50 buckets of dirt and whaddya get?

We've been moving into the southeastern units this week, which are large so there hasn't been as many maps or elevations do so far. Finding myself without much to do this morning I assisted one team with hauling the dirt away as they excavated. First I shoveled dirt into the buckets which Inez and Minerva hauled away and then I used a recogedor (dustpan() and brush to pick up more. At some point I alternated between the two, and I must have filled at least 50 buckets of dirt. All the while Manual sang songs to me of lost love and asked what certains words were in inglés.

It was quite the physical labor, and I sweated and got hot, but it was nice to do and kept me busy. Archaeology is fun that way, a real mix of physical labor, outdoors fun stuff, adventure and later intellectual games and analysis. It's why I enjoy it so much, apart of course from my fascination with the human past and ancient societies/ways of living.

And even though there isn't too much for me to do at the moment, the units we are uncovering are really fascinating architecturally speaking and just looking at them is validation enough for me...this is really, really what I want to do with my life! Nothing like removing dirt and seeing a whole complex underneath, with walls, patios and plaster everywhere. And this part of the complex is especially well-built and beautiful. Honestly, it doesn't get better than this.