After a day of flying and successfully receiving all of the participants’ suitcases, it’s off to the annual accommodation and this year’s Berlin Idalion Project (BIP) campaign can begin.
This years BIP team working on the site
In our excavation house, the shed with the excavation equipment is currently being emptied out, first dragged up the hill (from the shed to the house), then down again (to the road) and back up to our excavation site. After the sections have been marked out using the coordinates and comparative data from the last excavation, the pickaxes, shovels and wheelbarrows are put to work and the earth is gradually and eagerly removed from the sections and searched for finds. Due to the reduced size of the cuts this year – the so-called butterfly principle is used, whereby two 2.5 x 2.5 m quadrants are excavated diagonally from a 5 x 5 m marked-out area – success is quickly achieved, which makes the start of the work in the typical Cypriot heat even more bearable. The wall and structural features from last year are quickly found in the first cut and progress is also made rapidly in the other cuts.
Exploring Salamis
So everyone starts the weekend happily, with a joint excursion to visit a castle in the mountains and the ancient site of Salamis.
Last but not least, the weekend is also used for washing both the ceramics and the dirty laundry, and for documenting and processing the 3D models.
Of course, the pool is also used again and again – after all, the importance of at least a short relaxation while digging should not be underestimated.
Tosca Nina Negelmann