The “real archaeologist” and what this has to do with epigraphy

So, here I am, sitting in a car, with my colleagues, on my way to lovley Italy, looking forward to a week full of inscriptions, stones, epigraphic documentation work and photography fun.

Oh, and I give a very short presentation on our finding-spot map of our current project on Celtic divine names on Roman inscriptions on the province of Germania Inferior. My inspiration for that post and the title came actually from Sara Perry’s blogpost on “Who exactly is a ‘real’ archaeologist?” (Check it out here! And spent some time on her blog, I love reading it!)

So, I am archaeologist by training (you know that, I have written about that even in my post on The D- and the H-part). I am busy working on finishing my thesis. My thesis is busy working on finishing me – the struggle is for real, dear warriors of academia, we all do know this!

Lately, we wondered, if we are really doing good with this blog. Well, you are not supposed to write on current hot new research, because there are some evil people in the world, who actually will steal your ideas from you. You should by no means write about interesting things. You should write in a regular mode, so, we have chosen to post once a week.

So, are we doing good? We got some feedback from friends and colleagues, who told us that they love to read us. So, we are doing good, because we reach some people at least. 😉

As I am busy finishing my thesis with a lot more work than progress, I just got nailed down by this one specific question, I always feared, but never actually thought about. And this one question carries a rat tail of other questions, hated and feared alike.

“Are you a real archaeologist? You are doing so many things with inscriptions, so, basically, a historian’s wirk, right? You are not digging… Aren’t archaeologists always digging? You don’t look like an archaeologist, you know. And, can you even do it, I mean, you are a girl, and digging is hard work?”

So… I can do everything I want, even digging, because I am a real archaeologist. And no girl, I mean – thank you, do I look that young? But no, for digging you need a shovel and two hands to hold it, so, basically every human being can actually dig.

But a lot of archaeological work is done in the library, meaning actually in writing about your findings and material, sitting at your desk and staring on your screen and typing wildly.

Concerning inscriptions… You know, they come very often on stones, metal, even pieces of wood, potsherds, etc. Guess what, you can find things with inscriptions during an archaeological campaign. And now, what do we call them? Inscirptions? Well, yes, but as the material one here, I would like you to call them what they are: archaeological finds. (I know, now you are mind-blown, right?) I have no idea, why it was fancy to divide inscriptions from archaeological material, from their actual context, just to work on the im historical manner. Somewhere back in time, this way of working divided archaeologists and epigraphists and now they are still divided – and now, I come along, telling all of you that those objects with inscriptions are actually archaeological finds, so let me through, I am archaeologist!

I am a big fan of stones since nearly three years. Before that it was all about bones and artificial skull deformation, a research interest I will never give up, because it is interesting and stunning, but hey, you know, human skeletal remains and inscribed material are both different genres of archaeological material, so, I can work on both because – I am a real archaeologist. So, where are my inscriptions?!

So… stay tuned, you will hear from me, the real archaeologist. Well, you will hear from me, as long as there will be decent WLAN… 😉