Go on an archaeological dig

I don’t major in archeaology or anything but I found an anthropology club at my university and they are going on a few digs that I’m considering. I use to want to be an archaeologist but chose nutrition instead. One of my favorite nutrition teachers actually majored in anthropology so maybe i can mix the two as well…

I want to major in archaeology at Yale—anyone have any good websites for expeditions—preferably for teens and adults alike, not just limited to experience and age above 17. Thanks!

i recently got back from an 18 day expedition dig in Idaho. my first one! it was tedious and the weather was completely dry, but i loved it! I was chosen for Earthwatch’s SCAP program, so it was all-expenses-paid and chock-full of archaeologist terms and bison bones. :) Not to mention, i got some insight into the field – which I am currently considering persuing. Overall, a great experience!

My early years were filled with watching Indian Jones and playing Tomb Raider

When I was seven years old, I wanted to be an archaeologist. The other kids in my neighborhood wanted to be cowboys, cops and firemen.

I took an intro course in archaeology in college, but found it rather disappointing because the professor insisted upon making it all about paleoindian archaeology, simply because the school is located in Oklahoma, whereas, I was more interested in European sites, especially those dealing with the Celts, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons.

Near Granada someplace, in a giant cave…

http://www.earthwatchexpeditions.org/Europe/exped/gibert.html

Or in England!!

http://www.earthwatchexpeditions.org/Europe/exped/martlew.html

Studying Roman fortifications in England…

http://www.earthwatchexpeditions.org/Europe/exped/bidwell.html

or in Armenia!

http://www.earthwatchexpeditions.org/Europe/exped/greenwood.html

And HERE was that old site I found about Pompeii!

http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/archsci/field_proj/anampomp/index.htm

Here are some pics from a Pompeii dig

http://pompeii.virginia.edu/pompeii/tti/images/images.html

also try this one for more info

http://pompeii.virginia.edu/pompeii/t-s_top.html

Since I’ve been writing about archaeology…

Here’s a link to an online database of papyri…

Too bad most of them are in ancient Greek, but some of them are in English or Latin…

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cache/perscoll_DDBDP.html

It looks like the website is old, but I found a site a few days ago about this group you can work with in Pompeii, even if you aren’t majoring in anything in college. Just for fun, for a few weeks over the summer.

Last summer, I participated in an archaeological field school in Easter Island, run through the University of Hawaii. Easter Island is a tiny island in the South Pacific, famous for its moai statues (the big head statues). It was an amazing adventure, but definitely a lot of work. I’m super glad I did it, though, since it opened my eyes and warmed my heart to a new culture and experience. I am actually going back this summer to do it again!

Finding a 9000 year old aboriginal site or 33,000 year old log in situ in a quarry site, recovering artifacts from early european sites, a crock of 1800 rum for instance, figuring out from maps where to start looking for old homesteads and then with scraping in the dirt, looking for signs in the soils of the old homesteads, you could see that they had extended their old house, find the fence lines, shards and old bone pipes, doing microscopic analysis of artifacts, cataloguing artifacts… all very cool and certainly worth doing!! Highly recommend! A lot of sites have volunteering but it certainly is a great gig to be paid for that is for sure!

BUT, I don’t see myself ever doing it. I may put it on the list again someday….......