Ethnographies of Archaeological Practice by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780759114319
Publisher: AltaMira Press
Published: 2013-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 7.2. The fieldwork experience: Archaeologists at Scopello beach (Photo by Cornelius Holtorf)

Some of the most fascinating and memorable discoveries and explorations of the fieldwork season took place both in the local town of Salemi and in the basement of the dig house itself. On the evening of July 9, 1999, for example, a large group of us walked to the ruined castle of Salemi, which we had always wanted to explore. The gate was closed, but adventurous as we were, being the archaeologists in town, we decided to have a look anyway. It was not difficult to climb over the fence and get a look at the entire site. On the way out, there were four people missing. We learned that the local police had detained them for trespassing. They were later released after answering some questions and stating their personal details. As archaeologists, it was said, they should have known that ruined castles can be dangerous to visit and respected that the site was closed. In retrospect, maybe we should not have gone. Our action was certainly never explicitly condoned by any project chief, and Ian Morris tells me now that “everyone currently involved in the project thinks that this was disgraceful behavior, and we deplore it.” The episode affected the project’s local status and proved embarrassing especially to another senior team member who had been caught in the act with the others. Apparently, even in 2002 when the castle reopened, the event was still remembered. It was an archaeological adventure that none of the involved parties will easily forget.

We also enjoyed exploring the deserted bottom floor of the building in the first and second floors of which we were accommodated. This large space was once used as a clinic and it had obviously not been cleaned up since its closure—only blocked off with bricks in a rudimentary fashion but insufficiently closed to stop us entering through the back door. Like contemporary urban explorers who explore the uncharted areas of our cities (e.g., infiltration.org), we could not resist finding out what lay underneath the floors we called home. We found a mess. One room was full of medical apparatus and papers spread out on the floor. In the center was what looked like a defunct X-ray machine, elsewhere a bone saw. In another room we found an old Italian flag and nearby a plow that was possibly still in occasional use, with access through a locked garage gate. There was much broken glass and other rubbish spread out all around; one room was full of sewage smelling appallingly—we wondered whether this came from our very own toilets. As one participant later remembered, we were living on top of “a classical horror film scenario.” Unsurprisingly, one or two students subsequently experienced nightly spooks.

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