Finds I did not see

Just got back from Gdansk. Was at the archaeological museum there to study finds from numerous Roman Iron Age cemeteries. Many unpublished and thus only available for study by personal presence. This form of study requires the benevolence from the ppl in the museum. They have to be willing to share and to find a moment in their pressed scedules to help you access these finds. I am thankful to those who took their time and granted me the access.

It was 2 days of intensive work - concentrating on checking out finds, studying plans and maps, and not least trying to grasp the language. I would be lost without Magda.

My favourite word in Polish is W'kop rabunkowy. It means robber's trench. It's the remains of prehistoric looting.

But the most interesting result of this journey was the finds that I did not get to see. And I mean this in all honesty.

If you ever go to Gdansk, don't miss the National Maritime Museum. It has Europe's 2nd largest ethnographic collection of boats from all over the world. Absolutely amazing.

Bornholm

Just got back from study trip on Bornholm. It was marvellous, not least because of the magnificent people that I know there. They are into archaeology heart and soul and fortunately they agreed to tell my students about their work.

There're tons and tons of work to be done.
Evaluation report.
Chapter about graves for Sorte Muld book (due this week).
Preparations for study trip to Gdansk.
Article for Skalk about my new discovery which is still a secret.
Last but absolutely not least: more chapters for my dissertation.
So I can get it off my hands and get on with all the other exciting projects that are queueing in my mind - eager to be realized.

Happy Easter

All small children are archaeologists

- or are all archaeologists children?

Either way there are several striking similarities in the behaviour of the two.


Just watch a small child at play outdoors:

• Browsing the ground, picking up scraps


• testing the objects picked up by putting them into mouth - regardless of them being covered in dirt or sand
  
• Love DIGGING


• Dressed in an all-weather proof outfit where practicality overrules aesthetics


• Leaving traces of mudd in the car, house, supermarket or whereever he/she goes

Now watch the (field-)arcaheologist at work:

• Browsing the ground, picking up scraps


• testing the objects picked up by putting them into mouth - regardless of them being covered in dirt or sand


• Love DIGGING


• Dressed in an all-weather proof outfit where practicality overrules aesthetics


• Leaving traces of mudd in the car, house, supermarket or whereever he/she goes

Conclusion: Perhaps archaeololgists are simply the segment of the population that never grew out of it...

Bad archaeologist with a love for micro stratigraphy

Sunday afternoon.
Just went to the office.
Still have access to it although my time is up and I am not employed by the University any longer.
At least not for the moment.
Soon I'll be hired as an external lecturer which means that I'll work the blood out of myself and get payed by the hour for creating a course and teaching it.
I'm doing the course together with a geologist.
Interesting how we do have some common theoretical challenges. Such as approaches to stratigraphy. And relative dating.
Plus we both like to get our feet into the mudd and our hands dirty... And we don't mind how we look in wellies and windblown tresses.

In fact we archaeologists take a certain pride in having thick, dried up layers of mudd on our boots and preferably on our clothes too.
To document we are actually working. HARD.
We're growing our very own micro-stratigraphy beneath our boots.

Back to work.
I went to the office because I don't remember the more narrow (but relative!) dating of the fibula Amgren 103. Am I a terrible archaeologist because I don't remember that by heart?

IF only I had my notebook in which I described all the finds from the grave in question.
But apparently it can't be found at home or here at the office.
Which means I now have to look it up because I am a terrible archaeologist not remembering this by heart. But hello, I am now admitting it. Even in public (if this blog can be considered public. How many readers does it take to classify something as public? Don't know if I have other readers than myself @ this blog).
Usually we archaeologist cover up the gaps in our expertise, that some times threaten to merge to the surface. So this is outstanding y'all. (or me-all...).

Anyhow, the notebook gone, I'm going to look it up and get it fixed. Never again will I ever forget the dating of silver fibulae of type Almgren 103.

If you, dear reader, are not an archaeologist, this will make no sense or meaning to you, it will be completely irrelevant. Perhaps I should try that approach too. But then I would not be an archaeologist now, would I?

So for now I'm going back to work. It will pay off in the end. Only not financially.
But surely, there are other values in life than what money can buy. The question is if they're overrated?
See ya' later.

perhaps there is hope after all

Future archaeology: "Ken just located a website that has had no hits within the last 28 years! It's an outstanding find!"

(strip by WulffMorgentahler, Politiken 23. feb. '08)

Why blog?

There are numerous reasons to why I started blogging. But why blog?
Is it not just a symptom of our present culture where everybody wants to expose themself? Am I blogging because I am a kind of exhibitionist - only not physically but rather a mental exhibitionist? I want to expose my thoughts to the world, look at me, look at what I'm thinking?
The answer is NO.
I'm blogging to keep my head from exploding.
My mind is so full of thoughts. And paradoxically, this actually to some degree prevents my work from progressing. I get mentally constipated. More and more is constantly generated but it goes no where.
By blogging, I can let it out in a media where I do not have to reflect on form first, but can let it flow directly from the mind to the writing fingertips. Unedited.
I hope that blogging keeps my writing flowing and that the natural flow of words - from mind through fingers to screen - will transmit to my research work as well.
That I will learn to stop editing while I write (a very destructive procedure) and save the editorial process for later. I believe the blogging will help me to become more productive. Even though at first hand you might say it is taking extra time - that I might have used for my research instead.
Rather than imposing my thoughts on anybody I am hereby sharing them with those that may care to read it and perhaps share my interests, thoughts, ideas. Or disagree. And hopefully contribute with interesting comments.
A blog is a great media for transforming an unedited random monologue into an interesting dialogue.
So feel free to comment - I'm grateful for your contribution to transforming this now monologue into a dialogue.
And prevent my head from exploding.