《Diary Of An Archaeologist - Wattys 2019 Non-fiction Winner》We All Have An Archaeologist Within
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This week has been a rollercoaster. I don't think there are enough words to describe how honoured and flattered I am to have won a Wattys Award for what is essentially just some of my memories.
So, I'll just take this moment to thank all of you for the support and I'll hope to share many more stories with you.
Because deep down we all have an archaeologist living within us. We all have that inherent curiosity to find out where we came from, uncover the truth, and protect the traditions that are dear to us. I believe that it is in people's nature to protect that which is dear to them. Whether that be living beings, objects or traditions. It is also in our nature to search for answers, solve the puzzle, so to speak. So, in a way, we all have an archaeologist living within us whose just waiting to come out.
And seeing people discover their inner archaeologist is one of the best parts of my job. You could say it is the reason I do what I do. As a Public Archaeologist, it is beautiful to be the one who's there when someone sets foot on an excavation for the first time and you see that sparkle in their eyes when they hold an ancient artefact. It is a reminder that although some of these things might seem mundane to an archaeologist who does these things daily, it is something almost magical to an outsider. And with that in mind, I would like to remind you, my reader, that your own life's story is worth telling. No matter how mundane it may seem to you, it might be incredibly fascinating to someone else.
But now onto the story of today, or rather, stories. Because there are many times I've seen people discover their inner archaeologist. But these two are the most notable instances.
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The first time, was when I myself was still an archaeology student. It was after my second year that I found myself with summer in which I had nothing to do. Until I stumbled upon an Archaeology Field School that would excavate that summer. The excavation was of a boat known as a Cog. A cog is a single mast type of ship that first appeared in the 10th century and was widely used in sea-going trade in medieval Europe. The cog that we would excavate had been stuck on a sand ridge and abandoned by its crew. Because it was presumed that the ship was relatively empty and in a bad condition the excavation was given to the field school who allowed both archaeologists and volunteers to work together on this excavation. So, I convinced a close friend of mine to join me on this excavation. She had been super interested in archaeology and would constantly ask me about it ever since I had started my major, but for whatever reason, she didn't think she had what it takes to become an archaeologist herself.
Well, I'm pleased to say that drastically changed during the excavation of the cog. Where in the beginning she wouldn't leave my side and constantly ask me if she was digging right, holding the trowel right and so on, after about a week she was growing confident and bolder by the day. I can still hear the yelp she let out when she found her first bones. Or rather, fish bones since it took only a second pair of eyes to identify that she was looking at a fish spine. But that didn't matter to her, she cherished that little fish like it was her baby. And as luck would have it, underneath that little fish lay one of the only artefacts we recovered from the cog; a silver fork. Like me with my wine bottle, she still describes finding that fork like finding the holy grail. It was a rush and afterwards, she knew she wanted to do this all the time. She switched to my university the next year and is now one of my colleagues.
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The second time was during my time working for an organization that helped to educate the public about archaeology in an easy and accessible way. We would get some of the findings from the excavation during the building of a new metro line in Amsterdam and were permitted to let the public help us sort out these findings in the museum of Archaeology. Many of the museum's visitors would come by and help us for a couple of hours while we told them about the excavation and archaeology in general. One of these visitors was none other than my mother. She came by to check up on me and I offered her to join me with reassembling some of the Delfish blue plates that had come in. At first, she denied the offer and was hesitant because she was afraid she would drop something. But soon her curiosity took over and she started to collect a couple of shards. As soon as she realized that there were shards of multiple plates because some of the decorations didn't match together she went in full sherlock mode and didn't stop until she had completely assembled three plates. Some of my colleagues even joked that there was definitely some archaeology blood in my family because my mom was in a complete trans. And three guesses who showed up the next day to reassemble some more artefacts?
For the duration of the project, my mom came by regularly, even bringing friends along to proudly show off the plates that she had assembled. I was a really proud daughter, still am.
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Eternal Chronicles: Vampire
In an age long past, when the the world was covered in ice and snow, there existed a tribe of hard willed people. In this tribe, there lived a young boy, Ulfvaldr. When a great calamity struck the tribe, sending them fleeing from their home, Ulfvaldr would find his life, his very existence, to have changed. He became the first vampire. Buried in a mound of snow for eons, Ulfvaldr would wake up in a world of green and vegetation, a world changed. His actions in the new age, would ultimately result in the trepidation of humanity, and the rise of the vampire race.Join Ulfvaldr in his journey, as the Chronicler tells the the story of the origin of vampirism, both their greatest moments, as well as their darkest age, right up to the contemporary day, through a series of books. Book 1 out now on Amazon and Smashwords for $2.99! The version uploaded here can be considered as a first draft, as I may want to publish the story, when its finished, and chapters may be taken down in the future.
8 176The Adventures of an Ancient Space Battleship
In a time, largely forgotten and remembered only as myths and legends, a vast war engulfed the universe. Countless worlds were destroyed, and galaxies devastated by the impact of the war. A war of such fantastic scope that it lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. Now millions of years later, an ancient battleship from this war is discovered by a group of aliens desperately seeking a solution to their own war. Their presence awakens the hibernating ship, who finds that she has been sleeping a very long time. She quickly forms her own goals, about the new war and her past. Join her as she seeks to uncover the mysteries of her past and creators. While the war she has been thrust into proves to be more interesting than first glance.
8 183Lume
Lume brings in visitors from all worlds and for the longest time, Amaris thought herself just one of many. Lacking any memories, she took up a simple life. However, soon fate sought her out, dragging her into an inescapable search for both her past, the truth of the world, and her purpose in it. ON HIATUS - currently working on another story.
8 112Consumption
Braxton was just an average everyday male. His life was peaceful, boring. He was tired of his hometown, he wanted to escape, wanted new experiences in life. When a girl from his High School comes up missing, it sends the once peaceful town into a frenzy. Can Braxton solve the mystery or will he be to late to save his hometown?
8 59New hope online
*as of right now this is my second time writing all this I really hate doing this twice in a row. well this story was made by me and a few friends ideas and stuff most of the pictures owned are not mine but some will be and every picture I use is respectively owned by their creators. Now let's go to the story. FYI this is my second time doing this so I'm a little pissed so I probably will not have good grammar and stuff so whenever you guys see something wrong why don't you come help me to make this story great peace out and have fun* The year is 2009 there's a war going between robots and human Arnold [email protected]&**&6 . ah crap that was totally my fault wrong story ok here we go the real story. The years 2086 and life is hella awesome. in about the year 2065 a new fun toy came out they called this VR. but VR isn't just a toy anymore. Vr changed the life of everyone in America but really all over the world . the thing that made VR awesome was that you can know go to work from your house laying in the bed with a VR helmet on making twice as much money for the hours you put in. you can know go to school from your house learn for a full 6 hours in VR but than when you get out its only been one hour in real life . there are so many uses that people can use VR for. of course military personal use it aswell to train there minds and stuff. But to me this really doesn't mean much. The real beauty in VR is the gaming i love gaming with a passion me and my family are gonna get this awesome game called new hope online. This game is a mmo RPG it of course has the typical RPG quest adventures and a lot of other things that i cant explain. but generally I'm super excited for only 2 things in this game. The first is that there is a cohesive and reactive world. Ok ill just give you a small example. so lts say im an adventurer and im killing goblins i go every single day for the next 3 year with 4 of my freinds to kill goblins after a while if you hunt destroy or do anything to envirment fror prlonged periods of time the enviroment will etheir act violently and try to destroy you or the worldwill remove that resource from that area. which i think makes total since. ok last but not least you know how nearly every single mmo lets you play as the adventurer only. Well thats changed. In this mmo you are allowed to be a monster if you want thats freaking awesome i love it. The object of a monster is to become strong enough to etheir, make a dungeoun, own a clan/ tribe. generally there are apperently alot of ways to win as a monster but since this is a mmo of course theres no real winning. But as a monster everybody is aiming for the top. another objective is to kill the demon king and take hismantle as hahaha demon king. oh i totally forgot to introduce my self my name is roin . like coin but with a r instead of an c . this is gonna be my story so peace out and read the story . * the star before a sentence means me as an author is talking ok this is explaining meanings RPG=Role Playing Games MMO=Massively Multiplayer Online Vr = virtual reality
8 92His Yasmina [Completed]
Little did he know, her flame couldn't be put out. And little did she know. . .Cristiano always won. ************************************************Ruthless, cold-hearted Cristiano Russo is out for revenge. He thought she'd fall like a ripe peach into his hands. He'd even planned on it. Nothing and no one was going to stop him from crushing her. His thirst for revenge was too great, vowing to use her heart against her, use her for his pleasure and discard her like damaged goods-broken and disgraced. But what he didn't expect was a burning spit fire that fought him every step of his deceitful plan to ruin her. Jasmine St. James thought he felt the instantaneous connection and the sparks fly as soon as they met during her sisters magical, fairytale wedding. But behind his smooth Italian accent, and charming exterior, she soon discovered Cristiano was a devil in disguise. After a heated, humiliating exchange of words, and her hate for him burning like an inferno inside of her, Jasmine returns to her busy life in England full of outrage, confusion, and wounded pride hoping never to set eyes on his rugged, handsome face ever again. Unfortunately, her problems haven't even begun as he materializes out of nowhere, taunting her at every corner, constantly reminding her of his presence and giving her a taste of hell.And she soon finds out it's all because of her playboy brother Zayn and the mile-long, string of panties and broken hearts he's left behind. Will Jasmine be strong enough to tame the flames of Cristiano's revenge? It's said, there's honor in revenge. It's also said, it isn't as sweet as it tastes. ***His Yasmina is a stand alone, although it's highly recommended you read the others in the series. ***Series spinoffs:His DuchessHis CameliaHis Hope
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