July 2024
Going into one of the most tumultuous years of a person’s life, freshman year of college, I had no idea that the next summer I would end up in another country doing archaeological research. During my first semester, I signed up to take a class on the Harlem Renaissance. I did not know that the class would be canceled because the Professor received an amazing opportunity that she could not pass up. Thankfully, Professor Jarvis took on the task of teaching the small class. It was a circumstance that I did not know would lead me to Bermuda. The discussions in Professor Jarvis’s class reignited my passions for the past, which led me to make up my mind to double major in English and History as we explored the importance of contextualization and old texts. At some point, towards the end of one of our classes Professor Jarvis mentioned a summer opportunity in Bermuda, excavating the site of the first Bermudan town. I knew nothing about Bermuda or archaeology. When I imagined archeology, I thought of bones, pickaxes, and Pompeii. He passed out a paper, which I kept on my desk for the next few months, until I lost the paper and with that my contemplation on Bermuda. Luckily in my second semester, I received an email from Professor Jarvis reminding me of this opportunity. This email sparked me to write the entire application within a week, and to start the months-long process of getting my passport. Once I turned in my application, the real process began: waiting for an acceptance or denial. I anxiously stalked my email until March 19 at 1:07 pm when I got an email saying I was accepted into the program!
After a few months of exchanging emails, with friends, brewing with equal parts excitement and nerves, May 19 arrived. I ran through the airport at very early in the morning towards a gate that would be transformative. Luckily I knew a few of the people on the team and even had a close friend going as well. Traveling was a whirlwind and I was mixed up for the first day or two. The first few days, I will admit I did not really understand what I was getting into, still oblivious to what archeology really was. It wasn’t until we arrived on the site, after we cleared overgrown brush and even a few trees, and set up the meter by meter squares that I had started to realize where I was and what I was about to do.
Archeology and History are subjects that go hand in hand, with important differences and similarities. While everyone dug, side by side, layer by layer, I got to learn from my peers, hear about their passions and what exactly archeology meant to them. What I learned was that archeology is the physical side of history, interpreting the past by relying on objects and what those objects signify. Although objects are just as important in historical study, archeology deals with those objects differently and develops the interpretation that historians study. I learned that it is an interpretive science, and the importance of anthropological philosophy directly on the field. But be careful: if you ask two archeologists whether archeology is a science, humanities, or a social studies, you will start a heated discussion debating what a science is, narrative, and possibly the meaning of life.
As an aspiring historian, shifting from the textual side to experiencing the physical side— trowel in hand— was a perspective shift and a new awareness that I will utilize in my future studies. Using a Munsell soil chart to measure for every layer of dirt, noting shade and texture changes that signify time period shifts was fascinating, and seeing how this shaped our interpretation of the past was even more interesting. There were all sorts of finds: small shards of glass and ceramics, fish bones, vitrified glass, non-native stones, regimental buttons, and even whale bones within an old cistern. The main goal of the excavation was to find evidence of an old town where the first Bermudians lived. Maps from the 1600s show houses, and post-holes cut into the bedrock show where those houses were. We would dig up all of the dirt from the marked out squares, and if there was an abnormal looking hole within the dirt we would mark it with a nail and a strip of pink tape calling them “features.” During the later part of the excavation we dug up all of the features to determine if they were post-holes or natural divots. If we were really lucky we found some artifacts from this early settlement, like early Redware or early North Devon shards. Something that makes Smith's Islands archeology unique is the 1970s hydroponics farm, which intermixed the separate layers that made each one a time capsule. So we often found early civilization ceramic shards beside an 1800s metal shot, from when Smith's Island was used as a smallpox quarantine zone under military occupation.
At St. George's Island, we had a lab where we washed and inventoried artifacts. While I was there I had conversations with the lab supervisors that varied from anthropological philosophy applications to identifying ceramics, like tin glazed versus salt glazed, and earth ware ceramic versus stoneware. These were things I had not ever thought about before this experience!
It was six weeks of an irreplaceable educational and cultural experience, one that I will never forget and will never stop talking about. It has made me want to learn, and do more archeological research, and possibly go back to Bermuda with Professor Jarvis. Even though the archeological experience was amazing, something that will forever impact me was the people I met along the way. I learned from them, laughed with them, and think about them even more than I think about the beauty that is an English trowel. We had conversations that varied from education and philosophy to life and its hardships. Even though I have only known most of them for just six weeks I believe I am coming out of this experience having made life long friends. Thinking about the SIAP 2024 group warms my heart, and the educational and life experience I got to share with them is irreplaceable. The responsible and influential supervisors I got to dig with: Xander Cook, Ewan Shannon, and Rhiannon Flag, taught me and guided me in a plethora of ways and I will never be able to express just how thankful I am for them. Smith's Island Archeological Project gave me experience, knowledge, and friendships; which I will cherish forever.
Emily English
Class of 2027
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