06.07.2013 – Bitches be diggin'!

It's a new dawn, it's a new day and there's more digging for us ladies at the Danube Gorges. We have a very steep hill to climb and today I'm carrying a killer cable up hill (it was around 10 m long and I kept stepping over it). But I don't complain, it's a good exercise for my curves. It's gonna be a whole day of working: digging, going through dirt and carrying buckets. Here and there you get the odd context sheet to fill. By 1 o'clock I figure we all wonder when lunch is gonna happen. Aruna and Jess made sandwiches for us today. And let me tell you there is nothing (apart from meat of course) I wouldn't eat when I'm hungry and working. Today we are digging through Iron and Late Copper Age layers. How I long for earlier prehistory! But we dig in a cave, with light hanging over our heads and the nearest town some 20 km away. It's safe to say that whatever happens at this point, we are all having fun. Jenny the Generator gave up on us around 1. And while we were waiting for the young strapping male presence in our group to go and get more fuel we have lunch and climb to the top of the hill, right over the cave. The view is breathtaking, the sun takes away your breath too. After a very busy afternoon we head down around 5 (with some serious convincing though, because the big boss did want to continue). And this is pretty much when the best bit of the day began (even I don't know if I'm being sarcastic). As soon as we stepped out of the cave the rain started and on the whole way down it was pouring so damn hard I couldn't help but feeling like an action hero in the jungle again. We arrived at the cars soaked and slightly bruised (very bruised in my case). Dinner was better than ever - mostly because we were so tired anything would taste good (apart from meat- it's such a drаg to be a vegetarian at a dig!). Tomorrow is gonna be our first day off and dinner ended in a somewhat Uncomfortable discussion about our guy-preferences with the big boss. Let me tell you one thing- he sure does like a good bit of gossip and teasing! But then again, who doesn't. We keep living the good life so it's into beds early for us again. Who knows where I would be without Vicky and Kate and the wonderful giggling before sleep.

5.07.2013- Crawling up a hill

The fourth day is upon us and we are still all female and still in the realm of slow beginnings. Washing finds all mornings isn't really an adventure in the Gorges. Adventures, however, can often times be too versatile and for me having to spend each day surrounded by a group of lovely ladies has turned into a game of walking on a rope. You can never be too sure what happens when so many females gather in the same place and the ugly truth is women understand women at times just as much as men do. So we're waiting for the big boss with toothbrushes and dirty hands washing daub and very sad looking pot-sherds. It's all archaeology people, it's a marathon not a sprint. But we are starting to feel eager and wanting to dive into a cave-hike (mostly because that was what we were originally told we would do). So after a lovely meal for lunch we head for the target, but it's more like A target because we keep hearing these little pieces of information about other caves we might venture to. At this point we learn not to try predicting what the big boss's plans are, probably one of the most valuable lessons of this barely started dig. So we get out of the cars by the side of the road and then straight into the woods we go. Little did we know it's gonna be straight up hill from there on. Now when it comes to describing a hike everyone has a different take, so try not to take mine too seriously. I think the climb is delightful; the clear and present threat of falling rocks not so much but we can't have it all. And yes, there was some undignified crawling in places where the soil is so slippery you can already see yourself falling down. But this is not just a hike, it's the road to an excavation site, so we do need to carry buckets, tools and such up hill. It's not easy for anyone but the mood does seems to lighten up when Aruna drops her bucket and it tumbles down the hill into oblivion. I can't stress enough how much this is not a vacation. About an hour (or maybe more, I think it was more but it shouldn't have been) we arrive at this magnificent cave. The big boss is carrying the generator Jenny up so we can have some light inside the cave and actually start digging. Everyone that's been on an archaeological excavation will tell you it's not just troweling and looking pretty. You also need and array of other abilities but as undergrads we rarely get the glitz and glamour and we end up with carrying buckets of soil and sieving through them. Not that anyone is complaining, it's the way the archaeological food-chain works. And while there are some times I am far too pessimistic about the learning side of a dig, valuable, invigorating lessons such as “Be aggressive with the trowel” speak for themselves. We're gonna be late for dinner again. Not really surprising. Going down- hill was a different kind of fun and while the multiple bruises on my body testify to that, I feel like I've won the jackpot by coming here. The best bit of hiking is I get to feel like a bad-ass character from an action film taking place in a jungle (but shush, that's a very personal secret connected to my unrealistic fantasies of actually having an interesting life). So yeah, I am quite happy. Wonderfully physically tired and unable to get angry- simply because I don't have the energy. We're going back to the cave tomorrow. And it would be a lie to say no one thought even for a few seconds they would rather stay up there rather than having to go back again. We go to bed at 10 - living the good life, huh. Tomorrow's gonna be a whole different adventure.

4.07.2013- “Don't put my poster on your bedroom wall!”

I'm starting to think this blog's name should have been “ The Blog of an Undergrad” because the U word makes all the difference. Something quite spectacular happens when one finds him/herself on a dig. You have to learn not only how to do things but how to get along with the hierarchy of which you are the lowest step. The best way to think about an Undergrad is as someone completely oblivious to the truths and practices of digging. And for that same reason we do require certain amounts of annoying (to some) teaching. We cannot learn how to mattock, trowel or write any kind of recording just by looking at people doing it. It is not how this whole learning thing works. And if it was surely we would be watching documentaries in an annoying voice on IPlayer instead of dragging our asses to a different country. But I digress. It is the third day and 3 of us girls go back to the site where the boys have been digging for the last couple of days. It's boiling hot but the occasional cloud makes us all quite happy. Then it's back to doing whatever you can just to find yourself useful. Besides, sitting on the side and watching someone do something was never my favourite thing. The rest of the girls staying at the Gorges are doing finds processing today, we all hope they are having a cooler time. Something I may not have mentioned is how very easy this stay in Serbia is to me. Being Bulgarian I understand not only some of the language but how people's brains work better than the other Brits. I'm not particularly glad with that, it's just a matter of luck- getting chosen for this project... And I digress again. It was archaeology I was talking about. Well another funny thing happens to some sometimes when you are an Undergrad on site- you tend to look at the people who know what they are doing as if they are reality TV celebrities and you're shut out on the outside with no inside info. But they are not. Mostly they are all very cool people who know how to do archaeology, and really all we want is the chance to become them one day. Ignorance is not a crime, not asking is. We got back to our little place on the Danube late today. We feel tired but happy. And believe me when I say there is no better feeling.

03.07.2013: Testosterone overflow/ Too many men!?

03.07.2013: Testosterone overflow/ Too many men!? It's a Wednesday and we wake up at 6-ish. 25 days to go. We have been here for two days but already we feel, well I feel anyways like I have spend a lot more, staying at twilight near the river. We're not having burek today (sad face). Corn flakes from a cup and a quick coffee. We're back in the cars for more traveling, this time further away. We're going to see where our other half is. Other half? It's the boy group of undergrads from Cardiff Uni. We took the “scenic” root through a few, and a few more villages, with a bit of the big boss almost getting us lost. And then we arrive (more than 2 hours and a very dodgy toilet later) and it's a field, and it's hot. Not boiling hot, yet. Some of us are genuinely happy to meet the guys again. Some not so much. And some just didn't really care. We've come to learn... Some waiting for the big boss ended up with the big group being divided. Some of us girls ended up at the second test trench (there was a first one too, a very intriguing never-excavated before Vinča culture site and so on (go to the official blog if you need more serious reading). So 5 of us ladies ended up at the cool trench, not under the tent we helped to set up earlier, under a very eager sun and with some highly motivational music. Archaeology can be a very complex, weird thing, because it doesn't always look like archaeology. As we were helping set up the test trench I couldn't help but notice the person in the combine harvester who looked at us from the adjacent corn-field as if we were a bunch of morons getting fried in the sun. As the spoil heap kept getting bigger, and the combine harvester person kept looking at us in a weird way, I kept thinking how much I enjoy just sitting there going though lumps of soil and looking for anything really. This is a second day of something. Everything is well when it starts well, or slowly- I don't know that one yet. But there is time to find out. Another long car ride got us safe sound and hungry (and a bit smelly) to our dinner. You don't need to hear the rest because it's not interesting yet. Give us a few days and the testosterone and we'll see. Note: the stuff in the cup-boards in room 1: 3 condoms, one massive crucifix, one hip-flask, one cigar, a mouse, a light bulb, a jam jar, various anonymous wires, a calculator and some CD folders with no CD-s in them.- To be continued...

Full-length trousers (not pants) required

Deep into the void of a passion for archaeology (although no-one can really say which type of archaeology) we find ourselves driven to the Danube Gorges, but now that we are here we're just gonna call it Djerdap. And I do realize that first sentence couldn't have been tackier. It's the 2nd of July and there are 7 girls studying in Cardiff that find themselves separated from the rest of the group, consisting conveniently of all the male students. But it's completely fine, that way we get more time for getting to know the vibe of the place. Staying at a motel/ guest house, with a view of the Danube (and what a view it is), we've woken up for a day of going around, visiting “eponymous” sites and trying to find a cave, that we might eventually dig at (if we ever find it). The sunny day started late. Well, late for what you would imagine a day on an archaeological dig starts. First we're heading into town (that is Donji Milanovac) for first of the many breakfast, made of bureks that we're gonna have. If you are British and reading this, there is only one thing I can say to you- You need to try burek! The delicious marriage between cheese and dough has never been more perfect. As first time go, this was somewhat awkward. I am talking about archaeological firsts times, don't get me wrong. Where are we? What is this? Why are these people staring at us? What is this? Then we're back to the cars. Habit is the mother of all comfort, so Aruna, Kate and I go to Jelena's car, where we were the day before. The rest of the girls ride with our dig leader – the big boss. And this is all I am ever going to write about the person leading this dig (or am I?). We head to the Lepenski Vir museum. Note to reader: If you don't what that is, it's a shame! Well, normal non-archaeologists would consider it vaguely intriguing. It's an Early Neolithic site, showing traces of elaborate architecture and social system. So this is kind of a big deal. And for a person such as myself, who has read most of the not-that extensive literature for South-Eastern European Prehistory in the Arts and Social Studies library at Cardiff (I'm not proud of it, this is a subtle hint for my department), I should say this was exciting. Seeing the trapezoidal houses in the landscape of the whole settlement moved from it's original site- this was a treat. What happened to the group next is something I will not share with you. Mostly because it was a special treat for us girls, and all I can say is we got to visit the site of Vlasac as well- a Mesolithic site in Djerdap (just bear with me). This exciting event lead to the last activity of the day- find the impossible cave. A short drive west from Lepenski Vir the cars stopped and it was walking from there- up hill, in the search for THE cave, although from what I hear there's loads of them. We didn't find it. What we did find was a couple of snakes eating a salamander on the path, a very slippery slope and a rock falling on Jelena's knee, barely missing her head. Or maybe the rock found us on that one. We didn't find a cave but we did find a few trees with fresh fruit on them, oh how I love those trees. About two hours after waiting for our dig leader to find that cave ( we ladies waited in the cars) we got back to our lovely place on the Danube for an evening of shared meal and all sorts of uncomfortable, semi-comfortable and UN-comfortable convos. You forget how bizarre it is to get to know people. It's 11 pm and I am writing this after THE filling in of context sheets talk. A few misogynistic remarks, a lot of laughs and two puppies this evening are enough to bring the finish to this first day. We hear are male co-students are gonna come along soon enough. What are girls ever supposed to do without boys doing all the heavy-lifting for them! Right?! So this is it- it's a beginning, maybe an epilogue and it's something. Oh, and remember when you read this to get your pants of seriousness down. This is never gonna be about the digging itself, it's gonna be about the vibe.