Everybody needs a little help

Today was a bit overcast and windy. However, work progressed on the site. We now have a nice system of teams, where some people wash finds, others catalogue finds, some continue to extend the site, while the final group map any new features. For the most part, the system works well, assuming we swap people around every so often. It is important that people get to experience all the tasks associated with an excavation. While it is good to specialise, there is only so much washing of finds or recording of post holes one can do before it starts to get a touch tedious. By moving people around the different tasks, it keeps things fresh and means that team members are not always working with the same people 24/7.

Today we had quite a few unexpected visitors to the site. It is always nice when visitors drop by because it gives us a chance to show off our hard work. Usually they are given a small tour of the site by Corinne, and then are free to come and ask some of the other team members what they are specifically working on. It is nice to talk to visitors as they often ask unexpected questions, which really makes you think and reflect about the job in hand. Today, I was explaining how and why we catalogue ceramic finds. This led to some really interesting questions about the other research that members of the Leiden Unversity, Caribbean Research Group are doing. Although I think the highlight visit of the day for me was when three of the local children turned up and plucked up the courage to come and talk to Noortje and I. We explained to them what we were doing and then asked if they would like to help. It is really interesting to see your work through the eyes of children. For a start, it highlights how well (or not) you are explaining difficult concepts. When it was finally time for the children to leave, they told us they were looking forward to seeing us again soon and hoping that we could go and talk to their class in school. I guess it is important to remember, that when conducting fieldwork (probably more so than at any other time) we are on show and are constantly involved with outreach. The more outreach we do, the more interest we generate in the work. Ultimately, it really puts the work you are doing into perspective, and children can be the harshest critics. As an FYI, we have an official site open day on Thurs, so if you're in the area, drop on by.