Dr. Helen Wickstead wrote to me a few months ago and surprised me by asking me to send her shards. She and a few more archeologists excavated Rockbourne Roman Villa and the Damerham prehistoric burial complex, both in South West Hampshire, UK. As I learned, it is also a beautiful community project.
As a Mound Hacker, I sent her a few ostracons- my metaphorical keys to ancient Alexandria Library door, such as this one:
They arrived safely at a northern continent and were carefully buried within the soil to be part of another region on planet earth.
I am thinking of myself at the age of seven how I filled a notebook with the history of my family and what I gathered about the Egyptians and how I carefully buried this knowledge for “someone to find in the future, so they will know what has happened here.”
After all, my childish self-centered day dreams have become true!
Helen, a real archeologist was willing to play the game.
Helen has found a place for the Medeterranean shareds within the ancient UK history. You can see them deep inside on the right.
I hope the permanent ink leading to Blog as artwork will perform its purpose as ostracons and stay clear for archaeologists of the future waiting under the soil.
I wonder what the children participating in the process of excavating the past of their homeland, think about the digging; The finding of tools, bones, building structures of human beings living at the same place long ago. How do they perceive time after this process?
Less than one kilometer from my childhood home, in Israel, where I buried a notebook- a huge crew of diggers and archaeologists dug this summer, 2013, and found Roman remains. So close to my notebook that turned to dust!
So near physically but so far on the timeline.
What would have happened if they dug there when I was seven? Would I become an artist or an archaeologist?
The RockDam project on facebook
Mound Hacker’s map of shards around the world
More here
2 Responses
“Would I become an artist or an archaeologist?” Are you not both? An archeologist of meaning? So nice that Helen was willing to play with you. She still has some of the child in her, too.
Thank you Joan, You are so sweet.
I believe I try to bridge different aspects of life, thoughts and feelings.
My father was a chemist – I try to be an alchemist.