The big meal was at mid-day at a restaurant not too far from out dig site. The meal included wine and at least three courses. Being the only American who ate anchovies, I got as many as I could eat. I like anchovies, but like pickles or other foods of that type the limit can be reached quickly. In fact one of the things I learned about myself on this dig was how broad my tastes were when compared with the other Americans on the dig.
The mid-day meal was followed by an almost two hour break. We were driven back into town and to the dorm like setting where we were staying. After one afternoon “resting” on a very full stomach, my choice was to go to a nearby bar/cafe with a book and notepaper and slowly drink local wine or dry clear vermouth that cost less than 50 cents for a heavy round angularly cut glass. I remember playing American music from Sinatra to Pink Floyd on the jukebox in one of the bars. Just prior to our bus ride back to the dig I would order an espresso for a pick me up. This was my routine for the month of the dig after lunch.
On the last day of the dig I took a role I had been assigned from the very beginning, the dig photographer. In practice what this meant was that I took some pictures of the site from above it. It was a big production because the Trento fire department was summoned with their fire truck and ladder that expanded into the sky. When I took the “photographer” title I had assumed wrongly that I would be taking pictures of the dig daily or periodically. On the last day I remember clearly looking up the long ladder. I had been in Italy long enough to have developed some skepticism about the thoroughness of the safety inspections, especially of large machinery. It was the last day of the dig but I didn’t want it to be my last day. I walked very slowly, I was hoping it was perceived as very dramatic, up the ladder with three cameras around my neck. I took one step at a time, putting both feet on the rung before taking the next step.
Any digging in the Po valley region by Italian law had to have an archeologist present as observer in the event a potential site was discovered. And in fact that summer very near our site an ancient, pre-Etruscan burial site was uncovered by a person excavating for the foundation for a house. Several from our party helped with this emergency excavation, easily the most significant find that summer. A picture of the American teacher and a couple from our group on the dig even appeared in the local newspaper around the burial site.
As the month on the dig proceeded it became very clear to me that I was much more interested in the cultural aspects of the dig. Both young Americans and Italians were on the dig, this was interesting enough, but when the teacher who was tall and thin and in his mid-thirties had an affair with one of his students the interpersonal currents running through the dig participants completely overwhelmed anything that was or could be found in the ground, small shards of broken pottery.
In fact, given that archeologists frequently participate in these type of group projects, I was quite amazed that the cultural aspects, group and interpersonal dynamics did not preclude the advancement of the profession. When I met some of the Italian archeologist and heard stories about other American archeologist my impression of the profession, with a common denominator of beer drinking, was filled out quickly. As far as my impressions of the Italians, I quickly saw them in the most favorable light beginning with the wonderful food we received both at lunch and dinner as part of our compensation.
Dig Italy 3
