival in Athens came with all the chaos of finding ones way without speaking the language. Through 17 metro stops on two different lines and a sudden downpour, we found the simple and charming hotel just off of Omonia Square (Future reference -- not the place to be, though our hotel was nice). Our windows looked out on a courtyard shared with a tall narrow apartment building and a flock of spotted pigeons.
The city is hot and beautiful and intense, the pride of its people shining through whatever hardships they face, whether national or personal.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Welcome!
Hello everyone!
This is a preliminary posting to make sure everything is working as it should.
I will leave for Greece in mid-June, and stay through late July.
I will be volunteering with Dr. Strasser and several of his grad and doctoral students learning excavation and cataloging methods. We will be searching for artifacts and features from an early population that lived near Preveli Gorge. Chief among our goals is to find C14 to help date the artifacts found.
Needless to say I am so excited to have this opportunity and cannot wait to share my experiences with you all!
-S
This is a preliminary posting to make sure everything is working as it should.
I will leave for Greece in mid-June, and stay through late July.
I will be volunteering with Dr. Strasser and several of his grad and doctoral students learning excavation and cataloging methods. We will be searching for artifacts and features from an early population that lived near Preveli Gorge. Chief among our goals is to find C14 to help date the artifacts found.
Needless to say I am so excited to have this opportunity and cannot wait to share my experiences with you all!
-S
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