Optional Projects

Archaeology Web Quest

Words of wisdom from Cicero! There is another old adagium:
If we don't know where we came from, how can we know where we are going?
The past is important.

It seems as if we are hearing daily of new discoveries that tell us more about the ancient world, how one lived, what one ate, what calamities befell a city etc. The purpose of this project is to introduce you to some current archaeological finds and hopefully to stimulate an interest in learning more about our past.

Objectives of this activity

• Consider architectural elements of past and present
• Share thoughts about changes in architecture in relation to one's environment
• Consider why buildings become ruins
• Consider 'progress' vs. 'history'.
• Become familiar with some recent discoveries.

Procedure

Discuss with neighbors, family, friends, etc. the ages of the neighborhoods in which they live, various buildings in your city, town or area. Choose at least 5 people from different age groups. Consider what buildings have lasting interest, which have undergone significant change and whether any are facing demolition. In the discussions, consider what elements such as climate, cultural heritage, tradition, lifestyle etc. have effected these structures.

E.G. Consider the following:
A town settled in the early 18th century may have few modern style houses, preferring rather to build new structures to look like those of the 18th century.
A steeply pitched roof sheds snow and prevents heavy built up of snow from collapsing the roof.
A few years ago I visited Anchorage Alaska in the winter. The amount of snow was amazing. The lack of daylight was equally amazing. However many of the homes I saw reflected designs from areas from which people had migrated. They did not seem to take into consideration the need to adapt to the cold and dark of the winter. People chose to reflect their own backgrounds in their previous homes rather than consider the climate of their new homeland.

Tour your chosen site and observe what has been found and what has been learned.

Visit some of the architectural wonders of the past as they exist today, in particular these sites dealing with what was discovered when a subway was being constructed in Athens.

1. Images of the excavations in the subway tunnel of Athens
2. A Mass Grave Found While Bulding a Subway in Athens
3. National Geographic looks at the discoveries in Athens
4. Recent Discoveries in Athens

One might think that with the years of excavations in Pompeii in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, there might be little left to find but:

1. Anglo-American Project in Pompeii
2. More information about the project Even information about how to participate in a dig-ideas for the future!
3. Pompeii Diary

What is the task of an archaeologist, other than to uncover and help understand the past? One chooses a suitable site to excavate or it presents itself as in the case of the construction of the Athens subway or building a dam in China. In 1962 a workman digging a drain across a field in southern England fit fragments of mosaic flooring which resulted in the discovery of a Roman palace at Fishbourne. I had the opportunity to visit this site about 1985. Foundations of buildings had been uncovered and wonderful mosaic floors, pieces of pottery, jewelry, coins and other small objects. The treasure of such a discovery is not however the objects but what the objects tell us about the people who had lived there, what their lives were like, perhaps what had happened to them. The archaeologist needs to be trained to look beyond the obvious, to see potential in every clump of earth, in every shard of pottery and to be able to put together the pieces of the puzzle with which he is working.
As earth is removed with care, the archaeologist and his or her team notices the color and texture changes of the earth and the positioning of walls they uncovered to determine whether they have found buildings from an earlier period than what was more recently uncovered. Coins are an excellent help in ascertaining dates as well. A coin with an image of Nero usually means that the layer in which one is working dates no earlier than that of the reign of Nero, 54 A.D.

1. Enjoy a visit to Fishbourne Palace
2. Another site, Romans in Britain, tells more of the story.

Visit a lesser known but fascinating site in Turkey:

1. Large-scale, interdisciplinary excavation - In 1706, Paul Lucas, traveling in southwest Turkey on a mission for the court of Louis XIV, came upon the mountaintop ruins of Sagalassos. The first Westerner to see the site, Lucas wrote that he seemed to be confronted with remains of several cities inhabited by fairies. Later, during the mid-nineteenth century, William Hamilton described it as the best preserved ancient city he had ever seen. Toward the end of that century, Sagalassos and its theater became famous among students of classical antiquity. Yet large scale excavations along the west coast at sites like Ephesos and Pergamon, attracted all the attention. Gradually Sagalassos was forgotten...until a British-Belgian team led by Stephen Mitchell started surveying the site in 1985.

Visit a "modern" ruin.
Istanbul - Consider how ruins are made-that changes occur due to nature, chemicalreactions and man's misuse. Think of some examples of changes that are evident today.

Walk around your school and the property surrounding it - what predictions can you make for the future - say in 50 years, in 100 years, in 1000 years.

What might you find-in what ways will the use today become different to meet future needs.

Go to Forum on our web site, Lessons 47-49 and share your impressions.
Optional 100 point quiz grade.

History does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways.
~James Baldwin

J.Jahnige, September 2003 (updated 2006)

< Optional Index | Cetera Home Page