Fayum Field School Blog: Fall 2009
First Impressions
By AJ White | 10.26.09
After having travelled halfway across the world, been solicited by nearly every cab driver in Cairo, and driven to the brink of insanity by the ever present car horns, I was more than happy to arrive at the sanctuary of our dig house to begin field school.
Nabila: Thoughts
By Nabila Ibrahim | 10.26.09
The Fayum Field School is a very important project for training in archaeological techniques, so many inspectors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities want to join this field school I have gotten the chance to train in excavation work at this field school which began on 12 October 2009 and goes until 12 November 2009.
Excursion to Sakkara
By Bridgette Gilliland | 10.26.09
On Thursday October 15, 2009 our group of field students and graduate collegues traveled to Sakkara to visit the astonishing monuments on the site. As most of us glanced at Sakkara for the first time we were silent in bewilderment. The views were breathtaking. The sun was ablaze and cast a ray of light so strong that the pyramid of Djoser was cast against a white-hot sky. The courtyard around the pyramid was reconstructed by the brilliant French Architect/Egyptologist Joseph Lauer. He dedicated his life to working at Sakkara and his reconstructions are unparalleled in Egypt. Through his efforts over the past century and the SCA’s commitment to the site, a museum has been built to inform visitors about Sakkara’s long history.
Osteology
By Laura R. Banashek | 11.1.09
Life in the Beyt Mandub (soon to be the Beyt Sobek) is like no other. Like the other field school students, I get up around 4:30 AM, drag myself to breakfast by 5:00 AM, find a seat on the bus by 5:30 AM, and am 'in the field' by 6:00 AM. The difference, however, is that instead of jumping in the trenches like the rest of the students, I walk around a giant cemetery. I'm an osteologist, and collecting human remains for analysis is the focal part of my day.
Reflections: Carmeline
By Carmeline | 11.1.09
As week two of field work gets under way everyone is adapting to the different life style. Wake up, eat, and be off by 5:30am! When I first started field work it seemed like a lot of digging for very few finds. That all changed this week! In our trench we have found worked wood, a full wooden bowl, seals, and much more! Other trenches have found sandals and wooden spoons!
