I was most pleased to welcome to the expedition Prof. Alistair Paterson, Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia and my doctoral advisor. Al had originally planned to visit the excavation last week and make a few dives to the site. Unfortunately, the ash cloud from an erupting volcano in Chili grounded him in Perth for the better part of a week and forced him to reschedule his entire trip to England and Spain, leaving him but a single day to spend here with us. He arrived Wednesday night on the train from Madrid and spent Thursday with me at Arqua. There, we were graciously hosted by Rocío Castillo and Milagros Buendía, who showed us all of the Bajo material and took us through the museum. Al was genuinely impressed with both, and thoroughly enjoyed his all-too-brief visit.
Prof. Alistair Paterson examines an enigmatic stone disc found on the shipwreck site (photo by M. Polzer).
Alistair Paterson and Mark Polzer look over some of the Phoenician pottery from the shipwreck site in the Arqua Museum’s conservation laboratory (photo by R. Castillo).
On Thursday morning we also bid a sad farewell to Faith, who flew back to Turkey to spend a few days in Bodrum before heading home to Connecticut. It was a real pleasure diving and working with her again, and I especially appreciate all of her help getting the site set up. “Adiós, Faith, and hasta luego!”
Faith Hentschel at the Murcia-San Javier airport (photo by M. Polzer).
Meanwhile, back at the site…
A stiff easterly wind had come up overnight and never let up, so, despite an attempt, the team was not able to dive. Instead, Juan and company registered all of the ceramics raised from the crevasse and then Juan gave Laura, Staci, and Neil a tutorial on Phoenician, Punic, and Roman pottery. Tiko and Pedro grilled some sardines and lamb for lunch, which the team enjoyed along with tortilla (Spanish omelet) and sangria, topped off with a delicious bread pudding for dessert, courtesy of Laura.
Laura and Staci have delighted the team with many a delicious dessert, including brownies, cookies, bread pudding, and pies (photo by S. Snowden).