The Final Countdown

A fragment of a ring that I found

More finds from the display

Week six has come and gone.  As I sit on my bed, procrastinating instead of packing, I thought I should write my penultimate blog post about my final week in Ashkelon.  Week six began with a big, formal dinner called the "Finds Display."  All of the most significant artifacts from this season were displayed on tables for the entire dig to see.  Because every grid is working in a different time period, it was really interesting to see what was found.  It was also pretty amazing to see my own finds on display, like a fragment of a ring that I found in my pit.  It was funny to see everyone dressed up.  After spending six weeks seeing everyone at their dirtiest, it was almost shocking to imagine what these people might look like in real life.  After dinner, everyone sat around the pool, drinking and laughing while shenanigans ensued (on the dig's tab), knowing full well that we would all have to be awake at 4:30 the next morning. 

The bearded boys looking snazzy

The remainder  of this week was spent sweeping, trimming balks (artificial walls), sweeping, articulating stones, sweeping, the tiniest bit of digging, and, oh yes, some more sweeping.  Sweeping dirt off of more dirt is no easy feat.  We had to sweep and resweep areas until footprints, brush strokes and any speck of loose dirt was eliminated.  Tomorrow, a special camera will take aerial photographs of the grid, so it had to be spotless.  I think I might be developing the black lung from all of the dust I've inhaled over the past week.  Sweeping can also drive people a little crazy.  Today, our grid supervisor decided to film Emma, Caroline and me singing "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias into our brushes on a Flip video camera that is uploaded to an archeological server that contains information about our site.  Basically, I'll never be taken seriously in the archeological world ever again. 
    When we weren't in the grid sweeping, we were in the pottery compound doing inventory, pottery marking and other miscellaneous tasks that essentially amounts to secretarial slave labor.  It was not the most exciting week, work-wise. 
    We spent most of the week reminiscing about our time in Ashkelon.  The trials and tribulations, laughter and inside jokes, scandals and secrets (which never lasted more than a few seconds) that made our time here so unique, also made us feel like we never want to leave.  Last night we had a final party for all of the dig members.  One of the boys, Alabama John, made a toast that summed up our feelings about each other and the dig  perfectly.  He said that we are all a family and can rely on each other for anything.  We've been through hell but laughed all the way through.  Nothing and nobody can take away the experience we had here.

     This dig was my back up plan for this summer.  I am so grateful nothing else worked out.  This has been, hands down, the best summer of my life.  The friends I have made here will last a lifetime and the experience as a whole is unforgettable.  I don't want to get on that plane tonight and leave my dig family.   I love all of you guys so much.  Ashkelon 2011, forever.