Dry Brushing

So, my first full day of work happened today. The day began with a little intro to what we were going to do on our Magazzino days. Basically finds processing.

Dry brushing is going to be the bulk of our mornings; we’re going to brush the dirt off the “bulk finds” from the day before (bulk finds being bulk pieces of pottery and bone which aren’t particularly remarkable.) We clean them to make sure they aren’t “special finds” which are finds which have distinct features like full profiles of pots, inscriptions, or decoration.

We also had another lovely talk from Tony about the catalogue, and the volume of artifacts that have been found. The idea of putting them together is baffling. There are pieces found meters apart in the ground, and separated by years in the dig that have been found to join together. It’s pretty incredible.

There was this horse hoof and part of foreleg that were found two years apart and in different trenches and yet someone somehow was able to see that they fit together and rejoin the two parts. Conservation work is so cool.

After the chat we were set to work in a sort of assembly line removing big boxes of finds from the 60s from their shelves and lining them up to be taken out and dusted/dry brushed off to get rid of 40 years of accumulated dust. The space was cramped and the boxes of terracotta were extremely heavy not to mention splintery and full of dead spiders, but the notion that we were sifting through pieces of ancient history makes it not only worth it but unimaginably exciting.

While carrying I noticed a box of bones just piled among the boxes of ceramics, on top I recognized a femur and the brow ridge of a human skull. Something about the human remains just sort of brings home the fact that we are excavating a past thriving community.

It is also incredible to find the impressions of the hands of the Etruscan workmen who moulded the clay. Sliding my hand into those depressions and holding it just like the person who made it two and a half thousand years ago did gives me shivers – pretty awe inspiring.

Even something so mundane as dusting off old finds is exciting to me. Perhaps as the summer progresses I’ll tire of it but right now I still feel like an excited little kid.

I’m happy that I’m finally going to get to go in the trenches tomorrow. I know that the heat and hike are probably going to crush my spirit (crouching for eight hours doesn’t sound all that appealing) but the thought of finding something – anything is definitely incentive enough!

I hope to report back that I’ve found an incredible artefact tomorrow, though I’m sure I’ll be equally excited about a shard of a terracotta roof tile.

Here is the dusty deed in all it's glamorous glory:

Tomorrow is a half day because il Palio is happening in Siena it is some sort of insane violent bareback horse race that is a medieval tradition. apparently there is basically guaranteed to be riots in the streets at the end.

wouldn't miss it for the world.

I think there's still dirt in my nose from all the dry brushing.

yum.

ps. Happy Canada Day All!!

I hope everyone is having fun at the party at my house right now! I know the fireworks will be "phenomenal" like always.