As a summer storm settles over Alba Iulia, I find myself with a quiet moment to reflect upon the journey that has been the 2025 ARVP campaign. As a fledgling archaeologist, I made my best effort to enter into this experience with no expectations and a beginner’s mind. Having spent only a little time in the field in British Columbia, yet a good deal of time in the lab, the concept of an archaeological excavation was familiar to me, but I was also aware that archaeology in Europe is done quite differently than back home and that every site is run in its own unique way. 

I planned to learn as much as possible, and learn I did! The amount of both practical and theoretical knowledge coming our way during the work day was more than occasionally overwhelming, especially while doing very physically demanding work in 35 degree weather. Our trench supervisors, alongside our dig directors Dr. McCarty and Dr. Egri, very kindly and patiently took their time to teach us the hands-on skills necessary to excavate: spading, scraping, cleaning and brushing, amongst others. They explained to us how they arrived at their interpretations of the various contexts, and how to form our own interpretations by analyzing the stratigraphy of the site, identifying “cuts” versus “fills”, and how to properly document the processes at work. 

Most importantly, the atmosphere on site and back at the hotel every day was one of comradery built on the backs of long, challenging days together, and successes achieved as a team. I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Romanian team here who worked the hardest, laughed the loudest, and showed us all a good time in our free hours. We ate well together, went to some quintessentially Romanian festivals, and explored ancient sites dotted around the countryside. Songs and jokes were shared, and some of us even picked up a little Romanian!

Having experienced all of the above, can I consider myself an archaeologist yet? No official paper hangs on my wall, yet I do believe that the 2025 ARVP campaign has put another notch in my belt towards earning my “real archaeologist” t-shirt. With new skills, new friends, and a new appreciation for archaeology outside of the classroom, I can head back to Canada with a full brain and a budding excitement for the next campaign.

In the final week of digging in Trench AW, we found many new contexts, most memorably roof tiles and a lot of pits. We spent a lot of time on the roof tiles so we could uncover each one without damaging it. It kind of felt like being a dentist, because we were scraping the dirt from between the tiles and using brushes to clean the tops of the tiles. After we had documented all of the tiles, we removed them by scraping around the edges and then popping them out of the ground, which was really satisfying and also felt strangely dental…

We also found a lot of pits. After digging up one pit, which was beneath a circle of stones, we realized it was dug inside of a bigger pit, so we excavated that one as well. Not far from this pit-ception, we found at least two more pits. There were so many pits that we started calling it the “P-word”!

Meanwhile when we were finding all this stuff, it was super hot, so we were taking turns in the shade. Every time I drank from my water bottle, it was like flavourless tea. Still, it was worth it, because digging and finding stuff was very satisfying!

Romania welcomes her scorching summer, and we are approaching the end of our excavation. On our final excursion, also the last day of the ARVP 2025, we wrapped up this journey in the hometown of the vampire Dracula, Sighișoara.

Sighișoara is an ancient town in central Romania, rich in history and well-preserved as a medieval fortified settlement. Its iconic landmarks include castles, clock towers, and churches dating back to the medieval period. Even before reaching the town itself, we could see a black clock tower rising on a distant hillside, its yellow tiles glinting in the sun, strikingly distinct among the sea of red rooftops. 

This tower was our main destination today. Inside, it houses a museum showcasing vivid glimpses of medieval life: aged patterned bricks, surgical tools, delicately carved wooden gingerbread forms, and so on. The floorboards creaked beneath our feet, echoing like the hum of the TARDIS from Doctor Who, as though time was folding back. With each exhibit and each step up the stairs, the dust of history was lifted, and we were pulled centuries into the past to witness Sighișoara’s medieval world.

Speaking of steps, Sighișoara has no shortage of them. But every step is well worth the effort. From the new town at the foot of the hill, a winding staircase leads up to the old town. The colorful houses and ancient trees weave into each other, and with every turn, the scenery shifts. The staircase inside the clock tower is narrow and steep, hardly friendly to the knees. But once we reached the top, the entire quaint town lay stretched before us. The hills beyond show the vibrant green of midsummer. Climbing further, we finally reached the hilltop and found an old church. The church was quiet and cool. Stepping in from the heat, our hearts seemed to calm along with the air. Faded reliefs still lingered on the walls, adding a touch of color to our visit.

For the second week’s excursion, the ARVP team traveled north to Turda. Home to one of the most spectacular salt mines in Europe, this trip had everyone especially excited! Upon arrival, we descended 120 meters into the Rudolf Mine. This area of the mine was full of fun activities — we played ping pong, mini golf, and pool, all while surrounded by the stunning natural features of the mine. The rippling patterns of the salt stratigraphy along the walls looked like a work of art. There were also kiosks offering all things salt: lamps, bath salts, and other unique souvenirs.

After exploring the Rudolf area, we ventured even deeper into the Terezia Mine. Mining here began in 1660 and ended in 1880, and today, it holds a dark, shallow lake — giving some of us the chance to enjoy a nice boat ride. Our rowing skills were a bit rusty, so a few minor collisions with other boats (and the occasional stalagmite shower) were inevitable!

By the end of the trip, we were happy to relax on benches, take in the atmosphere, and watch our teammates shoot a few more rounds of pool. That is, until we realized we had stayed a bit too long to wait for the elevator. So, with no time to lose, we sprinted up all 25 flights of stairs to reach the exit in time.

Back on the bus, we rested well, thrilled by the day’s adventures and completely exhausted from the climb!

Sunday excursions are always a captivating escape from our daily archaeological work routine. This past Sunday was no exception; we dived into the local history by visiting the Roman Fortress of Potaissa, the Turda History Museum (Muzeul De Istorie Turda), and the Turda salt mine (Salina Turda), which are clustered in the nearby city of Turda.

The one-and-a-half-hour drive to our first stop, the Roman Fortress, certainly did not seem that long of a journey for us, especially because our sore muscles induced us to nap deeply. We were then welcomed by an enthusiastic guide who shared the historical context and structure of the castra. Under the reign of Marcus Aurelius, it was the biggest castra in operation from around 170 AD to 270 AD in Dacia, fortifying the borders of Roman Dacia as well as the Roman Empire. As we walked along the ruins and walls, we were astonished by the comprehensive structure of the castra: four gates connected by major roads to the headquarters, the Principia, with towers built at the fort’s corners. Other constructions, such as barracks and storage space, were also found in the complex. Apart from the military constructions, there was also a space for thermal baths and exercises.

Our second destination at the Turda History Museum was the perfect complement to the Fortress since numerous archaeological finds excavated from the Turda were displayed at the museum. Artifacts are housed in a 19th-century building, which is now repurposed as a museum. As the sun’s rays gently streamed through the windows and lightened the display rooms, we delightfully browsed through ceramics, weaponry, personal ornaments, and tablet inscriptions. The local history of Turda was encapsulated in the historic building, vividly presenting life in the city throughout the ages.

Our third and final stop at the Turda salt mine beautifully concluded this week’s excursion. As soon as we entered the salt mine, the cool air soothed our weary minds. The salt mine is both a hotspot for locals and a tourist attraction. Descending into the underground chamber of salt walls, we found ourselves surrounded by attractions such as ping pong, mini-golf, and a Ferris wheel, which was unfortunately closed; nonetheless, we were in awe of the faintly interwoven carvings on the salt walls, with white tube lights hovering overhead. As we stumbled our way down the steep stairs to the lowest level, we excitedly rowed on the underground lake while admiring the magnificent patterns carved on the salt walls. What better place captures the mixture of natural beauty and artificial constructs?

This past week at the Apulum Roman Villa Project, we finally broke through the topsoil in Trench A East and got to get down to the ancient contexts. The shift happened quite suddenly and we somehow went from one context to nine being open. However, this also led us to pits. Never. Ending. Pits. In fact, there were even pits within pits and if you think about it, we are actively digging a pit (a.k.a. our trench) into a pit, into another pit. As we dig deeper into the earth we may even realize there are more pits within pits…within pits. Luckily the pits did not ruin our mood! The delirium kicked in and we all had a blast excavating two robber trenches, finding countless nails, and loads of teeth!

The excavation wasn’t our only form of entertainment during this week. One of the assistant trench supervisors had to sprint after our truck that held all of our tools as it was being driven off the hill with the side doors wide open. This supervisor dropped EVERYTHING they were doing and ran full speed, arms flailing in the air as the van drove off into the rolling alfalfa fields, tools hanging for dear life in the open vehicle. Despite their efforts, it wasn’t the supervisor’s run that caught the driver’s attention but a simple phone call from a worried student!

With the tools back in the van there wasn’t much running until a wind storm hit our site a few days later. Bags filled with pottery, bone, and archaeological elements were blown away. Luckily the bags were closed, well, most of them…

The storm completely shut the site down and we were able to have the rest of the day off and have the chance to recover from a bad hair day. Without a doubt, we will have many more bad hair days but I embrace them all and can’t wait for the week to come!

Hi, I’m Anita – I’m also in trench C! At the beginning of this week, we extended two areas on the eastern and southern sides of our trench. The southern part is a smaller square area that previously had a stone wall and a burial. A new burial was discovered last week next to the wall, so we had to expand a little to further excavate. We found a lot of bones and flints from the new context, and some of the flints were so small that we were surprised and asked one of our trench supervisors how he recognized it. He said that that’s because he is experienced! Another interesting finding here is a tiny piece of green bone infused by bronze. When we were about to finish, another burial was found on the profile, so we ended up having more areas waiting for extension.

As we drive through the city, the roses and the scattered golden fields look as simple and striking as modern art. I have a bottle of iced coke coming back from the field every day, and people gather in the yard for dinner. The clouds are as beautiful as the roses grown in local people’s gardens, champagne edged at first and then dyed to a regal gold, shifting to a blueish pink while the moon rises, and finally cooling down as daylight goes out. People gather and chat for a while, and that’s the end of the day!

We clambered into the bus at 9 in the morning, tired from a birthday celebration the previous night but beyond excited to see our first pieces of Romanian history and culture. Following a two hour drive through serene fields of wheat and corn blowing in the breeze, we wound our way up switchbacks into green mountains. Faint of stomach beware: the turns and bumps were not the friendliest!

After hiking a short distance along a cobbled road, we came upon the ancient Dacian fort Sarmizegetusa Regia’s first set of walls, and what walls they were! Dr. McCarty explained that they were constructed in a unique style: two sets of stone fortifications held together with crossbars and packed-in earth. We admired them for some time as he explained the wars fought between Emperor Trajan and the Dacian civilization, whose booming community had lived, and died, here. Our group continued along the path, mesmerized by the majesty of the walls, their story, and the trees now growing around them.

We passed an excavated portion of the processional way and arrived at the edge of an idyllic scene: a soft meadow filled with the remnants of massive structures, children running along their edges, and families picnicking in cool shade. Dr. McCarty led us along the two uppermost terraces, explaining what scholars have agreed upon and hypothesizing on the still unknown. We then meandered our own ways between the rock foundations remaining and even drank from the same spring that the Dacians had.

Standing together again, we surveyed a particular structure’s column bases and discussed the materials used and their chronologies. We followed a narrow trail to an even lower terrace, talking about Romania’s current preservation efforts and the instabilities these incredible walls face due to tree roots. Later, we headed back down for a parking-lot-lunch with scruffily beautiful mountain dogs before continuing to the medieval castle used in the new Dracula movie, Nosferatu!

Corvin Castle is nestled in the city of Hunedoara, overlooking rolling hills, terracotta-roofed houses, and a sweet babbling brook. We passed small shopfronts selling various wares along our climb up to the towering behemoth of a building. Before we entered, however, we headed to the nearby museum to see Neolithic, Iron age, and Roman era exhibits. The curators had skillfully recreated a prehistoric home, and many of us were awed by the cave bear skulls on display.

Finally, very excited, we crossed a bridge over gorgeous grounds and a deep moat. Within the courtyard, bare rock face had been purposefully maintained to add a more mountainous dimension to the castle’s already viscerally steep appearance. Once inside, we separated to tour the galleries and halls individually. Faced with many restorations, few spaces held original furniture pieces, but the majesty with which Corvin Castle has been pieced back together was astounding. Our group agreed at the end that the many turrets and spires were the most enticing features of the grand structure, especially since the views offer a span across the entire valley. A peaceful lull embraced everyone during the journey back to our hotel, but there was a subtle humming in our bones, exciting us for our next adventure!

Hello! My name is Jade and I am from Trench C, a wonky-shaped grouping of squares with two Roman walls, a ditch, and some burials. In this first week we were working on removing a ton of backfill – the dirt that completely covers up a site when it is not being excavated. It is a long process, but there are some tools that prove more fun to use than others to get the job done. To loosen the dirt, we use a spade. They are the traditional pointed-shovel type which the card suit is named after. Next up is the shovel. This is a curved one that you can use to scoop out the dirt that has been “spaded”. This is more fun: you feel like a cartoon character shoveling coal into a train’s furnace to make it go faster during an attempted train robbery. There is also the wheelbarrow, or as I like to call it, the wheelbarrel (it sounds better with the second ‘L’ sound). It is very useful for moving the ton of dirt mentioned above. My favourite tool to use, though, is the pickaxe. It is used to break up the soil that is too tough for the spade, and boy howdy does it make you feel strong, especially if you had just been attempting a spade on a rough patch. From my experience as a picker, I have found using the pickaxe to be very similar to swinging a golf club. You may be taken aback by this, like everyone I have mentioned it to, but I can explain. When you are going for good form in a swing, you want to keep the arm closer to you completely straight, and you get more power if your hands are closer together on the handle. I have found that, on the drawback of a good pick swing, a similar set-up grants the most power. Of course, there are only so many ways to swing a stick so they aren’t THAT similar, but I still have enjoyed being able to have a consistent form with at least one of the tools. 

In addition to some top-tier dirt shoveling, we have had a bit of an exciting week. In our excavation, we found a bunch of pottery sherds, some flint and chert tools, a ton of ceramic building materials, and some animal bones. Our trench is by far the biggest of the three this year, and last week it was made even bigger with some expansions! That means a lot more shoveling will come in the next weeks, but also some more pick-action. I am very lucky that it is a task not often sought after by the others in my trench, so as a result I don’t have any competition for some pick time.

Welcome to the first week of excavation from ARVP’s 2025 season! Two new trenches were opened in Section A of the site, Trench A East and Trench A West. Trench C is still going strong from last year! Most of the week was spent digging through topsoil, and all that shoveling and spading through the hard topsoil was hard to get used to. After the first official day on site everyone crashed, but by the end of the week, we all adjusted. In Trench A East, one of our only pet peeves are the sunflower roots that seem to grow down to the centre of the earth! Many of us have had our shovels get caught mid-shovel which got old very quickly. Everyone likes to listen to music on site, but where I am in trench A East, no one had a speaker, so we MacGyvered one with a bucket. Music by Pitbull is a trench favourite in A East when we need extra energy to spade or shovel. One particularly silly afternoon, after a long and hot morning of digging our trench had a mock gladiatorial fight using the handles of the shovels (no one was hurt or even hit with the shovel handles!).

Later in the week, one of the students from UBC was learning how to do a shovel toss of dirt straight from the trench to the designated dirt pile. It turns out that she didn’t know her own strength, and we all watched as the dirt hit the pile and the shovel flew over it. For anyone who is unfamiliar with what a shovel toss is, only the dirt is meant to be thrown. Being constantly covered in dirt took some getting used to but by the end of the week, it was just second nature, though I always feel bad for the bus driver when I trek half the trench onto the bus. By the end of the week, we finally made it through the topsoil and will begin to get into the ancient layers by Week 2. Overall, the first week was filled with learning curves and laughter, and all of us look forward to what next week will bring!