Wednesday, August 20, 2008 11:16 AM EDT
Digging Antiquity
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Westerly woman explores Roman ruins
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 Sara Champlin explores the roots of what archaeologists consider to be one of Spain’s most fascinating Roman cities. |
A world apart from the typical local summer, Sara Champlin got dirty exploring the roots of what archaeologists consider to be one of Spain’s most fascinating Roman cities.
The Westerly 22-year-old spent the month of July in north central Spain, assisting on an archaeological dig on a 2,000-year-old Roman theater in the former metropolis of Clunia.
Champlin, who studied art history and studio art — photography — in college, said her first dig was more detailed and physical than expected.
“I definitely have a greater appreciation for what archaeologists go through,” she said.
Her days were filled with digging, measuring, photographing and drawing at the site or conducting lab work on artifacts.
Champlin said a Roman necropolis, or cemetery, was discovered a few weeks before her arrival. She helped uncover one grave that was not a part of the necropolis. She and her teammates removed roughly 4 feet of dirt and rubble topping the grave, which contained a pelvis, vertebrae, upper leg bones and finger bones. The body had been placed atop a crumbling section of wall and covered with protective stones, she said.
The archaeological process was difficult, and required intense and lengthy focus.
Champlin said they would dig until discovering an artifact or remains, then trowel around the object and dust off dirt with a brush. The item was then measured horizontally and vertically, photographed and drawn before being removed from the earth.
“It’s very precise, scientific drawing,” she said.
She also spent considerable time uncovering, drawing, measuring and photographing a hole believed to have held a Roman post and containing that period’s version of concrete. Other interesting discoveries included a stone doll, a Roman coin, pieces of large statues and columns, nails, pot shards and various bones, Champlin added.
To learn lab work, she also devoted days to classifying artifacts like pottery shards. It was a painstaking process of washing, air drying, classifying, sorting and labeling the shards with numbers designating information such as location and age.
The 2008 University of Rhode Island graduate said she ended up on the dig because she plans to pursue graduate study in art history, and many programs require some prior archaeology experience.
Connecticut and Madrid based nonprofit ArchaeoSpain’s work in Clunia caught Champlin’s eye because she is particularly interested in Roman art history. She applied and was accepted to the month long program in the province of Burgos, where the theater is believed to have held about 9,000 people, making it the largest of its kind in Spain and Portugal.
Mike Elkin, director of ArchaeoSpain, said, “Sara and the other program participants have experienced how an archaeological excavation works as well as having contributed to important research projects. Over the past few years, our joint Spanish-international crews have uncovered priceless information about Spain’s ancient past.”
The students’ excavation, mapping and cataloguing helped reveal how the Romans built the theater, and helped the architects prepare the site for restoration and use for modern events like concerts and plays, he added in a statement.
Champlin said the long hours under the hot summer sun and hard work also fostered friendships among her team, students from Spain, the United States, Italy and Britain, “because you’re all out there doing the same hard labor,” she said.
Their days would start around 7 a.m. with a hike up a hill to the dig site.
“So we would literally get up when the roosters started crowing,” Champlin said.
The team would work until a snack break at around 11:30 a.m., and then resume work until around 3 p.m. Her group of seven plus their three advisors would then pile into a Jeep and travel to the next town for dinner, “all covered in dirt and disgusting.”
They would then take a siesta and re-group for dinner at 9 p.m.
While Champlin said she enjoyed the experience and wouldn’t turn down another dig opportunity, she thinks she’ll stay with the art history side of archaeology.
“I love the idea of (archaeology) and I definitely have a respect for the work, but I don’t think I have the patience or the work ethic,” she said.
The Westerly 22-year-old spent the month of July in north central Spain, assisting on an archaeological dig on a 2,000-year-old Roman theater in the former metropolis of Clunia.
Champlin, who studied art history and studio art — photography — in college, said her first dig was more detailed and physical than expected.
“I definitely have a greater appreciation for what archaeologists go through,” she said.
Her days were filled with digging, measuring, photographing and drawing at the site or conducting lab work on artifacts.
Champlin said a Roman necropolis, or cemetery, was discovered a few weeks before her arrival. She helped uncover one grave that was not a part of the necropolis. She and her teammates removed roughly 4 feet of dirt and rubble topping the grave, which contained a pelvis, vertebrae, upper leg bones and finger bones. The body had been placed atop a crumbling section of wall and covered with protective stones, she said.
The archaeological process was difficult, and required intense and lengthy focus.
Champlin said they would dig until discovering an artifact or remains, then trowel around the object and dust off dirt with a brush. The item was then measured horizontally and vertically, photographed and drawn before being removed from the earth.
“It’s very precise, scientific drawing,” she said.
She also spent considerable time uncovering, drawing, measuring and photographing a hole believed to have held a Roman post and containing that period’s version of concrete. Other interesting discoveries included a stone doll, a Roman coin, pieces of large statues and columns, nails, pot shards and various bones, Champlin added.
To learn lab work, she also devoted days to classifying artifacts like pottery shards. It was a painstaking process of washing, air drying, classifying, sorting and labeling the shards with numbers designating information such as location and age.
The 2008 University of Rhode Island graduate said she ended up on the dig because she plans to pursue graduate study in art history, and many programs require some prior archaeology experience.
Connecticut and Madrid based nonprofit ArchaeoSpain’s work in Clunia caught Champlin’s eye because she is particularly interested in Roman art history. She applied and was accepted to the month long program in the province of Burgos, where the theater is believed to have held about 9,000 people, making it the largest of its kind in Spain and Portugal.
Mike Elkin, director of ArchaeoSpain, said, “Sara and the other program participants have experienced how an archaeological excavation works as well as having contributed to important research projects. Over the past few years, our joint Spanish-international crews have uncovered priceless information about Spain’s ancient past.”
The students’ excavation, mapping and cataloguing helped reveal how the Romans built the theater, and helped the architects prepare the site for restoration and use for modern events like concerts and plays, he added in a statement.
Champlin said the long hours under the hot summer sun and hard work also fostered friendships among her team, students from Spain, the United States, Italy and Britain, “because you’re all out there doing the same hard labor,” she said.
Their days would start around 7 a.m. with a hike up a hill to the dig site.
“So we would literally get up when the roosters started crowing,” Champlin said.
The team would work until a snack break at around 11:30 a.m., and then resume work until around 3 p.m. Her group of seven plus their three advisors would then pile into a Jeep and travel to the next town for dinner, “all covered in dirt and disgusting.”
They would then take a siesta and re-group for dinner at 9 p.m.
While Champlin said she enjoyed the experience and wouldn’t turn down another dig opportunity, she thinks she’ll stay with the art history side of archaeology.
“I love the idea of (archaeology) and I definitely have a respect for the work, but I don’t think I have the patience or the work ethic,” she said.
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