Our third week here was full of activity as we fell into an already-established rhythm, finally feeling like we really understood why we were digging through dirt at 7:15 in the morning. All three trenches (A-East, A-West, and C) worked to establish a chronology of the structures found in our areas, from their construction to their eventual collapse. On a practical level, this meant that we spent most of this week cleaning, documenting, and removing large tile falls. In trench A-West we managed to remove over 100 kg of roof tiles and other CBM (ceramic building material) in one day alone! We also excavated right next to the intersection of the two walls in our trench, allowing us to see how they connect with each other.
Throughout the week we learned more about some of the more technical aspects of a dig. Everyone has now had a chance to take photos for documentation and photogrammetry, and we each helped fill out context sheets. Off site, Matt held a mini-workshop on ArcGIS, the visualisation software that we use, and went over Harris matrices with us. We all started the month with differing amounts of experience, so getting to rotate through tasks has been a valuable opportunity that means we get to learn both from our supervisors and each other.
We got rained out on Wednesday, but to make up for it Thursday was more than 30℃! A group of us hit up the local pool for some much needed relaxation after we got back from the site. As the week wound to an end we took some time to reflect on how much we’d accomplished, and to celebrate with a party at Vlad’s (a story which will be tragically lost to time, or at least not relayed to the internet). There’s still much left to do, but as we piece together how the villa changed over time a feeling of connection with the site and its former inhabitants emerges.
Apulum Roman Villa Project 