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June 27, 2007 Wednesday and Thursday slipped away swiftly at the Arbeia fort in South Shields, where the weather persisted in remarkably wretched fashion. Though I mentioned my earlier intentions to sojourn today (Thursday, my dad’s birthday) in Edinburgh, plans changed Wednesday morning when we learned that the much-anticipated pottery lecture would occur at the fort on Thursday night, and the Saturday planned outing (a trip to York) was something we needed to pay for on our own. I enjoy labor on the site more than my down time, so I decided to stay and toil on Thursday. Additionally, though I spent a lot of time in lectures here (and I’m not always a tremendous fan of the lecture), the pottery talk holds significance for my Archaeology Colloquium (it’s a class I plan to teach) next year, so it could not be missed. The problem: my purchase of train tickets to Edinburgh needed immediate changing, something impossible to accomplish in South Shields. The plan: Katherine and I would sneak out of work as early as possible and go to Newcastle to change the tickets.

The work came first, though, and we were happy to complete it: clearing a clay layer from the site, a task that needed conclusion before we could proceed with the next. In finishing, I stuck upon something highly unusual, an unmentioned, unfamiliar find. Iron is easily spotted in soil, and this rusty thing was clearly iron, but its circular shaped attested that it most certainly not a nail. Exclaiming to Roger, benevolent, brilliant Roger whose patience for giggling, joking girls should be commended, I refrained from my usual query, “Is this a baby skeleton?” and legitimately asked what this half-O shaped item in my hand was.

Roger informed me that it was a part of an iron ring, probably something used in a harness (which did not stop me from immediately sporting it on my finger), and told me that it was a Small Find. It would not go into the bulk tray with the remnants of teeth, the broken fragments of animal bones, the rusty and intimidating nails, the pitiful shards of pottery. Oh no, this was a small find… it rested snugly into a plastic bag with a label (that I filled out) indicating context number, description, date and person who found it. Following that, we plotted it in three dimensions. (I hope I said that properly…) I carried that plastic bag in my pocket until after lunch, when I brought it to Alex, the expert, who assured me that the ring was interesting. She then went out of her way to help Katherine and me by allowing us each to take a few unstratified items (these get thrown away) for our classrooms. We don’t have pottery (which is never thrown away), but we have tile and animal bones (and teeth!)

The hovering clouds decided to distribute their precious endowments, and the storm suddenly surged from the sky, driving us indoors for a lecture on Hadrian’s Wall. Graeme, the principal investigator who spends the most time with the volunteers and students, gave the talk, so I behaved, took notes, and kept my smarty-pants comments to a minimum.

When Graeme released us for break, Katherine and I informed him of our plan to change tickets, so he dismissed us early to snag the train to Newcastle, where we were the two dirtiest people in the place. Ticket situation remedied, we hurried to Marks & Spencer’s for snacks, ate lovely sandwiches and couscous, then the sun emerged briefly as we caught the train home.

--- June 28, 2007 Grey and oppressive loomed the overhead clouds, but the impending rain could not compete with the implacable wind which plagued us today, mainly because the rain stayed clear until work was nearly done and the wind did its best to keep us miserable. Today’s job: clean off the rainwater-stained areas, which discolor the site before photography. Following that, photography itself, which is a slow process including great ladders (called “steps” here) which must be erected carefully and held fast by two strong people, three cameras (color, b&w, digital), people on site laying down meter poles for scale, a person completing the photography book and the sucker on the ladder. I was on the photo book and Roger balanced on the ladder.

The photo book seemed like an easy job, but it was tedious and complicated. Every roll of film has a number, and every photo is identified by film number, photo number, context, and the name of he who took the picture. After photo identification, planning time began, so Katherine and I partnered up to record the channel that runs through the site. We finished this, but by the time we needed to take our levels, the rain came down. Since most of us were returning for the pottery lecture, we were released.

At 7pm, Principal Investigator Paul Bidwell began his pottery lecture, which was brief, but informative in how pottery helps archaeologists date time periods and reveal the hidden habits of everyday people of its era. We examined the differences in serving ware and cooking ware, learned how to identify a few different types of pottery and discussed what they have taught us about Roman life at the South Shields fort. I also learned a little about why Romans drank beer and wine. If you’re interested in knowing that, send an email.