PFP 2010 - Week 1

The PFP 2010 team met in Cluj just over a week ago and arrived at Porolissum last weekend. After a tour of the city last Saturday, we headed to Porolissum. Sunday was our usual site tour of Porolissum, but rain prevented hikes to the aqueduct. Monday and Tuesday mornings were too rainy to work, so I gave a couple of lectures on archaeological methods.

Despite the rain and cold passing through central Europe, we are making progress and having fun. We are excavating 6 trenches in the SE section of the Forum in order to investigate the function and chronology of the architectural features. We are still in post-Roman deposits, but have encountered several interesting garbage layers filled with pottery, glass, metals, animal bone - nicely preserved. We have also uncovered 5 coins so far, inclusing a denarius of Severus Alexander (the other 4 require conservation before we can read them). Yesterday, we visited sites in Salaj County - a WWII monument in Treazna, the Roman fortress at Buciumi, an 18th century wooden church in Romanasi and the botanical gardens at Jibou. We are hoping that the sun wins the war against the clouds soon....

E.D.

T-minus 8 days

Have 6 months really past since my past blog?

At this time next week, the PFP 2010 Team will meet in Cluj-Napoca. As always, I am looking forward to meeting old and new friends. Who knows what discoveries and adventures we will have? By now, we have developed a routine, but our routine is never "routine". Today is my last day in Rome until August - have to tie up some loose ends. I will do my best to post weekly blogs regarding the excavation season...

E.D.