Last night we had a twitter chat with @SaveRome, and it reminded me—fondly and hotly—of “doing” archaeology in Italy. In the intense heat of summer, of course, because that’s when professors can get off to to do the things they love, like hanging out in Italian cafes while their students labor at moving earth in the hot sun leading an excavation.
In any case, an interesting volunteer opportunity in Umbria also showed up on my twitter feed yesterday—the Vicus ad Martis Tudertium Project. Imagine the look on your friends faces when they hear the name of the project you went on!
All kidding aside, volunteering for one of these things gives you a great insight into Italian culture. You get to stay in a small town and the people will be very curious and you’ll drink beer at the bar in greater quantities than they’ve ever seen people drink before and they’ll be suitably impressed.
When we did an archaeological survey of Puglia one summer many years ago, we had the opportunity to stay in a school for very young children. It was a challenge because the bed sheets were about 3 feet square and it was mosquito season.
The school had a kitchen to die for, all in gleaming, professional stainless steel. They were so proud of it they wouldn’t let us touch it. All for heating up pap. But that’s one of the things you learn. Italians are serious about food at all age levels. No “heat it up in the microwave” industrial crap food for the little kids of Puglia, I can assure you.
And on our day off on Sundays we hung out with the old guys in the piazza where they set up a huge TV and everyone watched formula uno. Great fun. You’re part of the crowd.
For you armchair archaeologists (it’s way easier on the back, let me tell you) the Umbrian excavations have a blog called Under the Umbrian Sun you can follow. And Save Rome has an interesting page as well about archaeology in Roma.
So, if you’ve ever thought of getting a little deeper into Italian life, volunteering for an archaeological project, even if it costs a bit (or a lot) can be an experience you’ll remember for years.