Unterseen IV: Do you dig with a trowel or gräbst Du mit einer Kelle?

It was almost a rite of passage. Sometime during the first year of my archaeology degree in the UK, we were told to get a trowel. It all sounded quite mysterious to a young foreign student: a WHS 3 or 4 inch pointing trowel. I barely knew how many cm an inch was. So, I went to the small hardware store in the village near the halls of residence where I lived and bought a 4 inch WHS trowel. I remember thinking it was really rather small but it felt great in my hand. I was quite proud, it felt like the beginning of something. And now, more than a decade later it still lies snugly in my hand.

A selection of trowels at the Unterseen/Kreuzgasse-Untere Grabe excavation.

I have moved on now and have worked a lot in the Netherlands and in Switzerland. For many archaeologists in the English-speaking world their trowel is the symbol of their professional pride. It was thus a surprise when starting to work in the Netherlands, that there were hardly, sometimes even no trowels at all on site!

Grande tour des Alpes III: Las muntognas cloman*

Until now, I believe only one prehistoric find was known from the Val Poschiavo: a stone axe found on the slopes south of the pass. We were thus quite excited to have a look at another find location K. Von Salis (who also discovered the Val Forno/Plan Canin) wanted to show us . In comparison to some of the other hikes of the past few days, sunday’s was merely a gentle stroll. Surprisingly, we already found some archaeology on the way there. Von Salis’ find was also genuine and we were even able to take 14C-samples! I will write more when we have the results.

Ever since Majola a bottle of Bergeller Alpenbitter had been accompanying us and a round of celebratory swigs now finished it off. We then rounded up our Grande Tour with a lunch at the Albergo & Ristorante Belvedere, Alp Grüm, where we made the first plans for our next  archaeological alpine adventure!

From August 31st to October 14th 2012 the “Letzte Jäger, erste Hirten/Silvretta Historica” exhibition will be shown at the Rätisches Museum, Chur. Go and see it! If you are not able to, get the revised and extended edited volume:

Reitmaier, Th. (ed.), 2012, Letzte Jäger, erste Hirten: Hochalpine Archäologie in der Silvretta, Archäologie in Graubünden-Sonderheft 1, Südostschweiz Buchverlag, Chur, ISBN: 978-3-906064-05-5

* “The mountains call” (Romansh language)

Grande tour des Alpes II: Muretto glacier, Val Forno/Plan Canin, the Oberhalbstein

The six of us gathered in Chur two nights ago and caught up on the latest gossip. The next morning we drove to the Alp da Cavloc, where we bought some fabulous goat cheese for the day’s hike.
First, we returned to the site of Bergaglia-Val Forno/Plan Canin. Three of our party were also part of the team that excavated the site in 2010 (see elsewhere on haz-rel & under publications). It was good to see that the measures we had taken to prevent further erosion of the site had been sufficient.

We had a goatcheese lunch just below the Murettopass. It had been the aim of one us to use a special auger to measure the thickness of the remains of the Muretto ice fields. This turned out to be unnecessary, as there is not that much left of it and the thickness was easily established.
We spend a pleasant night in the Posthotel Löwen, Mulegns and met J. Rageth in the morning. He kindly showed us a number of sites in the Oberhalbstein. Most were in some way related to metal (iron and copper) extraction during prehistoric as well as historic periods.

Some places show great potential for setting up a research projects and we had some lively discussions already. It would be fantastic if something would come from this first visit. We also spotted some fine abris (rock shelters) that are begging for a test trench! But first it is time for a shower, a beer and a good meal.

Grande tour des Alpes I: Berneroberland

Outside the rain splashes up from the slate and the rocks. We are in a mountain hut near a pass in the Berneroberland and are repacking the first finds. The three of us are here for the Archaeological Service of the Canton Berne.  We received a call from a hiker (by chance a fieldtechnician from another canton) who had found a wooden artefact. He joined us to show us the find location.

Archaeologists of the AD Bern working at high altitude in the Berneroberland.

These new finds are not all that surprising. Throughout the years various artefacts dating to the Roman period, the Late Middle Ages, but also the Bronze Age have been found near the pass. They show the pass’ continued importance.

The weather was good again this morning and we used the occasion to survey some more of the pass region. We have already found a few more artefacts, some of which undoubtedly are of prehistoric date.
Then it is time for stage two, in Graubünden.

Geological folds, Berneroberland

So, if you are ever on a hike or bike ride in the Alps and find something, best leave it in place and please contact the people at local mountain hut/hotel or the cantonal archaeological service.

Unterseen III: Day of archaeology – a day in Swiss rescue archaeology

A bit late, but here it is, my contribution to the Day of Archaeology! Over 700 archaeologists worldwide show us how diverse our archaeological days are. It is also well worth to have a look at some of the many other entries.

A fantastic achievement of the organisers!

Photograhpy – First adventures with an Agfa Synchro Box

My first camera was red with a big separate flash, 35mm of course. As an archaeologist I have used a large array of cameras over the years. They range from normal analogue 35mm SLRs and very early digital cameras (I hardly dare to think about the quality of those photographs!) to high-end DSLR’s. On the site I’m working now we even use a  120mm film Hasselblad!

Most archaeologists seem to have some affinity with photography. And I guess that is true of me as well. It was thus fun to find this AGFA Synchro Box (produced from 1951-1957) in a box in my parent’s house. It must be the very camera with which those little childhood photographs of my Father and his family were made.

So, we cleaned it and we tried a film. It is truly amazing how simple these boxes are! The camera takes a bit of getting used to, though. It is quite tricky to use the viewfinder and determine what will actually be on the photo. Photos 1 & 2 are the results of that first film. The rest come from the second attempt.

Not very happy with the processing of Photos 1 & 2: Ilford Delta 400 Pro, b & w processing, the format of the prints is wrong (lost some at the short sides) and colour printing. Photos 3, 4 & 5 are better (Ilford FP4 plus, b & w processing and printing) even though they are just contact prints. (I then scanned all of them to be able to post them here.)

Church, Unterseen, Switzerland, Mai 2012. Afga Synchro Box, Ilford Delta 400 Pro

Excavation Unterseen/Untere Gasse. Mai 2012. Agfa Synchro Box, Ilford Delta 400 Pro

Laatsch, Switzerland, Mai 2012. Agfa Synchro Box, Ilford FP4 plus

Carolingian Church in Mistail, Switzerland, Mai 2012. Agfa Synchro Box, Ilford FP4 plus

Carolingian Church in Mistail, Switzerland, Mai 2012. Agfa Synchro Box, Ilford FP4 plus

There is a colour film in the Synchro Box now and I am curious to see the results of that.

PETINESCA – FEST

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