Again it is very hot today – 102 in the shade and much hotter in the sun. The work this week has been difficult, though our Greek workmen have arrived to help out. I have been laying out test trenches on the field, most of them about a foot and a half in width. Some are about 10 meters long (around 30 feet), but the longest so far has been 43 (about 130 feet). Most of them have been dug to test the results of the magnetometer and ground penetrating radar, though all we have found so far are used shotgun shells, wire, bolts, and Byzantine (“BIZ-ant-eene”) pottery. The pottery from this time period in Greece is very easy to spot, since it is usually covered with a shiny yellow, brown, or green glaze. We are disappointed that we have not found tombs yet, even though it is really normal to have a slow start to the season. Last year we were remarkably lucky to find tombs within the first week of test trenching – our first year here, we dug test trenches for several weeks before finding a tomb.
If the technology works, below you will see a map of the field where we are working. You can see where the tombs that we dug before are located (in black) and the grid (in red) that divides up the upper field. Make a guess about which grid square you think will contain a tomb!
Some more students should be arriving in the next few days, just in time for the annual celebration of Canada Day (usually a fancy pancake and egg breakfast, the singing of the Canadian anthem, and some other Canada-themed events). The next few evening will be spent enjoying the finals of the European Cup (a soccer competition). People in Nemea are very excited about the soccer games – they watch them outdoors on big TVs at the local restaurants and cafes.