Field School Week 1:
So it turned out to be quite difficult to actually write up
each day! We left for Grosseto on Sunday afternoon which meant there was time
to go and look at the Villa Borghese again before we left! It is such a
beautiful art gallery, and I think I could see it again for a third time!
We arrived in Grosseto about 3.30, it’s a really cute little
walled town and has much crisper air than Rome! The first week of school was
one that I will never forget! We began our introduction to the Alberese
excavations through lectures from Dr Sebastiani and Mr Colombini, who are
archaeologists who have been working on the project. They both provided us with
very informative lectures about the landscape and general information of the
area and the excavations that have taken place. This was then followed by a tour
and more lectures by Dr Citter, an archaeologist who only recently excavated
the mediaeval city centre of Grosseto along with a church in the city. He was
incredibly informative, friendly and hilarious! We had the chance to see some
of the most important sites in the city, such as the square and the city walls.
The basilica of the city had been in construction since the 1200s!
After a relatively relaxing first two days, we finally
started our field work! Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to marble study,
which was incredibly exciting! Dr Marri, an archaeologist and expert on marbles
gave us an introductory lecture about marble and its use in antiquity, and some
information about how to identify the type of stone it came from. We then
started the really exciting stuff, separating into groups of three and then
sorting through bags of marble fragments and identifying and documenting them.
The group I was in found a few interesting fragments including a slab of some
sort of mystery marble that was quite beautiful, but also quite unidentifiable!
While the first day of marble study was really enjoyable, it really did not
compare to the excitement of our second day!
We were very lucky to start the day with one fragment that
was particularly interesting, it was very smooth, and had a rounded edge which
suggested it was more than just a floor or wall veneer. Without thinking too
much about this fragment we documented it, then moved on to our next bag. Then
something very interesting happened. This second bag actually contained another
very smooth, very rounded piece of marble… and another! These two pieces fit
quite nicely together, so we had a look at the first piece we had examined and
sure enough, it also fit! This soon turned into a frenzied search for other
pieces that fit into our puzzle. Soon our three pieces had turned into 23
marble fragments of the same, smooth type!
It was like doing an incredibly exciting, and frustrating
puzzle! It took our group quite a while to finally get all but two pieces
together, and we felt so content with this result as many pieces that were
uncooperative in the process soon stuck together. We were just left with three
extra pieces that we were certain had to fit into the rest of the slab. It was
soon revealed to us that this slab had been found on one of the burials at the
excavation site. This was a part of an ancient tomb lid that was prepared quite
quickly! So, while the fragment we had did not appear to be long enough to fit
over the body, it became clear that it was probably the centrepiece of a lid,
probably with brick or wood (which has not survived) either side of it. It was
also evident that this marble slab was recycled as there are traces of mortar
on the rough side, suggesting it may have had a role of something like a
threshold or step. This was incredibly exciting. We then had the task of
drawing the slab onto some paper to record in the catalogue. After carefully
tracing the slab’s fragments onto the paper something amazing happened- we
accidently made the three left over pieces fit into the rest of the slab! It was
such an amazingly fulfilling moment, and so we had an almost complete slab!
This experience would not have been possible without the
help of Dr Marri who constantly helped us, and put up with our putting things
in the wrong place- all the time!
Unfortunately, our study of marble was concluded at the end
of the day. On the Friday, we had a visit to the Archaeological Museum of
Grosseto that boasts four levels of artefacts from Etruscan to Mediaeval times.
The fourth level of the museum houses some beautiful religious artefacts and
artworks from the area including many gold chalices, some mediaeval manuscripts
and Renaissance paintings. I had not expected the museum to have housed so many
religious relics that were outstandingly beautiful!
After this visit, we had a free afternoon which was a great
chance to relax and explore the city after a very busy week! I had a delicious
Napolitana pizza, and bought a pair of 10 euro leather boots!
On the weekend I headed back to Rome for Saturday night in
order to finish my summer semester courses and my Bachelor of Arts! So, as of
now I have completed one degree and now have to start researching for my
Honours thesis this year! It was quite an honour to submit the last of the assessment
for my BA at the British School at Rome!
We arrived back in Grosseto at about 6:30 last night, and I
went and celebrated the end of my degree at a Mexican restaurant with some of
the people on this trip, it was a very enjoyable and delicious way to
celebrate!
This week we are studying glass fragments- which I
personally don’t find as interesting as marble study, but we had a wonderful
lecture from Ms Sally Cottom from the University of Sheffield. She’s an astoundingly
intelligent glass expert and taught us so much! We spent the afternoon cleaning
up the fragments and then starting to piece them together (which is a lot
harder than piecing marble together!). I’m sure the rest of this week will be
just as exciting and bring wonderful experiences.
Hope everyone back home is well!
A piece of Porta Santa marble.
The first little fragment!
More pieces...
Like a giant puzzle
Almost there!
Drawing, with pesky bits not fitting...
The final product, still missing a few pieces!
