by Tony Vári-Lippert

EBAP 2013 excavations have finished and I am sad but ready to be going home. This experience has been incredible and has open up another world for me. I had never been around so many people who know more than I do about classical history and culture. Being part of a project like this has been the most real trip for me because of my personal involvement. Traveling with a purpose is so much more meaningful. It is one thing to visit the ruined civilizations for a day, devoting all your energy for a month into uncovering them is another level of travel I’d like to get into more often.
The last week I spent processing the pottery sherds by sorting, weighing, and tagging, which intimately acquainted me with the differing grades and quality of clay in the making of different types of pottery used for cooking, storage, or as a personal drinking cup for example. Other EBAPers were up at the site taking the precautions to preserve our work for continuation next season.
As I sleep on my flight home I expect to awaken on one of the cars driving back to Dilesi after hard work under the Boeotian sun. I still dream of the daily tasks that had to be done while living in Greece. I don’t know how I will go back to eating the tasteless North American food again. I will also miss the physical work that made the days so satisfying. I will surely be coming back to ancient Eleon next summer if I am able to get another chance. Thank you so much Brendan, Bryan and all the EBAPers for an unforgettable archaeological experience!