You know you're an archaeologist when...

We visited Herculaneum today. It was a nice comparative trip for all of the work we've done in Pompei. The city is much smaller but much better preserved in some ways. Many of the original stairs, roofs, and doorways are still standing because of the way it was buried after the eruption (it was covered differently than Pompei keeping a lot of the wood from decaying or burning like it did at our site). I was proud to say that I couldn't help identifying and phasing a lot of the wall constructions when we were walking around. "You know you're an archaeologist when...." Unfortunately, the site this morning was plagued by some very obnoxious tourists climbing and jumping off of the walls and columns. We had to keep asking them to stop, which finally ended in the father of the group telling me to mind my own business. I like to think it is my business when his kids are breaking my research...I don't go climbing on his desk at work. GRRRRR. Some people are very inconsiderate. If you ever visit an archaeological site, pleeeeeease do not climb on the ruins! Especially with Pompei and Herculaneum struggling to find the funding to maintain and preserve the sites as they are. On a happier note, I bought a book on the Farnese sculptures to entertain myself on the train ride to Florence. :D

Tomorrow is my last day to work on the site. This summer has gone by so incredibly quickly. We finished writing up most of our season report this afternoon and just have some categorizing and logistical things to take care of before we are finished. I'm very sad thinking about tomorrow being my last time to walk up the Porta Marina before the site opens, but this has been an incredible experience. I've met more amazing people and developed and improved so many more skill sets than I thought possible in five weeks, and I couldn't have asked for more!