Day 5: I lost my hat :(

Today will be special in my field-work career. A normal field-walk morning turned into somthing pretty awesome as I came across a grinding stone that was strangely shaped.
Normally grinding stones are irregular with one flat surface (buried into the sand with scorpians living under them).
But this one.
This one was different
It was hourglass shaped with a smooth surface in the middle.
Curiouser and curiouser.

After some discussion and quibbling it was decided that it was a animal tethering stone... A find that has not previously been found in a context and time-period like this before.
To most people it was a pretty shaped rock.
To us, this thing represents a new avenue for understanding the emergence of agricultural practice in this area.
Exciting shit.

With a newly adopted carefree attitude we jumped onto the back of the Land Rover and set off at high speed across the desert to our next transect area... The fatal error made here was that I had failed to secure my hat. Fuck.

RIP Hat. I only knew you for a day, but you kept my nose non-burnt. 5eva.

Soon after I started to frizzle in the sun. Luckily "hot guy" (Im 99% sure that most of our dig crew dont actually know his actual name, as literally everyone in the house now just refers to him as hot guy...) had bought a number of head scarves (why? who knows... roll with it) and hastened to tie me a fashionable head-scarf...

by fashionable here I mean... I looked fucking ridiculous...
BUT! I WAS NO LONGER BECOMING RUDOLF THE RED NOSED ARCHAEOLOGIST.
Celebration was had. Transects were walked.
The day was a happy one.
The earlier sadness of losing my hat was soon replaced by the kind of joy that only a head-wimple can bring.

Today we also learnt that a sock and a bottle of water are all you need to create ice-cold beverages in the middle of a desert.
By placing the water bottle inside the sock and continuously moistening the sock you create evaporation, which cools the drinks down to aound 5 degrees...
We are planning on brining magaritas and pinnicoladas to the field tomorow using this method :3

The evening was a designated TV night. Rach drunk way too much gin and made obsurd comments and the rest of us fell asleep half way through battlestar gallactica (for shame).

Crew sitting out in the field

Me and Sammy in the control room back at base

The theodolite in action in the field

Josh not in action in the field

Dig house courtyard featuring the snazzy tents and volleyball area

The upstairs balcony area of the dig-house :3

Day 3: Skynet is real. The machines are out to get us.

Today started well. Very very well. 4 transects down before 3pm, field walking done, analysis done. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly.
Till we got back for download.
Then all hell loose.

Just prior to lunch the theodolite had a little hiccup and BSOD'd. We started the ol' girl back up and continued with survey (finding several pieces of neolithic pot and some fine paleolithic flakes). Nothing seemed to be out of place until download. Where it was revealed that the BSOD had caused a file corruption for the entire transect, meaning all the polygons were left open, and all point data was attributeless :S.

Several hours of pondering later, and several handfulls of hair stressfully pulled out it was finally assessed that the whole thing was fucked. 3 hours of work de_stroyed. My soul de_stroyed. we tried our hardest to keep morale up but all 9 of us were absolutley despondant. We would have to reshoot tomorow. ffffffffffffffffffff. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. well. shit.

But the fun didnt stop here. The Differential GPS unit stored several of the points as areas. not good. fuck compewtars. alsdkjglsakhgashfl;kajdlkfajdlkcmascma.dfj. after afew minutes we managed to work some magic and re-configure all the points (holy shit crisis averted).

Morale was still low at the begining of BBQ PARTAY NIGHT but an open bar and delicious food soon fixed that. Tonight we celebrated Dr. Rebecca passing her pHD :3 WOOOOOOOO, a excellent costume of a stethescope, syringe (some kind of animal syringe, dont question it, just roll with it), and harry potter glasses was provided for Bex, and the party began in earnest. Free beer. Good conversations. and a good pick up after the download traumas. For the first time tonight we stayed up past 9pm (no nanna pants allowed when theres free beer around).

Haman (our resident crazy driver, BBQ maestro and all around egyptian comedian) cooked a magnificent BBQ for us this eve :3 kofta and falafel and deliciousness EVERYWHERE (except for sammy, but thats a story for tomorow)

The rest of the night was dedicated to the welcoming of our new crew member Marshall, who was soon dubbed "The hot guy" by slaggy and Rach. This will subsequently be his radio call sign for the field. The story here is that archaeologists are not usually renowned for their looks... at all... its a good thing that we usually hide behind baggy kaki clothing and stetson hats which cover our faces... so the story goes that when Marshall first arrived at the dig house tash exclaims: WHO ARE YOU!??? YOU CANT WORK WITH US???!!!! YOU ARE TOO HOT!!!!! Which tbh was fatally embarassing for everyone involved, on the flipside the girls are pretty excited to work with him for the next 5 weeks. However the nights embarasing remarks by certain individuals will not be forgotten anytime soon.

The surface of the area we are working on... desert pavement... 

SHORT ARCHAEOLOGY LESSON:

way back when this used to be a paleo-lake (was all under water...) and then over time as it dried out we get this kind of a surface, which then several millions of years later peeps walked over (10,000bp) and dropped flakes nd shit which we now look at :3 

Spot the artifacts in the picture... anyone who finds them gets a gold star

The dig house!!!

Us at work in the field!

Day 2: Signed, sealed, deliverd... Fayum im yours!

Short entry today :3 WITH PICTURES TOO!!!!

4.00am: Alarm goes off and we shuffle off to breakfast. The mornings here are effin cold. The Land Rovers are packed with gear, and the human contingent of the survey project pile into the remaining space. You certinally get to know your field crew pretty well being in this proximity straight off. 30 minutes of driving brings us to a large concrete irrigation channel cut into the otherwise empty dessert. These structures were part of an initiative 15 years ago to turn the Fayum desert into agricultural land, howver, like everything else in Egypt the project remains unfinished and unused. These structures mean very little to most people but to us these structures destroy the entirity of the surface record, meaning the primary context of millions of artifacts and sites is disturbed, that data lost. The first sighting of these mega-structures (incoming emotional moment) made me realise the destructiveness of modern progress, and the naivity that precedes it. How meaningless so much of the destruction is, and how little we understand about our past to do this to the landscapes we have lived on for so many milenia.

Emo moment aside, we cross the escarpment and get the first real view of our study area. Like most deserts, it kinda looks like miles and miles and miles of sand. and sand. and more sand. But on closer inspection it is revealed that hearths and artifacts are periodically scattered around.

The corridoor or transect that we are surveying today is on the upper limit of the paleo-lake and as such we expect low densities of habitation evidence. To many people the prospect of walking round a desert for 10 hours a day, in the glaring heat, staring at the ground seems less that appealing, but the 11 of us lap it up, excited as all hell at the amazing landscapes and finds we come across. This behaviour confirming that all archaeologists are indeed insane.

By the end of the day we had walked over 20k, surveyed 3 transects and logged over 1000 points on the theodolite. Satifying first day in the field.

Back at the dig-house later we were introduced to the dutch, american and british counterparts of the project before crashing out again. Tomorow will be first party night, but for now, sleep is badly required.

Sunrises in the desert are quite pretty. 6am from Transect 24.

Measuring Hearths. Note the all important indianna jones hats. 

Day 1: You say goodbye, I say hello!

PART 1: GOODBYE NEW ZEALAND

Well. This is it. Sitting here at Auckland Airport with the Fayum 2012 Survey Field Crew, toasting to the start of this years field season, and saying farewell to New Zealand. My turn to toast. I should say somthing meaningful and deep, like, uhhh: It has been the best of times, im sad to see you go, and that im looking forward to the challenges of Egypt field season... instead I say TO NZ:

GG-WP. No RE. TO EGYPT: GL-HF!!!!!... yeah... close nuff...

But seriously, this is it, in 2 hours ill be gone for good, off Egypt for 5 weeks field work before heading onto the motherland to continue with academia. The last few weeks have soared past, ultra stress leading up to handing in of thesis, playing TF2 OWL season, packing up of my life into boxes, catching up with old friends, and preparing for a new life back in the UK, there was also the ultra stress of NZ customs... but ill get to that story soon. Sitting here now, drinking this beer it suddenly hits me how much I have achieved in this last year and how much of an experience this next 5 weeks will be. But fuck it, thats tomorow mes problem...  For now, the only thing on my mind is buying a refil to this beer and the Hello Kitty watches which caught my eye on the way through duty free. After a short discussion with the rest of the crew it is decided that the pink, diamonte hello-kitty watch will be my field-work watch, the impracticallity of the white strap not a part of our decision making process. Its all about the aesthitics (yes. I lift). bets are placed as to how long it will last. My bet is 5eva.

Returning now to the customs story. So, me and customs have a long and fraught history of misunderstandings. combine this with my unatural ability to set off metal detectors and you have a recipie for airport fun. This journey was no exception. Ill lay the scene out for you below.

Me: Carrying a bag packed with electronics: headset, mouse, mic, external drive, 3 laptops
Me: Places said bag on xray machine
Customs man: FREAKS OUT
Me: Sets of metal detector on way to full bag search
Customs man #2: FREAKS OUT
Me: D:!!!!!!
Me: THAT STUFFS FOR GAMING SOZ!
Customs man: wut
Me: Im a gaming archaeologist, I take all my shit to the field with me
Customs man: 10 points for most inventive story ive ever heard
Me: :( is true :( :( :( :(
*extensive bag and person search ensues*

Several minutes later, after a full bag search and a brisk patting down I was released to continue with my journeys with the following words of wisdom: Dont pack all your gaming shit into the same bag... it looks like a bomb... Also "gaming archaeologist" has the effect of making everyone at customs have a good ol' laugh at your expense... >.<

Anywho, boarding times here, time to haul ass to the gate... not gonna lie, we look ridiculous heading to the plane. 9 archaeologists, all with indianna-jones hats, and at least 3 laptop bags each, wearing all kaki (except for my hello-kitty watch). Bystanders stare at this wierd spectacle, several people question our motives and fashion choices... replies vary from OH HI WE ARE ARCHAEOLOGISTS through THATS COVERT INFORMATION SORRY SIR through to YOU WOT M8?

PART 2: HELLO MELBOURNE

So on the plane I made the decision that I would watch the worst movies in an attempt to get me off to sleep... Don't question this logic. I also decided that because nobody else on the crew wanted their prawn cocktails that I would eat all of these as well... Again don't question the logic...

Landed in melbourne, contently full of my dinner of 9 prawn cocktails and filled with a sudden desire to dance everything after watching the abomination which is Step-Up Revolution.

Again a run in with customs, this time in the form of a "Random drug and explosives test" - coincidence? I think not...
Again after assessing that my electronics were indeed not fashioned for the exploding of planes, but rather for the collection of data and for purposes of gaming I was let through.
4 Hours of the 24 down.
Feeling good. Excited for the next 15 hours sitting watching terrible movies.

PART 3: HELLO DUBAI

Ok. So.  I have some movie reviews to deliver to you after that abomination of a flight.

Katy Perry: 2.5 hours of Katy crying and wearing spinny shit on her tits. Probably the worst thing Ive seen since I had the misfortune to watch Slugby projectile vomit over his microphone after one particulary good vodka sesh.

Chenobyl Diaries: I cant begin to explain how soul destroying this movie is. Even without the fatal inacuracies regarding radiation poisoning the general film is just. just. just. no. 1/10.

I dont even. Just. No.

Anyway. Dubai customs. the saga continues. set the metal detector off. 5 passess through the machine later, the removal of my xena boots and several other items of clothing and it was assessed that

I could pass. Once through customs it was a straight shot through to Burger King and candy world where a large amount of junk food was purchased and consumed.
Back onto the flight. Not long now.
So close.
So close.
I think im gonna...
gonna....

PART 4: HELLO EGYPT

uneventful 5 hour flight later. Landed. Taken the bus to the terminal. Daym it feels good to be a gangsta. And also to finally be here. Time to get down to buisness. Time to navigate Cairo airport security.

So, Cairo security is kind of like russian roulette, your never quite sure whats gonna set them off, or who will set them off, you just know that when they get set off, its gonna get messy.

Previous encounters of Cairo airport security have included a 45 minute holding because "I have nice eyes" and a 10 minute interrigation because "I have a arabic sounding name but dont speak arabic"... yeah... I dont even...

Now this time went smoothly, no gun fire, no holding room, no interrigation... however... there was light comedy: Went to change money and the guy at the change desk looks at my hat and outifit and goes: HEYYY!!! CLAIRE MACLEOD!!!! YOUR MACLEODS DAUGHTER????? I honestly didnt know how to deal with this situation, mostly because I feel like Claire Macleod is a step down from Shakira (what im usually called in egypt) but also because I was genuinley impressed that anyone outside of Auzzie and NZ had even heard of the show. Anyway, a short banter continued in which he tried to convince me that I was an australian outback cowgirl and I tried to convince him that i was not. He won. I am now Claire Macleod.

The second incedent was passing through passport / visa check... so to give some background context to this, I had decided to travel with my pink hello-kitty bag as my primary carry on (with laptop bags extra) and was wearing xena boots and a indianna jones hat (like all archaeologists must do ofc). So I approach the desk and the guy goes Salam! HEY! YOU! Your hat! It matches your bag! Im like wut. He then starts laughting histerically and says: NO IT DOSENT, NOTHING MATCHES THAT BAG and then passes me my passport back... Yep. I just got ultra-sassed by a Cairo visa checker. FOR SHAME!!!!!!! I was so taken aback that I didnt even reply, I just kinda, shuffled off into the baggage pickup whilst he waved and laughed at me :(

Finally we all cleared customs and were on our way out to the Fayum (about 1.5 hours drive) via the highway of terror. The first thing to note about driving in Egypt is that it is fucking terrifying. No lines on the road. No rules. Honking signals everything from IM HERE DONT DRIVE INTO ME through to IMAH SLICE YO FAYCE. Hamman, our beloved camp manager, navigated the trafic at 150 MPH, swerving wildly and honking just as wildly. All of a sudden this ride was halted as he pulled up on the side of the highway, jumped out and ran to the mosque for call to prayer... the entire highway came to a standstill as motorists ran from their vehicles for prayer time. This is not my first time in Egypt, but this is my first time experiencing the wonders of open-road call to prayer frogger. It was quite somthing. 20 minutes later and we were underway again, leaving the smoggy city of Cairo behind and heading out into the desert to our locale of the Fayum. We arrived somewhat white-knucked but otherwise relatively soundly, were greeted by the other international archaeologists that we will be living and working with for the next 5 weeks, and then began the unpacking process.

For the next 5 weeks I will be sharing a room with Tash, Slaggy and Rach: the other 3 girls from the NZ contingent. We were lucky enough to score one of the concrete rooms and set about turning our room into a fairy wonderland with pink and purple mosquito nets, hello-kitty products and soft toys. The boys pretend to be disgusted, but we all know they are secretly jelous and impressed. Soon after unpacking we all crashed out, 24 hours of plane ride, 2 hours of highway terror, and setting up the majestic room of archaeology princesses had taken its toll. Goodnight sweet prince.

The Fairy Princess room at the dig-house

The tents for the other archaeologists not in the fairy-princess room

Loading up the Land-Rover for the move to the dig-house