I am currently sitting in the Cairo Airport awaiting my flight home. It doesn’t leave till midnight and I’m here at the airport at least 6 hours early because I couldn’t think of anything else to do in Cairo. Well anything that wouldn’t cost me money and lots of hassle. But that’s ok because the airport has free wireless internet. Last night I stayed at the Mena Oberoi Palace Hotel. It was a 19th century hunting palace that has been converted into a hotel. It had a huge bed and a bath tub so it was like an early Christmas present to myself. After living in a tent in the desert for 3 months I felt I owed it to myself to stay in a place where they call me “Madam” all the time. I ate ... read more

This week I went to the town of el-Nazla, which is known for its handcrafted pottery. The Field School had a field trip there so Anne (our osteologist), Elaine (the terracotta specialist), Sonali, (the pottery specialist), and I all tagged along. As it turned out, one of the field school students, A.J., wore an R2D2 shirt. Anne wore her Boba Fett sweatshirt. So I was convinced to wear my Ewok shirt I received from Lucasfilm. We were clearly the coolest people there. The pottery village was really interesting because we were able to see all the different processes that went into making the various clay pots. A lot of the large vessels were constructed in parts. The body would be molded together by hand tools, while the foot and rim of the vessel would be spun ... read more

This week we found out these 5 cat amulets found on site are fakes. One of the local villagers hired to do the heavy work on the excavation had been planting these tiny figurines of cats and one falcon at different areas. Certain excavations will pay workers a bonus if they find something. So, in a sad attempt for an impoverished man to make a few extra dollars he corrupted some of our academic data. I’m not sure which is worse really, that the man had to resort to such measures in order to make bit more money for his family, or that some of our data is completely voided out by this discovery. Either way, it was disappointing news. But the week was brought up again when we discovered fragments of a painted terracotta mask. ... read more

Ah...I didn't even have to arrive in the country before being reminded of how much these people hate me! While waiting for my flight to Cairo at the JFK airport, I got whistled at by an Egyptian man talking on his cell phone. Then this group of women (complete with head scarves) was shooting daggers out of their eyes at me. I felt so welcomed. It doesn't help that I am so painfully American and stick out like Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands. When I got to Egypt it was basically the airport times 100. Plus there was a myriad of teenagers hanging around in the square outside my hotel. Teenagers are never fun, no matter what culture they originate from. I saw one girl with a mini skirt and bright yellow leggings as if the ... read more