Archaeology Dig - Anyone Done One?

“I'm considering applying for a dig for this summer - one that caught my euye involves camping onsite for a few weeks! Anyone done one? Anyone done one with onsite camping?

Am curious as to what one would pack for an extended trip in a tent in a foreign country (do I take my stove? how do I get it through airport security? how do I get fuel once there?)

I think it sounds awesome and if I can afford to take the time off work to go play in the dirt.....well, I'm all over it!

Sounds cool huh?”

“I usually do them at night.

Alone.”

“oh boy....here we go...so early in the thread too!”

“what country?”

“does my luandry pile count? - Ive found some interesting relics there”

“there are digs all over the place - the one sthe cathch my interest are : England (camping involved); Austria (compensation involved), Greece (free room), and Jordan (oh what a dream! but maybe too dangerous right now?)”

“twinks - that would be one of the most fulling experiances you would ever have. Tough, but at yer stage in life, well worth it. The process is calming, interesting and at a lot of levels, exciting. If you can pull it off, you will not regret it. There are very few things in life that you can do that are on this level. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!!”

“I'd stay away from Jordan with all that's going on right now.

Go with Greece,.. landscaping is absolutely phenomenal.”

“I got hooked on international travel with Istanbul...I'm hoping to go to Vienna/Bratislava/Budapest/Prague in April for spring vacation...

then I saw the digs in a magazine and think a travel/working/learning experience would be such a dream come true..

forgive my spelling and bad grammer - so sleepy”

“Austria would be cool, however, Greece would be a no brainer. They gots stuff all over the place and it's a little safer than Jordan.”

“I have such a hankering for Jordan though! I'm going to go to the Met next weekend and check out the exhibit on Petra.....

Don't worry - that dig is mad expensive....and...:( dangerous”

“Prague is too Westernized. Not like it used to be when the wall fell. It was a big, hip thing to do the Prague thang, but it's lost it's luster. I'd concider other areas. It's touristy now....”

“I don't believe you can just go on a dig. And if you have to pay for this dig then think twice about it. Have you taken any Archeology classes/labs, or have a degree? You may be the one hauling the dirt.”

“I think most places are touristy...but hell I've not been there so it would be cool for me to experience

Buddur - there are many many digs that you have to pay some sort of fee to participate if you didn't write the grant for it - dude they have to support costs some way! also, I know someone whose sister did a dig - and she was not an arch.

you's just jealous big poppa! (LOL j/k) will take your advice and consider”

“chili and lizs were on a dig in the U.S. last year. Hopefully they will chime in.”

“I took a field archeology class in college. There are many archeological sites in CA, and there were several on campus ("Indians" who lived in the Bay Area until us white folks showed up). It was a lot of fun, and didn't take a whole lot of special skill. We found a lot of small animal bones, but also several small beads. Then, near the bottom of our 1x2 meter section (about a meter down), we found about a cubic foot of mussel shells. The inhabitants of the area must've had a little feast and dumped the shells there. The whole experience was really interesting and fun.”

“Forgot to mention that we were also required to spend a couple hours in the lab each week cataloging the stuff we found.”

“I have. Never anything across the the pond. Mostly in the SW, Kiabab NF in Arizona and a few days at a camp in AK..

I would like to believe if you are forking out the cash they would provide some amenities or at least a list of necessary provisions to bring abroad.

Do a little searching, there are plenty of local(USA) places that offer dig like experiences at a fraction of the cost for a oversea job.

Check out

http://www.neara.org/links.htm”

“Yup, chili and I were at the Passport in Time program in southern Illinois in Shawnee National Forest, looking for evidence that a former black community in those hills -- long gone -- was part of the Underground Railroad.

Now know that I always wanted to be an archeaologist growing up... After my experience over THREE days I would say this.

It's long and often tedious. Can be VERY tedious. You are mostly digging, scrapping dirt, etc. Finds might be few and far between. Of course, they're cool and that's what ya live for, BUT they don't happen all that much. And maybe the REAL students/pros are doing that part.

Would I do a three-day dig again?? Definitely!! A whole summer?? No way, doing it out of the blue. Go on a small project first and see if you like it. It could be a long damn time if you don't...

The PIT program is FREE... and you camp or whatever... I'd recommend you try something through it first. Not all their projects are arch., but quite a few are.

Passport in Time”

“I hear there a some sweet digs going on in Gary, Indiana.”

“I have loved archeology since the 9th grade and would love to go on a summer dig. I own almost every issue of Bibilical Archeology Review ever published...awesome stuff.

Got to participate in an archeological dig for a half-day at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1993. I loved it.

Most of the "volunteer" opportunities I've read about were for two or three weeks, but you could do more.

Her is BAR's dig site.”

“I did a passport in time dig before.
Lot of fun, and very interesting.”

“Yes, fun, Gemini. But how many days was it. And think... a whole summer? I would still urge doing at least a week or two on something before committing to a whole summer. But that's just me...”

“Oh, I did like always only read half of the post. It was very hard. I don't have knee problems,but my knees started to hurt after a while. You will be kneeling down a lot if you are choosen to dig. Very hot temps, but they normally provide shade, so it helps at least a little.

Let's say it's very rewarding, and educational. I am not sure if I would want to do it the whole summer. I am really not sure.”

“Yeah, thanks for mentioning the kneeling. I was going to mention it and forgot. Either kneeling or probably in some other half awkward position.”

“There is a program here in which I would have more interest. I have to find the contact, I lost it. It involves hiking into backcountry historic or archeologic sites to check on them for vandalism, condition, erosion, signs of area use etc. They do a day of training and then give you a list of spots that they would like to have checked.”

“Happy New Year Twinks.

Check to see if you can get College credit for any of the digs.
Probably can if include a little additional (class type) work.
6 credits would make the cost dual duty.

Given the last couple of posts regarding kneeling, get either Home Depot knee pads or a 3/4 ridgerest and fold it in 2 as a ground pad.”

“I concur with what lizs said.

I found the experience to be both interesting and educational. Would I want to do it all summer? No way.”

“If you go thru a college you will most likely need to have a prerequisite course like a 'Intro to Arch' or Intro. Field Study course under your belt before they hand you a trowel and throw you into the hole.

I thought I had more pic's in my album but I guess I never scanned them.

BTW, there is more to arch. then just spending time on your knees. I spent alot of time surveying the land, aka. hiking,, looking for human activity both past and present.”

“chili, remember the anal guy with the mapping process???

LMAO!!”

“We moved a ton of dirt,,,,a few centimeters at a time.”

“they supplied us with those home depot foam pads, but that doesn't help the actually pain... it's not the hardness of the ground that hurts, it's the constant bending of the knee. Doing it for hours in a row does hurt. :)”

“most archaeologists i know smoke you know what”

“I did a dig in the US and really enjoyed it. I backpacked to a site nearby where we stayed for a couple nights during the dig.

In answer to your original question, I think you would need to talk with whoever is running the show to find out how close supplies would be, so you know how much to pack in and how much you can resupply.

As far a stove, you'll probably want to look at something like the Whisperlite International series that burns all different fuels including gasoline and kerosine.

You can't fly with fuel or used fuel bottles, but you can purchase a clean fuel bottle that's never been used and that's OK.

If you're worried about other items going through customs, try calling the airline and faxing them a list of your gear to review. Usually if it's in your checked baggage it's fine.... Even small knives and such.

Good Luck!!”

“So where the heck is Twinks? What's she thinking by this time?”

“Hey gang - been working and then home with the dizzies.... :(

All the digs that I'm considering are for a week or two (I do have a job that I'd like to keep!).

I'm thinking international because that's what interests me the most from an archaelogical stance.

There are some cool environmental gigs you can get here in the states - which is worth a thought.

I happen to have a whisperlite international - so cool, I'm covered there. :)

The sites I looked into so far (the ones of most interest) are at least a mile - if not more - from anything else. So packing light but with creature comforts would be smart.

Who knows - it sounds interesting - will have to wait and see what happens.....”