Byzantine jugs and bowls

Well, it is down to my last week in Greece. It seems so sudden, so unexpected. Every day I've been here all I can think about is what the next day will bring, and in a few, the next day will bring a plane trip back to the States. I'll admit to being saddened by this. I really like it here. The scenery is great, the work, while difficult, is good. My hands don't really agree; I did get a blister on top of a callus today, and I'm getting calluses in placed I didn't think I'd be getting them, like the inside of my pinky. I mean, really? The inside of my pinky? But that's what's happened!

Byzantine cook pots

However, having my quarter-century birthday in Athens was awesome. I got to spend it touring the Acropolis, the Agora, and several museums. We went shopping in Placa, which is a market area, and I bought a new shirt. I had rabbit stifado, which was absolutely amazing, and a dirty gin martini, which was not nearly so astounding. With dinner, we had some amazing Nemean wine, although it was an adventure getting to the restaurant. We couldn't find the one recommended by the hotel and we spent about an hour and a half looking for it. In going for the one we did, we definitely had an amazing experience.

Rabbit Stifado, although mine had pearl onions

Sunday we went to the museums we didn't catch on Saturday. Since there was a much smaller group that stayed overnight in Athens versus just the day, we had a lot more flexibility. The Byzantine Museum was especially interesting because that's primarily the material I've been working with, so it was nice to see whole examples of the sherds, rims, and handles that I've been piecing together.

The Parthenon

A temple in the Agora whose name
I cannot remember
but it is dedicated to Hephaistus

The Vapheio Cups
Really my two favorite gold objects ever

Cycladic figurines are the best!

Ancient Egyptian figurines on a boat

This is the real version of the one in Fictia
I have no idea what it is

The Springtime Fresco
From Thera

The Bernaki museum was interesting, but huge, and covered so many time periods that it became overwhelming towards the end. There was just too much visual information on things that I did not know about.

And that's really been it so far. I may have some more pictures; we'll see how good I am about going out and taking them this week. Not much else is going on in the excavation except for the usual moving of dirt. Some weapons have been found, which is pretty rare, and I found the third Mycenaean pot that has been found on site, so that's sweet. Other than that, though, we are winding the season down and heading to a party on Thursday, so we won't have to work Friday. And then it's home. It's a bittersweet feeling, really.

The ibyxes from the Room of the Boxers
From Thera

I found a donkey shoe too!
It's the one in the middle

However, the National Museum was pretty sweet. The Minoan frescoes from Thera were what I most wanted to see and they are just astounding. Everything about them is so incredible, from the color, to the shapes and almost abstract expressionism.

Some sort of Greek Orthodox thing that looked cool

Changing of the guard outside the
presidential palace