Hot Hot Hot

It’s July 4th and I’m in Italy! Not too much celebration going on here. I wore a navy blue and white striped shirt and some red sunglasses and for once did not pretend I wasn’t American. We also had some McDonald’s to celebrate! The dig’s been going pretty good since the last time I wrote. After the first weekend we came back to the site to find out that it had been broken into. There was broken glass everywhere and we found out that a lot of the special finds (coins and jewelry) that were found by the metal detectorist were taken. I have found three loom weights in total now, and one of them had its original top, which included original stamps, which may indicate its weight! This week was deathly hot and after we finished uncovering the road we were working on, we began a whole new section, which involves a lot of pick-axing, shoveling, and traipsing up and down the hill to dump out loads of dirt with the wheelbarrow onto our ever-growing heap of spoil. It’s exhausting and the heat doesn’t help, but the work is totally worth it. I’m going to be so tan and buff when I get back! Yesterday I went with a group to Tivoli to check out Hadrian’s Villa as well as the Villa d’Este. It was super hot and not terribly easy to get to but it was worth it in the end. Hadrian’s Villa is enormous! It must have been a beautiful place back in the day. Villa d’Este, which is downtown Tivoli (or should I say “uptown” because it is situated up in the mountains), is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It definitely gave me an idea about how beautiful Hadrian’s Villa must have been one day. Villa d’Este is a Renaissance period villa situated at a very steep incline to allow for the natural flow of water to power the impressive collection of fountains that flow through the gardens. These fountains were absolutely beautiful, and to top it off, the mountainside location provided a lovely view of the Lazio countryside. It was hard to leave but we were determined to make it back for our free dinner at the hotel. I was so exhausted that night after my 12 hour journey to Tivoli that I went to bed pretty much right after dinner to wake up and go to Rome this morning. We wanted to check out the flea market, which was less than spectacular, but it was nice to walk around Rome today and see some of the major sites on the bus downtown. Looking forward to next week—hopefully I can survive the 105 degree workdays in the sun!

Gabii

I haven’t written in this blog for a while because I finished up with school and haven’t been around the libraries as much (or at all- to be completely honest).

Right now I’m actually in Italy! I’m here on an archaeological dig called the “Gabii Project” that’s run by the University of Michigan. I found out about it through my archaeology professor, Christopher Ratte, who taught a class I took in the fall that just so happened to be the best class I ever took. I spoke to him after class a few times and told him my interest in being an art conservator and he hooked me up with the conservators at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, which, as you can tell from my posts before, was one of the best experiences of my life and has really opened my eyes to the field of conservation (archaeological conservation to be specific). I decided while taking my class with Ratte that I wanted to be part of a dig the following summer and he recommended this program and here I am!

I really lucked out with this dig because we were able to receive a grant to pay for a majority of the costs by Chrysler/Fiat, and really all I had to pay for was my flight to get over here. This is where I lucked out even more! When I received my boarding pass I realized I didn’t have a seat assignment so I talked to the people at the main desk and they offered me an alternative of stopping in Amsterdam but only I’d be sitting in business class. I thought it over and decided that non-stop was still a better option. I found out not too long after that that I would still be flying non-stop but I was bumped up to business class. Business class for an overseas flight is absolutely amazing. I started the night off with a glass of champagne, had a three course dinner, watched 2 movies on my personal television, enjoyed a massage from my chair, and pretty much slept the whole way laying down almost completely flat.

As soon as we landed in Italy I was reminded how much I love this country. It’s beautiful! The train station was a little confusing but knowing some Italian has definitely helped me out so far. We made it to the hotel, which is very nice, but the room is TINY! It’s probably a 10X10 room that we are expected to share with three people. But it’s ok… as soon as we figured out we can put our clothes in piles underneath the bed we were fine. We get fed three times a day during the week. Breakfast is at 6:30 and we leave for the dig at 7. We get panini (sandwiches) at the field at 1PM but we are soooo hungry by that time! Luckily we get a 20 minute break at 10AM where we can bring our own snacks to hold us over until lunch time. Dinner is at 8 and of course by then we’re also pretty hungry too. The dinners have been great! They usually involve a pasta, a meat, and a dessert—a typical Italian meal.

The first week of digging has been exhausting but very exciting! I’ve been working on what is a called a glariot road, which is a essentially a dirt road. It’s not terribly exciting, considering a lot of people have been finding graves, but it’s incredibly important and a lot of the directors have been spending some time with us because they didn’t expect there to be a road there and it’s changing a lot of what they were thinking about the area I’m working in. We’ve been finding plenty of pottery, bones, and I even found a couple of loom weights the other day (weights that held down strings in looms for the production of fabric). My trench mates joke that I’m all about the finds, which makes sense because I want to be a conservator! I found out that there is actually no conservation that goes on at this site, which is a little bit of a bummer but at least I’m learning about the process of excavation and getting my hands dirty in the field! (literally).

On Thursday, the third day of digging, my trench supervisor disappeared for a bit and came back to tell us that he thinks we’ll be having an exciting day that day but wasn’t allowed to tell us why. About an hour after that the directors called everybody over to show us a tomb that they had found in my area! This was especially unusual because our area was considered to be an industrial part of town and it would be a very unusual spot for a tomb. There was a giant stone slab that was removed that afternoon for all of us to see, and all of us crossed our fingers that it would be filled with beautiful grave goods, but alas it was just a very well preserved skeleton from the 6th century BC (ho hum… just kidding!). The osteologist told us later that the skeleton was that of a female aged 30-40 years old. She was very tall for a female, and very robust, however, her hips were large, which is the true indicator of her sex. On either side of her coffin were two more graves as well, which could not be excavated until the stone coffin was removed as well, which we were able to watch the next day. We have yet to hear what they found inside! National Geographic paid a visit to see this all the way—maybe I’ll be in their documentary!

This has been an amazing experience so far, and to think of all the things we found in just a week, is a promising sign for the rest of the season! I found out this weekend that the town we’re staying in (Frascati) is actually a very neat place with plenty to see itself, which leaves me excited for some future exploring! I went downtown Rome yesterday, which was also very exciting, but I destroyed my feet because I wore the wrong shoes—lesson learned—and we walked around everywhere! I’m taking it easy today (Sunday) to recover for the long week ahead of digging!

The Air Balloon Adventurer

My internship at the Map Library has lead me to do some research to find “old” and “interesting” items relating to France for an up and coming exhibit. I have seen A LOT of maps of France, and while they are all very interesting and old, it’s easy to be phased by them. This past week, my internship advisor, Karl handed me a list of books to research in the Special Collections Library on the 7^th floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library. He found these books in a list of references in a book about the history of traveling in France. I looked at the list and decided to request a book called, “A Narrative of the two aerial voyages of Doctor Jeffries observations and remarks” because it seemed the most interesting.

While waiting for the book to be retrieved from the hidden stacks, I decided to do some research about the author of the book. Dr. John Jeffries, as it turns out, was one of the main witnesses of the Boston Massacre and testified for the defense, and actually served as the chief surgeon dealing with the injuries from the incident. American born, Jeffries would always remain loyal to Britain. He was also a military surgeon for the British Army in the American Revolution. He is also famous for being one of the first meteorologist (or weather observer as they called it back then). But that is not what he’s most famous for, however. He is famous for being the first to cross successfully cross the English Channel into France, and he did it in an air balloon! The book I was waiting for, in fact, was his personal account of the journey. There is no denying that Europe is well traveled, and by the time he flew his balloon over France, in 1785, he was most definitely not the first person to see the country. He was, however, the first to see the country from above, which was a whole new realm of travel.

Dr. John Jeffries, wishing to establish himself as a reputable man of science, created a personal account of his flight to be read before the Royal Society of London, and the book we have in the special collections is a signed copy that was given to the society. The book describes his voyage and as he neared the end of the English Channel, he described a little scare, when the ominous French cliffs came into view. The balloon was not flying high enough and they were worried that they would clear the cliffs, and their solution is admirable:

"We were obliged, though very unwillingly, to throw away our anchors and cords; but still approaching the sea, we began to strip ourselves, and cast away our cloathing, M. Blanchard first throwing away his extra coat, with his surtout; after which I cast away my only coat. ...and then M. Blanchard [tossed away] his other coat and trowsers: We then put on and adjusted our cork-jackets [i.e., life jackets], and prepared for the event."

After losing most of their clothes, the impact seemed inevitable, until the weather suddenly changed allowing them to clear the cliff. What a lucky man!

sources:

http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/franklin/jeffries.htm

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lot&storyid=21403&source=0

http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/07/dr-john-jeffries-physician-loyalist.html

http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/08/dr-john-jeffries-physician-loyalist_04.html

This Art isn't Free

If you walk into the Duderstadt Gallery on North Campus right now you will find a room full of beautiful art work. The amount of thought and effort that went into these pieces of work screams at you, as you notice the meticulous attention to detail and creative concepts and strategies. But this is no regular art gallery. This is the art that was collected from prisons all over Michigan as part of a large ongoing project that has taken place annually for 15 years. The first time this exhibit ran was in 1996 and there was art from 50 prisoners that exhibited 70 works and ended up selling 43 works. This year, the exhibit has expanded to 236 artists exhibiting 422 works, and the success of this project is warranted!

Art is a wonderful expressive tool, and it's especially intriguing to see what these state prisoners have created. This year there was a theme that the prisoners used as a guidance but were not limited to, "Michigan's Economy." We all know that Michigan's economy is not doing well, but to see how it has affected so many people within the state prison system reverberates the challenges this economy has caused. It's eye-opening and definitely worth a visit.

This project is directed by Janie Paul, a professor in the Art & Design school, and Buzz Alexander, a professor from the English department. Along with this project, they have developed several classes for university students designed to work directly with the prisoners and facilitate critical thought on the state prison system.

When you walk through the exhibit, you will notice that each piece has been assigned a price or asks for the best offer. Some of the money made from the exhibit goes to paying the costs of running the exhibit, and the rest is sent back to the prisoners. When I asked what the prisoners did with the money, I assumed that many of them would send the money home to their families, but I also learned that money is a commodity within the prison, as often times classes are offered and certain things can be bought within the prison such as snacks, cigarettes, phone cards, etc. Pricing the pieces was another thing I was curious about, as some of them were well over $300 and some of them were under $30. Apparently the curators discussed the pricing individually with each prisoner (all 236 artists).

Even if you aren't looking to buy any art, simply walking through the gallery is a very rewarding experience. You are given the ability to look into the minds of people that we know very little about, and visualize their frustrations, hopes, and interests. The gallery is open from 10AM until 7PM every day until April 7th, so hurry up and check it out!

Map Library

So I made a little video from some pictures I took of the Map Library and recorded what Tim Utter, who works in the library, had to say about the place. Enjoy!

Beginning my research

For a class assignment, we have to come up with an individual news story. We were asked in class today if we had thought about this, and while I hadn't really given it careful thought I did have a general idea. I started this blog because it seemed relevant to what I was focusing on this semester outside of class, but it has really developed into something. I really had no idea how many interesting things there are in our collections! Supposedly we have the first bible ever printed in the Western Hemisphere (it's called the Doctrina Breve by Zumarraga and it was printed in Mexico City in 1544- maybe I'll explore this in a future post). Even working in the map library I come across things that are truly remarkable that are hidden away in drawers and cabinets. For example, I was looking through some maps today that are supposedly the first topographic maps ever created of France. Shouldn't those be in France?

Working at the Map Library has given me a glimpse into the complicated process of designing an exhibit. While I've been very busy doing research, I am aware that curators work with a large staff. Exhibits are created to focus on the objects, but I'm interested in exhibiting the people behind the exhibits! The theme semester for this year is Museums, and there just happens to be a new minor introduced this past year in "Museum Studies." Also, this past year we have witnessed the reopening of both the UMMA and the Kelsey Museum. It seems that it would be an appropriate time to question those involved in the process. Sharing a similar goal as my blog, I hope that those who read my works will inevitably be more appreciative of the museums on campus and the work that went into developing them.

From Rome to Ann Arbor

What would ever possess the cities of Ann Arbor Michigan and Rome Italy to ever collaborate on something? Rome is a city that will forever be associated with its extreme importance through history, and while Ann Arbor is a city that we all hold dear to our hearts, it’s hard to compare its importance to Rome! A few weeks ago while I was working in the Kelsey Museum, I was given a new project to begin cleaning some marble architectural fragments. When you spend a good amount of time with an object as I was doing with these marble fragments, you can’t help but be interested in their story. These pieces of marble, as I found out, had been returned to the Kelsey museum from Rome as they were being loaned for a special exhibit. I began my research by looking into the catalogue for the exhibit, and what I found out was pretty fascinating.

From 1900-1901, 15 fragments of Roman sculpture were discovered at the construction site for a new central railroad station in Rome (you can only imagine the crazy things they must find in Rome when they try to dig anywhere). Because it wasn’t an actual archaeological excavation, certain facts were not recorded that may have given clues about the objects recovered from the ground. Of the 15 fragments they found, 9 were sold to a German archaeologist and the other 6 were sold to Francis W. Kelsey (i.e. the “Kelsey” museum). Both the German archaeologist and Francis W. Kelsey were unaware of each other’s purchases. The significance of these objects was unknown, but the German archaeologist had his ideas (he ended up being right!), while the objects in the Kelsey museum remained unidentified for over 80 years.

In 1977 a graduate student here at Michigan was studying one of the fragments, which was a representation of the Roman emperor, Vespasian (the famous emperor responsible for the construction of the Coliseum). This particular fragment was also one of the two fragments I had been working on in the conservation lab.

(This is a picture I took while cleaning Vespasian's face. He wasn't too dirty... mostly just behind his ears!)

This graduate student proposed that it might come from the Templum Gentis Flaviae, which was the Flavian family sanctuary and supposedly served as the mausoleum of the three emperors of Rome’s second dynasty (AD 69-96). This was suggested because it was known that this monument was constructed on the particular site that it was found, and a representation of Vespasian would be expected for such a monument. At this point, the theory was merely speculation that lacked a lot of proof. A year later a student from UNC noticed that a fragment of a breastplate (the other object I was responsible for cleaning) fit perfectly with a fragment of a head in the collection in Rome that had been donated by the German archaeologist.

(Here is a picture of the breastplate fragment that I was working on. This is really the piece that put it all together!)

Upon realizing this, he also observed that the 9 pieces of marble in Rome shared many similarities to the collection of marble fragments in the Kelsey museum. He noticed that all the fragments shared a similar scale and ornamental detail, and also figured out that all of the marble was quarried from the same location near Athens. Upon realizing this, the student from UNC made the assertion that these separate collections are indeed one collection.

In 1986, the director of a museum in Rome suggested that there should be an exhibit that would reassemble these pieces for a singular exhibit, and that’s exactly what happened. (For more information about the exhibit click here) Now each museum has casts of each other’s fragments so that each can display the full collection. You can view the pieces in the Kelsey Museum on the second floor where they have created a model of what they think the actual mausoleum may have looked like one day. If these discoveries hold true, and they are actually fragments from Templum Gentis Flaviae, then the Kelsey Museum is displaying the earliest surviving sculptural decoration from a Roman imperial funerary complex!

Resource:

Gazda, Elaine K., and Anne E. Haeckl. Images of Empire: Flavian Fragments in Rome and Ann Arbor Rejoined. Ann Arbor, MI: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, 1996. 5-10. Print.