Archaeology in your own backyard

A few weeks ago following Darcy Mathew's presentation on burial cairns and mounds, I was out for my usual Sunday run, on a route that I had taken many times before, and instead of just listening to my music and tuning out my surroundings, I began focusing on my surroundings.

I began to look around and think that unknown archaeological sites could potentially be anywhere. As I ran through Mount Douglas Park, I looked around for anything that appeared to be overgrown and as I continued on down Blenkinsop Road I looked for any unusual dips and mounds in the landscape. 

His PowerPoint presentation made me realize that archaeology is EVERYWHERE you just need to know how to look for it and be aware of your surroundings.

Maybe it was because I was looking for an archaeological site and daydreaming about being the first person to discover one, but I thought I saw (what looked like) different burial mounds on a piece of stagnant property on Blenkinsop Road. This piece of property used to be used as a horseback riding facility with several stables and riding arenas.I used to take horse back riding lessons there many years ago until the facility shut down.  

As I was running, I did not slow down or have a chance to take a closer look but the mounds were definitely man-made and stood out in the grassy fields. When I did ride at the old stable these mounds had cross country horse jumps built upon them. As Darcy Mathews mentioned in his presentation, burials mounds are not black and white and can vary greatly. For example, the Sutton Hoo burial mound (pictured below) is a very prominent feature in the landscape, whereas, some burial mounds are very hard to pick out amidst the landscape. During Darcy Mathews presentation, he said that after surveying an area several times he was able to pick out additional burial mounds and cairns that he did not see the first time around.

Burial Mound at Sutton Hoo, England
Available at:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Sutton_Hoo_Burial_Mound.jpg

I also noticed a few signs posted on the front grass just outside the front gates of the property which made me further believe (or hope) that this old riding stable property could in fact be an archaeological site. Unfortunately, since then I have run by a few more times and realized that these signs are actually advertising an environmental restoration project and not an upcoming archaeological project. But the question still echoes in the back of my mind, are these protrusions in the landscape unknown or forgotten about burial mounds? Or were they simply built for the cross country horse jumping course that I rode years ago?

Looking Back and Looking Forward: the Monument Analysis Follow-up

Although the group monument analysis project was due near the second week in February (which is nearly a month and a half ago), I wanted to take a moment to look back and reflect upon the exercise in a blog entry.

To be honest when we were first given the assignment I was quite worried about participating in it and not because it was a group exercise but because the assignment was looking at memorials and monuments found around Victoria and within cemeteries.

I lost both of my grandparents, from my dad's side, nearly ten years ago and up until now I have had trouble going to the cemetery to visit them and put flowers on their graves. I hate to say it but I think I could probably count, on one hand, the number times in which I have gone. I drive by the cemetery quite often and think about them regularly, but I actually haven't gone to visit in quite a while. And before completing the monument analysis I thought about them even more.

My group was very lucky on the day that we met to conduct the field work portion of the monument analysis because the days which preceded our group outing were rainy, windy and very miserable. However, when I picked everyone up at UVic there was no need to use the windshield wipers or defrost the windshield. The sky was slightly overcast but the clouds seemed to clear up as we got closer to the water and closer to the Ross Bay Cemetery. We chose to investigate a section of children's graves within Ross Bay Cemetery that Emily and I had learned about during a lecture in our Anthropology 312: Introduction to Medical Anthropology course.

Once we parked and wandered over to the cemetery, we really had no idea where to look so we split into groups and began searching for children's graves. All we had been told was that they were located in the southern corner of the cemetery.

I found myself having a constant internal battle with myself while I was working on the group project at the Ross Bay Cemetery. On the one hand, I was feeling very much like an archaeologist conducting field work. I was very objective, methodological and precise. I took notes, made a map and sketched all of the burials. As well, I found it fascinating how many different types of graves (single/multiple, size, shape etc.) and burial markers (type, size, engravings etc.) there were within our small sample.On the other hand, I was feeling quite emotional and upset. I found myself looking at the cemetery very subjectively. Because I've been privileged enough to grow up in the Western world, I was uncomfortable knowing that these children had to be buried by their parents. I don't think that parents should ever have to bury their children. 

Since completing the monument analysis, I have thought about and spoken about the exercise quite regularly - particularly with my group. Although we have not yet, we plan on getting together (hopefully next week) to go back to the cemetery and put flowers on all the graves that we surveyed. We want to acknowledge their presence and thank them for being a part of our study. I think that in doing so, our group will be contributing to and providing good ethics within the archaeological discipline.
IMGP0095, a photo by naked&beheaded on Flickr.

("Naked and Beheaded" group picture after completing the preliminary work for our monument analysis.)

I feel that as a result of taking this class and completing the readings and assignments (particularly the monument analysis) I now have a better understanding of death and mortuary practices. And maybe, just maybe, I will feel more comfortable talking about the subject and will be able to go to the cemetery to visit my grandparents without feeling quite as sad.

Despite the fact that this class does not have a final, I think I will give myself one final assignment to complete, a take home assignment. I am going to try to go and visit my grandparents in the cemetery within which they are buried by next Friday April 8, 2011. I also hope that I will find the strength to continue visiting them more frequently in the future.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead...

Okay so I know it’s been a while… no that’s an understatement it was has FOREVER since my last blog. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it or made notes ALL around the house, on sticky notes to scrap pieces of paper. Jottings, scribbles… I think there may even been a few ‘catchy’ titles or pictures drawn but nothing in (gasp) over a month and now here I am sitting awake in bed at 2:30AM blogging, when I would much rather be sleeping.

This post has possibly or rather probably nothing to do with archaeology but more about death (but on the lighter side of it).

Do you ever wonder how people came up with the sayings such as “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”? Right now, I do...

I have used it numerous times before when my schedule has gotten really hectic… but to be honest when is it not hectic. Family, school, work, exercise, friends… and down time if there is such a thing, and then when I finally get a chance to drift off to sleep, my mind is still going and causing me to be awake at (NOW) 2:36AM.

I don’t want to offend anyone or make this into a debate surrounding particular beliefs, and I’m going to keep this very brief because it is (NOW) 2:38AM and my mind is clearly not all with me…. but, assuming once I’m dead that there is some sort of an afterlife -- will I get to sleep then?
Today in class we briefly talked about the Viking belief in Valhalla and (correct me if I’m wrong) how some say that the Vikings in Valhalla get to fight all day and drink/sleep all night, do you think they would be able to get to sleep after tuckering themselves out all day fighting?

Or will they, as well I currently am now, still toss and turn waiting for sleep to finally sink in… right now, I hope that the saying is true and that I WILL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD because right now it sure isn’t happening.

It is (NOW) 2:47AM.

I'm going to try this again... Goodnight!