You walk out of the soprintendente’s office slightly dazed, wondering if your conversation might affect the permits for the dig site, or the possible return of your Getty statue to Italy.
(click: "Getty statue")+(t8n:'dissolve')[As your imagination runs wild, you look down at your phone and see texts and a missed call from Fede. You call her, and she picks up right away, repeatedly apologizing for leaving you there on your own. She says that although she’s near the Campo now, she can take the next bus out to come get you.]
(click: "the Campo")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You assure her that you can find your way back, now that the internet on your phone seems to be reliable. You consider taking the bus but decide you’d rather walk in order to experience more of the city. According to your phone, it’s about a 45-minute walk from Centrale Montemartini, which is in the south of Rome, to Campo de’ Fiori, which is more central.
After you’ve been walking for about half an hour, you come upon a large open space that feels vaguely familiar. ]
(click: "vaguely familiar")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/98d5ac8a955a1beef412ee8cc21fe8e9/1a53118171012b97-e0/s1280x1920/4cd504d5997437d9ebbcd4364b07b1d96cfb54a2.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
In your time in Rome so far, you’ve been making a map with all the places you’ve visited. You look at it now and realize that the vast space in front of you must be the Circus Maximus — or what’s left of it, anyway. ]
(click: "look at it now")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//(Click on the placemarks in the map to see images.)//
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/embed?mid=1xoo6Vi97F-28Th2S2t8NXAhmFJBcnN6p&ehbc=2E312F" width="640" height="480"></iframe>
As you walk along the edge of the old Circus, you notice more ruins, very grand-looking ones, up on the hill overlooking the side of the Circus opposite you. You wonder what they are...
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/9aed0c37e4311b0b7d8b19cf046316e1/055398a15deed425-07/s1280x1920/da53293c1722093493e6606c83e994e9e24576a9.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You consult your map again and realize that the hill must be the Palatine Hill: the ancient hill where Romulus and later kings and emperors lived. The ruins, you guess, must be what’s left of the old imperial palace. ]
(click: "your map again")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1xoo6Vi97F-28Th2S2t8NXAhmFJBcnN6p" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
Looking at the map, you figure that just on the other side of the Palatine Hill is
[[the Pantheon.]]
[[the Roman Forum.]] ]
(set: $progress to 1)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]The Pantheon? Hmmm. You consult your map again, remembering that you’re currently at the Circus Maximus, just south of the Palatine Hill:
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1xoo6Vi97F-28Th2S2t8NXAhmFJBcnN6p" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
You notice that while it’s true the Pantheon is on the other side of the Palatine Hill, it’s far away to the northwest. The Roman Forum, on the other hand, is much closer, just over the Palatine Hill.
(click: "the northwest")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You sit down in the shade on the upper edge of the Circus Maximus to take a break from the heat and sun. Looking at the ghostly ruin of the once-great stadium reminds you of a story about the Circus you read about in an ancient history course five years back, when you were still an undergrad. You search through your email and, surprisingly, you’re able to find a PDF of it attached to an old group email from the professor teaching the course. You glance at her description of the story in the body of the email, which reads: ]
(click: "her description")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//This story, called “The Consul’s Wife,” is fictional, but it’s set in a real historical context. It takes place in 75 BCE, when Julius Caesar was 25 years old and was just beginning to build a reputation. Caesar was kidnapped by pirates that year, and — according to the ancient writer Plutarch — when they told Caesar that they were holding him for a ransom of 20 talents of silver, he laughed and demanded they increase it to 50, which more accurately reflected his value. He played games with the pirates and practiced his speeches and poetry on them during his captivity, and he was able to control his fear, going so far as to order the pirates around at times. The pirates came to like and respect Caesar; but even though Caesar was friendly with them, he was angry at being kidnapped, so he said that once he was released, he would hunt the pirates down and have them all crucified.
The pirates didn’t take him seriously... but when he was set free, Caesar raised a fleet and captured the pirates. He turned them in to the local proconsul (governor), who decided to sell the pirates as slaves (slaves were worth a lot of money) instead of executing them as Caesar asked. Caesar then went to the prison where the pirates were being held and ordered that they be executed. He showed a bit of mercy, though, and cut the pirates’ throats instead of crucifying them (death by crucifixion can take several agonizing days).
Since the story “The Consul’s Wife” takes place when Julius Caesar was young, several years before he and his adopted heir (Octavian, who later took the name Augustus) were able to concentrate power and effectively end the Republic, the consuls (there were two who acted as joint “presidents” of the Roman state) were still the most powerful politicians in Rome. This story, as the title suggests, centers around the wife of a Roman consul, along with a certain charioteer who races in the Circus Maximus — a stadium capable of seating over 150,000 spectators.//
It’s so comfortable in the shade that you decide to read the beginning of the story; you soon get sucked in and decide to finish it. ]
(click: "decide to finish it")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF. //
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U_eIDBTMzTlh_5oZPPUmpSEyD0O3bF-r/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
After you finish the story, you look out over the vast space below you where so many people — 150,000 — used to congregate to watch the chariot races, as well as to eat, drink, shop, and gamble.
You find a clip from the 2016 remake of the classic movie //Ben Hur// on your phone in order to get a sense of what attending a chariot race in a place like the Circus Maximus might have been like for ancient Romans. ]
(click: "You find a clip")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=14cc0b7a-83e7-4bc4-9566-ac4600ea0aad&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&start=0&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
After watching the clip, you look at your map and decide that the quickest route to Campo de’ Fiori might be to cut over to the other side of the Tiber to the Trastevere district, and then cross the river again via Tiber Island. ]
(click: "via Tiber Island")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1xoo6Vi97F-28Th2S2t8NXAhmFJBcnN6p" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
Before long, you see Tiber Island just up ahead of you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/42d28816e56e35c09b8342aef5e62d62/2ed39144220a1fc9-38/s1280x1920/96152209f9cc7da2d81bb97562e319e052ceb88f.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Once you walk over the narrow footbridge to the island, you quickly find yourself on the island’s other side, noticing that the only buildings here, basically, are an old church (to your right as you walk) and what looks like a hospital on your left, nestled among trees.
You continue walking onto an ancient-looking bridge that takes you back to the east bank of the Tiber. You see a sign at the end of the bridge telling you that you’ve just crossed the Pons Fabricius, the oldest bridge in Rome. You take a quick look back at the bridge, built when Pompey and Caesar were still vying to become the most powerful Roman of their era: ]
(click: "quick look")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e638acf4b1b206a2652e9ec59c2208b9/37031b0791ad174d-76/s1280x1920/76051b87463ad9755fbef978bc1d4448f02db34e.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
As you head toward Campo de’ Fiori, you text Fede to tell her you’re getting close. She texts back quickly, asking you to meet her at Claudio’s restaurant. Ten minutes later, you’re sitting across from Fede at a table inside //Da Claudio//, which is just starting to fill up with people arriving to have lunch. In a niche in the wall behind her, you see a few strange-looking clay figurines. ]
(click: "strange-looking clay figurines")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/59b326933d4db21272e384e5c9581a7c/912f321cb4c79065-c5/s1280x1920/a20e339d0185188fa3dd38989f550decf085049a.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You’re about to ask Fede about the figurines when she says, “What did you think of Centrale Montemartini?”
[["I loved it!"]]
[["Meh."]]]
(set: $progress to 2)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]Your memory and your sense of direction do you proud: just over the Palatine Hill is the Roman Forum, while the Pantheon is quite a bit farther away to the northwest.
(click: "the northwest")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You sit down in the shade on the upper edge of the Circus Maximus to take a break from the heat and sun. Looking at the ghostly ruin of the once-great stadium reminds you of a story about the Circus you read about in an ancient history course five years back, when you were still an undergrad. You search through your email and, surprisingly, you’re able to find a PDF of it attached to an old group email from the professor teaching the course. You glance at her description of the story in the body of the email, which reads: ]
(click: "her description")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//This story, called “The Consul’s Wife,” is fictional, but it’s set in a real historical context. It takes place in 75 BCE, when Julius Caesar was 25 years old and was just beginning to build a reputation. Caesar was kidnapped by pirates that year, and — according to the ancient writer Plutarch — when they told Caesar that they were holding him for a ransom of 20 talents of silver, he laughed and demanded they increase it to 50, which more accurately reflected his value. He played games with the pirates and practiced his speeches and poetry on them during his captivity, and he was able to control his fear, going so far as to order the pirates around at times. The pirates came to like and respect Caesar; but even though Caesar was friendly with them, he was angry at being kidnapped, so he said that once he was released, he would hunt the pirates down and have them all crucified.
The pirates didn’t take him seriously... but when he was set free, Caesar raised a fleet and captured the pirates. He turned them in to the local proconsul (governor), who decided to sell the pirates as slaves (slaves were worth a lot of money) instead of executing them as Caesar asked. Caesar then went to the prison where the pirates were being held and ordered that they be executed. He showed a bit of mercy, though, and cut the pirates’ throats instead of crucifying them (death by crucifixion can take several agonizing days).
Since the story “The Consul’s Wife” takes place when Julius Caesar was young, several years before he and his adopted heir (Octavian, who later took the name Augustus) were able to concentrate power and effectively end the Republic, the consuls (there were two who acted as joint “presidents” of the Roman state) were still the most powerful politicians in Rome. This story, as the title suggests, centers around the wife of a Roman consul, along with a certain charioteer who races in the Circus Maximus — a stadium capable of seating over 150,000 spectators.//
It’s so comfortable in the shade that you decide to read the beginning of the story; you soon get sucked in and decide to finish it. ]
(click: "decide to finish it")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF. //
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U_eIDBTMzTlh_5oZPPUmpSEyD0O3bF-r/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
After you finish the story, you look out over the vast space below you where so many people — 150,000 — used to congregate to watch the chariot races, as well as to eat, drink, shop, and gamble.
You find a clip from the 2016 remake of the classic movie //Ben Hur// on your phone in order to get a sense of what attending a chariot race in a place like the Circus Maximus might have been like for ancient Romans. ]
(click: "You find a clip")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=14cc0b7a-83e7-4bc4-9566-ac4600ea0aad&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&start=0&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
After watching the clip, you look at your map and decide that the quickest route to Campo de’ Fiori might be to cut over to the other side of the Tiber to the Trastevere district, and then cross the river again via Tiber Island. ]
(click: "via Tiber Island")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1xoo6Vi97F-28Th2S2t8NXAhmFJBcnN6p" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
Before long, you see Tiber Island just up ahead of you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/42d28816e56e35c09b8342aef5e62d62/2ed39144220a1fc9-38/s1280x1920/96152209f9cc7da2d81bb97562e319e052ceb88f.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Once you walk over the narrow footbridge to the island, you quickly find yourself on the island’s other side, noticing that the only buildings here, basically, are an old church (to your right as you walk) and what looks like a hospital on your left, nestled among trees.
You continue walking onto an ancient-looking bridge that takes you back to the east bank of the Tiber. You see a sign at the end of the bridge telling you that you’ve just crossed the Pons Fabricius, the oldest bridge in Rome. You take a quick look back at the bridge, built when Pompey and Caesar were still vying to become the most powerful Roman of their era: ]
(click: "quick look")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e638acf4b1b206a2652e9ec59c2208b9/37031b0791ad174d-76/s1280x1920/76051b87463ad9755fbef978bc1d4448f02db34e.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
As you head toward Campo de’ Fiori, you text Fede to tell her you’re getting close. She texts back quickly, asking you to meet her at Claudio’s restaurant. Ten minutes later, you’re sitting across from Fede at a table inside //Da Claudio//, which is just starting to fill up with people arriving to have lunch. In a niche in the wall behind her, you see a few strange-looking clay figurines. ]
(click: "strange-looking clay figurines")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/59b326933d4db21272e384e5c9581a7c/912f321cb4c79065-c5/s1280x1920/a20e339d0185188fa3dd38989f550decf085049a.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You’re about to ask Fede about the figurines when she says, “What did you think of Centrale Montemartini?”
[["I loved it!"]]
[["Meh."]]]
(set: $progress to 2)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“It was incredible,” you say. “The statues and other antiquities were some of the best I’ve ever seen, and the setting with the old engines and things made the experience weird... in such a good way.”
Fede nods. “Yes,” she says with a smile. “It’s one of my favorite museums. It’s a shame that almost no one goes.”
(click: "almost no one goes")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“But that’s one of the best parts,” you say. “You have it almost to yourself when you’re there.”
“Indeed,” Fede says.
Your enthusiasm is suddenly dampened as an image of Dr. Rossella Forza, the soprintendente, pops into your mind.
“What is it?” Fede asks. ]
(click: "What is it?")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You remember that woman who was standing in front of the museum staring at us, just before you left?”
Fede shifts uncomfortably. “Eh... well, yes. I have a slight memory of seeing a woman. She was looking at us?”
“She definitely was,” you say. “She’s the soprintendente in charge of my dig site, and she grilled me for two hours!” ]
(click: "grilled me")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede’s eyes widen. “Why? What did she ask you?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think she may have been trying to decide whether or not to give us permission to dig.”
“Oh my,” says Fede.
“Yeah,” you say...
[[“She was pretty awful.”|awful]]
[[“It went fine. She wasn’t so bad.”|went okay]] ]
(set: $progress to 3)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Meh,” you say. “I was hoping for more from the statues and other antiquities, and the setting with the old engines and things made the experience weird.”
Fede grimaces. “Oh,” she says. “I like the museum very much, but my taste has always been particular, one might say.”
You nod in tacit agreement. “There was something I wanted to ask you about, too.”
“What is it?” Fede asks.
(click: "What is it?")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You remember that woman who was standing in front of the museum staring at us, just before you left?”
Fede shifts uncomfortably. “Eh... well, yes. I have a slight memory of seeing a woman. She was looking at us?”
“She definitely was,” you say. “She’s the soprintendente in charge of my dig site, and she grilled me for two hours!” ]
(click: "grilled me")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede’s eyes widen. “Why? What did she ask you?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think she may have been trying to decide whether or not to give us permission to dig.”
“Oh my,” says Fede.
“Yeah,” you say...
[[“She was pretty awful.”|awful]]
[[“It went fine. She wasn’t so bad.”|went okay]] ]
(set: $progress to 3)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“She was horrible!” you say.
“I am so sorry,” Fede says. “Many Italians express... emotions very openly. Too openly, perhaps, at times.”
“I guess being emotionally expressive can be a good thing, too,” you say. “Not in the soprintendente’s case, though,” you add with a smile.
Fede laughs. Then she turns, motioning to a familiar figure who is passing by your table — a man with slicked-back gray hair. “Claudio!” Fede calls out. “//Scusami// —”
(click: "Claudio")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Claudio stops and looks over with a grin. “Ah, Fede. //Come stai?//”
“//Bene, bene//,” Fede responds. “//Potresti farmi un favore? Vorremmo una bottiglia del mio vino, e una caprese, per favore.//”
“//Subito//,” he says with a wink.
“//Grazie//,” Fede says. ]
(click: "Grazie")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“//Prego//,” says Claudio as he walks away, heading toward the kitchen.
“What did you say to him?” you ask Fede.
“I asked him for a bottle of wine from... eh... my family vineyard. And a Caprese salad.” She taps herself on the forehead, then says, “Forgive me. Is this okay with you? The Caprese has tomato and //mozzarella di bufala//, which is the, eh... mozzarella made from the milk from the small type of water buffalo we have here in Italy. The milk is //molto dolce//... very sweet. It is quite special.”
[[“Sure, that sounds wonderful.”|buffala]]
[[“No thanks.”|no thanks]] ]
(set: $progress to 4)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“It went fine, though,” you say. “No big deal.”
“I’m so glad,” Fede says, sounding relieved. She motions to a familiar figure who is passing by your table — a man with slicked-back gray hair. “Claudio, //scusami//.”
(click: "Claudio")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Claudio stops and looks over with a grin. “Ah, Fede. //Come stai?//”
“//Bene, bene//,” Fede responds. “//Potresti farmi un favore? Vorremmo una bottiglia del mio vino, e una caprese, per favore.//”
“//Subito//,” he says with a wink.
“//Grazie//,” Fede says. ]
(click: "Grazie")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“//Prego//,” says Claudio as he walks away, heading toward the kitchen.
“What did you say to him?” you ask Fede.
“I asked him for a bottle of wine from... eh... my family vineyard. And a Caprese salad.” She taps herself on the forehead, then says, “Forgive me. Is this okay with you? The Caprese has tomato and //mozzarella di bufala//, which is the, eh... mozzarella made from the milk from the small type of water buffalo we have here in Italy. The milk is //molto dolce//... very sweet. It is quite special.”
[[“Sure, that sounds wonderful.”|buffala]]
[[“No thanks.”|no thanks]] ]
(set: $progress to 4)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Sure, I’d love to try the Caprese with //mozzarella di bufala//,” you say in your best Italian accent.
“Va bene,” Fede says with a smile. “That just means ‘very well,’ in case you were wondering.”
“I figured it meant something like that. But it’s nice now to be sure.”
Your eye wanders again to the clay figurines sitting in the wall niche behind Fede.
(click: "clay figurines")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b0699740832e91ece5445a44bcb0d100/0ca6a980f5fcb7ca-ac/s640x960/4967a194c34b4545ac8bbe3e76e67a90f151e96a.png" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
She notices where you’re looking and half turns so she can see them herself. “You like the votives?” she asks. ]
(click: "the votives")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“The what?” you ask.
“Votives. They are objects that the ancients offered to the gods. These here are quite particular.”
You point to one that’s clearly a representation of a foot. “Why would someone offer a clay foot to the gods?”
“It may seem strange, but the practice was common. A person with a foot problem — a fungus or a torn ligament, perhaps — would bring a votive in the form of the hurt foot to a temple, in the hope that the god would heal them.” ]
(click: "hurt foot")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Interesting,” you say. “What’s the votive next to it, the one with the squiggles on the front?”
“That is a uterus,” Fede says. “The woman who brought that to the temple may have had problems making a child.”
“But what if the problem was with her husband, and not her?”
“There are phallus-shaped votives as well,” Fede says. “Coincidentally, I’m working on one right now, at home.”]
(click: "working on one")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You make votives?”
“Yes, it is a hobby, informed by my studies of the ancient world, I suppose one might say.” Her face reddens slightly. “It must seem very odd to you, but...”
You wait for her to finish her sentence, but she just looks down.
[[“I have strange hobbies too.”|strange hobbies too]]
[[“Yeah, it’s a little strange.”|little odd]]]
(set: $progress to 5)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Another time,” you say.
“Va bene,” Fede says with a smile. “That just means ‘very well,’ in case you were wondering.”
“I figured it meant something like that. But it’s nice now to be sure.”
Your eye wanders again to the clay figurines sitting in the wall niche behind Fede.
(click: "clay figurines")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b0699740832e91ece5445a44bcb0d100/0ca6a980f5fcb7ca-ac/s640x960/4967a194c34b4545ac8bbe3e76e67a90f151e96a.png" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
She notices where you’re looking and half turns so she can see them herself. “You like the votives?” she asks. ]
(click: "the votives")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“The what?” you ask.
“Votives. They are objects that the ancients offered to the gods. These here are quite particular.”
You point to one that’s clearly a representation of a foot. “Why would someone offer a clay foot to the gods?”
“It may seem strange, but the practice was common. A person with a foot problem — a fungus or a torn ligament, perhaps — would bring a votive in the form of the hurt foot to a temple, in the hope that the god would heal them.” ]
(click: "hurt foot")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Interesting,” you say. “What’s the votive next to it, the one with the squiggles on the front?”
“That is a uterus,” Fede says. “The woman who brought that to the temple may have had problems making a child.”
“But what if the problem was with her husband, and not her?”
“There are phallus-shaped votives as well,” Fede says. “Coincidentally, I’m working on one right now, at home.”]
(click: "working on one")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You make votives?”
“Yes, it is a hobby, informed by my studies of the ancient world, I suppose one might say.” Her face reddens slightly. “It must seem very odd to you, but...”
You wait for her to finish her sentence, but she just looks down.
[[“I have strange hobbies too.”|strange hobbies too]]
[[“Yeah, it’s a little strange.”|little odd]]]
(set: $progress to 5)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“I have plenty of strange hobbies too,” you say. “How did you get into making votives?”
She hesitates, then says, “The first one I made was for my brother.”
“Oh,” you say. “He was sick?”
(click: "He was sick")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“He had a, eh... tumor, I believe is the English word. Of the //cervello//... the brain.”
“I’m sorry,” you say.
“My brother, Dario, he had the, eh... the treatment in a special part of the Fatebenefratelli hospital.” ]
(click: "hospital")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“The one on Tiber Island? I walked across that today, on the way here.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Ah, sì? It is a very good hospital. Very old. On Tiber Island, when the city was young, there was a temple to the god of healing, named Asclepius. It is said that people would bring votives there and then sleep in the temple, praying for healing dreams. And when Dario was taken to be treated for the tumor... forgive me... the word is ‘oncology,’ I believe, yes?”]
(click: "oncology")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I think so,” you say.
“This oncology part of the Fatebenefratelli hospital, it is below, in the, eh... basement. The foundations of the ancient structures are there, visible, the old blocks of stone, and they can be reached, if one is allowed permission. I asked, and they... I kindly received this. I had made the //cervello//, the brain, in clay, with an inscription. And I placed this on the ancient blocks that were piled in a rectangle, which appears to be an altar. I am unsure, though. I can find no reference to this altar in the archaeological reports.”
She looks at you, as if waiting for you to say something.
[[“Did the votive work?”|did it work]]
[[“And then it became your hobby, making votives?”|hobby]]]
(set: $progress to 6)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“It’s a little strange,” you say skeptically. “What made you want to start making votives?”
She hesitates, then says, “The first one I made was for my brother.”
“Oh,” you say. “He was sick?”
(click: "He was sick")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“He had a, eh... tumor, I believe is the English word. Of the //cervello//... the brain.”
“I’m sorry,” you say.
“My brother, Dario, he had the, eh... the treatment in a special part of the Fatebenefratelli hospital.” ]
(click: "hospital")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“The one on Tiber Island? I walked across that today, on the way here.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Ah, sì? It is a very good hospital. Very old. On Tiber Island, when the city was young, there was a temple to the god of healing, named Asclepius. It is said that people would bring votives there and then sleep in the temple, praying for healing dreams. And when Dario was taken to be treated for the tumor... forgive me... the word is ‘oncology,’ I believe, yes?”]
(click: "oncology")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I think so,” you say.
“This oncology part of the Fatebenefratelli hospital, it is below, in the, eh... basement. The foundations of the ancient structures are there, visible, the old blocks of stone, and they can be reached, if one is allowed permission. I asked, and they... I kindly received this. I had made the //cervello//, the brain, in clay, with an inscription. And I placed this on the ancient blocks that were piled in a rectangle, which appears to be an altar. I am unsure, though. I can find no reference to this altar in the archaeological reports.”
She looks at you, as if waiting for you to say something.
[[“Did the votive work?”|did it work]]
[[“And then it became your hobby, making votives?”|hobby]]]
(set: $progress to 6)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Did it work?” you ask, curious, yet almost afraid to hear the answer.
“The days after, Dario felt much less of the pain. He began to feel almost as before. He... he came home. My father and I and Dario lived for three years in this way.” Her eyes look far away, and her lip trembles very slightly. “After he was gone, I thanked the gods for giving us these beautiful years. //Sono pazza!// I am crazy, I know. But I... this is how I felt, this is how I feel even now.”
[[You nod.]]
[["I'm so sorry for your loss."]]
[["The gods were good to you."]]
(set: $progress to 7)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Yes,” she says shyly. “Making them makes me feel that the difficult, the impossible things can come to be.
“I understand,” you say.
“You see,” Fede says, “in the days after I placed the votive, Dario had much less of the pain. He began to feel almost as he was before. He... he came home. My father and I and Dario lived for three years in this way.” Her eyes look far away, and her lip trembles very slightly. “After he was gone, I thanked the gods for giving us these beautiful years. //Sembra pazza//. I seem crazy, to talk this way. I know. But I... this is how I felt, this is how I feel even now.”
[[You nod.]]
[["I'm so sorry for your loss."]]
[["The gods were good to you."]]
(set: $progress to 7)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]You nod in a way that subtly acknowledges what Fede has said, without judgment. She wordlessly accepts this, taking a deep breath that helps her control her emotions. Then she turns, looking toward the kitchen. “Where is the wine? Claudio is terribly slow.”
(click: "the wine")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Slow, maybe, but he’s solid, right?” you ask. “I mean, he made that lunch for your father. Is he an old family friend or something?”
“No. Claudio helped us when the //vigneto// — the vineyard — was dying. He helped with the debts. Claudio can be kind and very generous — unless one makes him angry” — she gives you a warning glance — “which one must never do.” She smiles. “Now, let us talk of other things. Tell me, did you discover anything for your statue in the Centrale Montemartini?”
“I may have,” you say. “It’s hard to be sure.” ]
(click: "hard to be sure")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Could I see the picture of the statue again? Perhaps I can help.”
You call up the picture of the statue on your phone and position it on the table so you can both look at it. ]
(click: "call up the picture")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“You know,” Fede says, “this reminds me of a story given by the ancient historian Suetonius in his book //The Twelve Caesars//.” ]
(click: "Suetonius")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“What is it?”
She looks up, trying to remember. “Suetonius, eh... he wrote that Emperor Augustus, when he was old, he had a grandson or great-grandson who died. And he had a statue made of the boy, dressed as a minor godling, I believe, I cannot remember which. But he had one version of the statue which he kept in his bedroom that he would lovingly kiss when he entered the room, while another statue of the boy was taken by his wife, Livia, to the temple of Venus, I believe. The boy lived on there as one of the gods, one might say. I think the ancients, they had ways of changing — eh... molding, sculpting the sadness of life and death. Maybe we now have lost these ways. I don’t know.”
Fede leans forward, squinting at the photo on your phone. “I wonder, was this statue simply one of many? Or was the body mass-produced, as they say, but the head — perhaps that was sculpted separately, to resemble a specific person, for a specific purpose?”]
(click: "the head")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Like with Augustus, you mean?”
“Yes, or for some other reason than his,” Fede says.
“Maybe,” you say. “Speaking of Augustus — now that I think about it, I’m sure I’ve heard that story before, about his grandson or great-grandson and the statue. It was in a book about statues by a guy named Stewart. I should revisit that.”
“Yes, you should—” Fede starts to say, bursting into a smile as a plate with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil is set down on the table.
“Sorry for the long time,” Claudio says with his heavy Italian accent as he uncorks a wine bottle and pours a little into the glasses in front of you. Fede takes a sip, rolls it around in her mouth, and nods approvingly.
Claudio looks to you next.
[[You take a sip from your glass.|sip]]
[[You politely decline.|decline]]]
(set: $progress to 8)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“The gods were good to you,” you say.
“Yes,” Fede says, taking a deep breath that helps her control her emotions. Then she turns, looking toward the kitchen. “Where is the wine? Claudio is terribly slow.”
(click: "the wine")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Slow, maybe, but he’s solid, right?” you ask. “I mean, he made that lunch for your father. Is he an old family friend or something?”
“No. Claudio helped us when the //vigneto// — the vineyard — was dying. He helped with the debts. Claudio can be kind and very generous — unless one makes him angry” — she gives you a warning glance — “which one must never do.” She smiles. “Now, let us talk of other things. Tell me, did you discover anything for your statue in the Centrale Montemartini?”
“I may have,” you say. “It’s hard to be sure.” ]
(click: "hard to be sure")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Could I see the picture of the statue again? Perhaps I can help.”
You call up the picture of the statue on your phone and position it on the table so you can both look at it. ]
(click: "call up the picture")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“You know,” Fede says, “this reminds me of a story given by the ancient historian Suetonius in his book //The Twelve Caesars//.” ]
(click: "Suetonius")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“What is it?”
She looks up, trying to remember. “Suetonius, eh... he wrote that Emperor Augustus, when he was old, he had a grandson or great-grandson who died. And he had a statue made of the boy, dressed as a minor godling, I believe, I cannot remember which. But he had one version of the statue which he kept in his bedroom that he would lovingly kiss when he entered the room, while another statue of the boy was taken by his wife, Livia, to the temple of Venus, I believe. The boy lived on there as one of the gods, one might say. I think the ancients, they had ways of changing — eh... molding, sculpting the sadness of life and death. Maybe we now have lost these ways. I don’t know.”
Fede leans forward, squinting at the photo on your phone. “I wonder, was this statue simply one of many? Or was the body mass-produced, as they say, but the head — perhaps that was sculpted separately, to resemble a specific person, for a specific purpose?”]
(click: "the head")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Like with Augustus, you mean?”
“Yes, or for some other reason than his,” Fede says.
“Maybe,” you say. “Speaking of Augustus — now that I think about it, I’m sure I’ve heard that story before, about his grandson or great-grandson and the statue. It was in a book about statues by a guy named Stewart. I should revisit that.”
“Yes, you should—” Fede starts to say, bursting into a smile as a plate with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil is set down on the table.
“Sorry for the long time,” Claudio says with his heavy Italian accent as he uncorks a wine bottle and pours a little into the glasses in front of you. Fede takes a sip, rolls it around in her mouth, and nods approvingly.
Claudio looks to you next.
[[You take a sip from your glass.|sip]]
[[You politely decline.|decline]]]
(set: $progress to 8)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]As you bring the glass up to your mouth, the smell of apricots flows into your nose. You take a sip of the chilled white wine and, mimicking Fede, roll it around in your mouth for a moment, feeling a creamy consistency and tasting hints of green apple.
“I like this,” you say. “It’s from your vineyard?”
“The tiny vineyard we once had,” she says. “My father had to sell it. So many debts we have still, like so many Italians in these days. But our little //vigneto// produced some gentle wines. This one,” she says, lifting her glass and peering at the pale golden liquid inside, “was matured in large amphorae, as the ancients did.”
(click: "large amphorae")+(t8n:'dissolve')[She points across the room at a collection of clay vases standing behind the table next to you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/862c2004de557460f35775f53421b1ae/e5d2f09cc79ef912-60/s640x960/f76b178cedc8cf579dd12c8ed3b11052e735c376.png" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“The amphorae are made of the earth, of clay, and are set deep in the ground. My brother believed they give the wine a taste of the earth.”
You take another sip and seem to notice something you might call earthiness, although you’re unsure if the effect is the result of suggestion. “I think I see what you mean,” you say. “Maybe,” you add with a smile. ]
(click: "Maybe,")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I have to be careful only to drink a small glass at lunch,” Fede says. “I have much work to do later.”
“Me too,” you say. “I’m also worried that, with the jet lag I already have, it’ll put me right to sleep.”
She looks up at you. “So, you are not like these American students who come to the tourist bars of Campo de’ Fiori to drink and drink?”
[[“I’ve heard some Americans have a reputation for doing that,” you say. “But I don’t see anything wrong with it. They’re just having a little fun.”|fun]]
[[“I’ve heard some Americans have a reputation for doing that,” you say. “But many of us are different.”|different]] ]
(set: $progress to 9)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“No thank you,” you say politely, and Claudio nods and takes away your glass. Not wanting to offend Fede, you ask, “Is the wine from your vineyard?”
“Yes, but we no longer have the vineyard,” she says. “My father had to sell it. So many debts we have still, like so many Italians in these days. But our little //vigneto// produced some gentle wines. This one,” she says, lifting her glass and peering at the pale golden liquid inside, “was matured in large amphorae, as the ancients did.”
(click: "large amphorae")+(t8n:'dissolve')[She points across the room at a collection of clay vases standing behind the table next to you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/862c2004de557460f35775f53421b1ae/e5d2f09cc79ef912-60/s640x960/f76b178cedc8cf579dd12c8ed3b11052e735c376.png" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“The amphorae are made of the earth, of clay, and are set deep in the ground. My brother believed they give the wine a taste of the earth.”
"I'll have to take your word for it," you say.]
(click: "say.")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I have to be careful only to drink a small glass at lunch,” Fede says. “I have much work to do later.”
“Me too,” you say. “Plus, with the jet lag I already have, I think wine will just put me right to sleep.”
She looks up at you. “So, you are not like these American students who come to the tourist bars of Campo de’ Fiori to drink and drink?”
[[“I’ve heard some Americans have a reputation for doing that,” you say. “But I don’t see anything wrong with it. They’re just having a little fun.”|fun]]
[[“I’ve heard some Americans have a reputation for doing that,” you say. “But many of us are different.”|different]] ]
(set: $progress to 9)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“They’re just having a little fun,” you say. “I think they get excited about being in Rome, and sometimes they might take things a little further than they should.”
Fede looks at you thoughtfully. “I suppose you may be right, in a way. But I wonder if they consider the trouble that sometimes comes from drinking too heavily in an unfamiliar place.”
You shrug. “I’m not sure they think about it that much.”
“I should not judge too sharply,” Fede says. “I am Italian, and I am older than they are. I also have many flaws of my own. But I do worry about those students when I see them very drunk, walking home through dark streets that they do not know as well as they believe they do.”
“Nobody wants people to get hurt,” you say. “I’ll mention it to my undergrads — I’ll be supervising a team of them on the dig. I also need to make sure they’re up early and get to the dig site on time.”
(click: "up early")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Your phone chimes. You check and see a new email from your advisor, Valeria. Not wanting to be rude, you ask Fede, “Do you mind if I take a minute to read an email? It’s from my advisor, so...”
“Of course,” Fede says. “I have something I need to discuss with Claudio while you work.” As she gets up and walks in the direction of his office, you open the email. ]
(click: "open the email")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/3812a8e2023f326b5d4c1110991f5aef/5e192d1761e71fd5-7c/s1280x1920/8f198b0e4b01d3b2aa0d391780385c8290d9027c.pnj" style="width:100%;max-width:1024px"> ]
//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
''Permesso granted!''
You did it! Thank you so much for talking with Rossella. I don’t know what you said, but she’s finally given us full permission to dig at Casavenere, at the edge of the city limits. She does seem a little agitated and suspicious, although she wouldn’t tell me why. It’s enough, though, that she’s given us our “permesso” to dig in a new area, and I’d like you to be in charge of a trench in that area, overseeing a small team of undergrads. I’ll be sending you a reading that I’d like you to look over soon, which will help get you up to speed on archaeological survey.
I’m looking forward to seeing you soon on site. Ciao, a dopo!
-Valeria]
“You’re smiling,” Fede says as she scoots by you and settles into her seat. “Did you receive good news?” ]
(click: "good news")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Yeah, we just got the //permesso// to dig at our site.”
“This is wonderful!” Fede says. “What is the name of the site?”
“It’s called Casavenere.”
“Casavenere,” Fede says. “I know this place. The name means ‘House of Venus.’”
“House of Venus?” you repeat. “I wish I knew more. I feel so — like I just don’t know what to expect. I wonder what kinds of ancient buildings we’ll be excavating, and what kinds of objects we’ll find. If any, that is.” ]
(click: "excavating")+(t8n:'dissolve')[She laughs. “But this is the fun of excavating! You do not know what you will find until you begin digging.”
“I’m hoping my advisor will help. If I’m responsible for telling students where we might find objects... I just don’t know where to start.”
“Objects could be buried anywhere,” Fede says. “You might, for example, find them clustered not just inside, but //outside// ancient buildings.”
“Outside?” you ask. You consider what kinds of outside spaces might have an accumulation of objects, and say:
[[“You mean like a trash pit?”|trash pit]]
[[“Like around an altar?”|altar]] ]
(set: $progress to 10)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Not all Americans are like that,” you say.
Fede looks at you thoughtfully. “Of course you are right. I dislike being blamed for what other Italians do. Ours is a large country with many kinds of people. And yours is larger still.”
“Yes,” you say. “America’s a huge, diverse place. It’s hard to generalize about Americans, although people do it all the time.”
“It’s true, what you say,” Fede says. “But I wonder if you could talk to the students who behave with excess in the bars. Help them understand the trouble that sometimes comes from drinking too heavily in an unfamiliar place.”
“I can try, if any big drinkers are at the dig site.”
“Thank you,” Fede says. “I know I should not judge too sharply. I am Italian, and I am older than they. I have many flaws of my own, as well. But I worry about those students when I see them very drunk, walking home through dark streets that they do not know as well as they believe they do.”
“Nobody wants people to get hurt,” you say. “I’ll mention it to my undergrads — I’ll be supervising a team of them on the dig. I also need to make sure they’re up early and get to the dig site on time.”
(click: "up early")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Your phone chimes. You check and see a new email from your advisor, Valeria. Not wanting to be rude, you ask Fede, “Do you mind if I take a minute to read an email? It’s from my advisor, so...”
“Of course,” Fede says. “I have something I need to discuss with Claudio while you work.” As she gets up and walks in the direction of his office, you open the email. ]
(click: "open the email")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe> (t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/3812a8e2023f326b5d4c1110991f5aef/5e192d1761e71fd5-7c/s1280x1920/8f198b0e4b01d3b2aa0d391780385c8290d9027c.pnj" style="width:100%;max-width:1024px"> ]
//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
''Permesso granted!''
You did it! Thank you so much for talking with Rossella. I don’t know what you said, but she’s finally given us full permission to dig at Casavenere, at the edge of the city limits. She does seem a little agitated and suspicious, although she wouldn’t tell me why. It’s enough, though, that she’s given us our “permesso” to dig in a new area, and I’d like you to be in charge of a trench in that area, overseeing a small team of undergrads. I’ll be sending you a reading that I’d like you to look over soon, which will help get you up to speed on archaeological survey.
I’m looking forward to seeing you soon on site. Ciao, a dopo!
-Valeria]
“You’re smiling,” Fede says as she scoots by you and settles into her seat. “Did you receive good news?” ]
(click: "good news")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Yeah, we just got the //permesso// to dig at our site.”
“This is wonderful!” Fede says. “What is the name of the site?”
“It’s called Casavenere.”
“Casavenere,” Fede says. “I know this place. The name means ‘House of Venus.’”
“House of Venus?” you repeat. “I wish I knew more. I feel so — like I just don’t know what to expect. I wonder what kinds of ancient buildings we’ll be excavating, and what kinds of objects we’ll find. If any, that is.” ]
(click: "excavating")+(t8n:'dissolve')[She laughs. “But this is the fun of excavating! You do not know what you will find until you begin digging.”
“I’m hoping my advisor will help. If I’m responsible for telling students where we might find objects... I just don’t know where to start.”
“Objects could be buried anywhere,” Fede says. “You might, for example, find them clustered not just inside, but //outside// ancient buildings.”
“Outside?” you ask. You consider what kinds of outside spaces might have an accumulation of objects, and say:
[[“You mean like a trash pit?”|trash pit]]
[[“Like around an altar?”|altar]] ]
(set: $progress to 10)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]Fede looks at you thoughtfully. “Yes, a trash pit might hold significant finds, perhaps.”
You look down and check the time on your phone. “I should probably go soon,” you say. “I could use a little rest, and my advisor said she was going to send me a reading she wants me to go through.”
(click: "a little rest")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Of course,” Fede says. “You must be tired from the time difference with California.”
“I’ll feel better after I lie down with the reading. Oh, and how much was the lunch?” you ask, grabbing for your wallet.
“It is kind of you to ask,” Fede says, holding her hand up. “But Claudio will not allow me to pay. He owes me for some help I have given him.” ]
(click: "not allow me to pay")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You thank Fede for lunch and head back to Lisa’s house. She’s not in the kitchen, so you climb the stairs up to your room, turn on the fan to dissipate the stagnant heat, and lie down. You put your computer on your stomach and see that a new email has arrived from your advisor with a reading about archaeology by Renfrew and Bahn. She has also noted that you should not read the parts in the PDF that are crossed out in red. ]
(click: "a reading about archaeology")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//(To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.) //
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xDF0jWJVREzJu_RLT4tvlrzdWcz7dvdj/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
After you finish the reading, you go downstairs to get something to drink and a snack. Lisa, sitting at the kitchen table, looks up as you descend the stairway. “How’s your day been?” she asks.
[[“Okay, I guess,” you say flatly.|just okay]]
[[“Pretty exciting,” you answer.|exciting]] ]
(set: $progress to 11)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]Fede looks at you thoughtfully. “Yes, the area around an altar might hold significant finds, such as votives and sacrificial animal bones, perhaps.”
You look down and check the time on your phone. “I should probably go soon,” you say. “I could use a little rest, and my advisor said she was going to send me a reading she wants me to go through.”
(click: "a little rest")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Of course,” Fede says. “You must be tired from the time difference with California.”
“I’ll feel better after I lie down with the reading. Oh, and how much was the lunch?” you ask, grabbing for your wallet.
“It is kind of you to ask,” Fede says, holding her hand up. “But Claudio will not allow me to pay. He owes me for some help I have given him.” ]
(click: "not allow me to pay")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You thank Fede for lunch and head back to Lisa’s house. She’s not in the kitchen, so you climb the stairs up to your room, turn on the fan to dissipate the stagnant heat, and lie down. You put your computer on your stomach and see that a new email has arrived from your advisor with a reading about archaeology by Renfrew and Bahn. She has also noted that you should not read the parts in the PDF that are crossed out in red. ]
(click: "a reading about archaeology")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//(To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.) //
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xDF0jWJVREzJu_RLT4tvlrzdWcz7dvdj/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
After you finish the reading, you go downstairs to get something to drink and a snack. Lisa, sitting at the kitchen table, looks up as you descend the stairway. “How’s your day been?” she asks.
[[“Okay, I guess,” you say flatly.|just okay]]
[[“Pretty exciting,” you answer.|exciting]] ]
(set: $progress to 11)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“It’s going okay, I guess,” you say somewhat glumly.
Lisa peers at you over her reading glasses. “Anything I can help with?”
“Well, I just finished reading about artifacts, different kinds of surveys, LIDAR, and... a whole lot of things. It was in an archaeology textbook by, uh...”
(click: "archaeology textbook")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Renfrew and Bahn?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?” you ask.
“That book is a classic,” Lisa says. “I’ve used it in my own archaeology courses. It’s written clearly, but I used to find that it helped to go over things more than once. After all, most people — including myself — rarely can remember things after only one reading.”
“I’m like that, too,” you say. “Reading things more than once, taking notes — those things help me a lot.” ]
(click: "taking notes")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Quizzing yourself is good, too,” Lisa says. “Then you’re practicing retrieving the information, which is what we do on tests or when we use the information to write an article or a paper. Testing your knowledge can be kind of fun, as well.”
“You think so?”
Lisa laughs. “Don’t be so skeptical! Think of all the games that are based on testing knowledge.” She holds up the crossword she’s working on.
“Maybe it’s the word ‘test’ that spoils it,” you say.
“Let’s forget that word, then,” Lisa says, “and play a little game with me instead: What’s the difference between an artifact and a feature?”
[[“Artifacts are complete objects. Features are fragmentary objects.”|artifact wrong]]
[[“Artifacts are man made and portable. Features are non-portable, human-modified parts of a landscape.”|artifact correct]] ]
(set: $progress to 12)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“It’s been a pretty exciting day,” you say.
Lisa peers at you over her reading glasses. “That’s good to hear. Did you come across anything I can help with?”
“Well, I just finished reading about artifacts, different kinds of surveys, LIDAR, and... a whole lot of things. It was in an archaeology textbook by, uh...”
(click: "archaeology textbook")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Renfrew and Bahn?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?” you ask.
“That book is a classic,” Lisa says. “I’ve used it in my own archaeology courses. It’s written clearly, but I used to find that it helped to go over things more than once. After all, most people — including myself — rarely can remember things after only one reading.”
“I’m like that, too,” you say. “Reading things more than once, taking notes — those things help me a lot.” ]
(click: "taking notes")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Quizzing yourself is good, too,” Lisa says. “Then you’re practicing retrieving the information, which is what we do on tests or when we use the information to write an article or a paper. Testing your knowledge can be kind of fun, as well.”
“You think so?”
Lisa laughs. “Don’t be so skeptical! Think of all the games that are based on testing knowledge.” She holds up the crossword she’s working on.
“Maybe it’s the word ‘test’ that spoils it,” you say.
“Let’s forget that word, then,” Lisa says, “and play a little game with me instead: What’s the difference between an artifact and a feature?”
[[“Artifacts are complete objects. Features are fragmentary objects.”|artifact wrong]]
[[“Artifacts are man made and portable. Features are non-portable, human-modified parts of a landscape.”|artifact correct]] ]
(set: $progress to 12)
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(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” you say.
Fede nods, wordlessly accepting your condolences, while taking a deep breath that helps her control her emotions. Then she turns, looking toward the kitchen. “Where is the wine? Claudio is terribly slow.”
(click: "the wine")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Slow, maybe, but he’s solid, right?” you ask. “I mean, he made that lunch for your father. Is he an old family friend or something?”
“No. Claudio helped us when the //vigneto// — the vineyard — was dying. He helped with the debts. Claudio can be kind and very generous — unless one makes him angry” — she gives you a warning glance — “which one must never do.” She smiles. “Now, let us talk of other things. Tell me, did you discover anything for your statue in the Centrale Montemartini?”
“I may have,” you say. “It’s hard to be sure.” ]
(click: "hard to be sure")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Could I see the picture of the statue again? Perhaps I can help.”
You call up the picture of the statue on your phone and position it on the table so you can both look at it. ]
(click: "call up the picture")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“You know,” Fede says, “this reminds me of a story given by the ancient historian Suetonius in his book //The Twelve Caesars//.” ]
(click: "Suetonius")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“What is it?”
She looks up, trying to remember. “Suetonius, eh... he wrote that Emperor Augustus, when he was old, he had a grandson or great-grandson who died. And he had a statue made of the boy, dressed as a minor godling, I believe, I cannot remember which. But he had one version of the statue which he kept in his bedroom that he would lovingly kiss when he entered the room, while another statue of the boy was taken by his wife, Livia, to the temple of Venus, I believe. The boy lived on there as one of the gods, one might say. I think the ancients, they had ways of changing — eh... molding, sculpting the sadness of life and death. Maybe we now have lost these ways. I don’t know.”
Fede leans forward, squinting at the photo on your phone. “I wonder, was this statue simply one of many? Or was the body mass-produced, as they say, but the head — perhaps that was sculpted separately, to resemble a specific person, for a specific purpose?”]
(click: "the head")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Like with Augustus, you mean?”
“Yes, or for some other reason than his,” Fede says.
“Maybe,” you say. “Speaking of Augustus — now that I think about it, I’m sure I’ve heard that story before, about his grandson or great-grandson and the statue. It was in a book about statues by a guy named Stewart. I should revisit that.”
“Yes, you should—” Fede starts to say, bursting into a smile as a plate with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil is set down on the table.
“Sorry for the long time,” Claudio says with his heavy Italian accent as he uncorks a wine bottle and pours a little into the glasses in front of you. Fede takes a sip, rolls it around in her mouth, and nods approvingly.
Claudio looks to you next.
[[You take a sip from your glass.|sip]]
[[You politely decline.|decline]]]
(set: $progress to 8)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Nope,” Lisa says. “Artifacts are objects that have been made, modified, or used by people. They have to be portable, too. A terracotta bowl is an artifact, but a stone wall is not, because it’s not movable. This coffee cup here is also an artifact, even though it’s not terribly exciting right now. It will be, though, to someone who excavates this house 2000 years in the future. The cup will probably be in pieces, or fragments, then, and scientific tests — depending on what the technology is like — might be done on the cup to test what kind of liquid it once held. We can do such tests nowadays on vessels and learn about ancient wine and beer. So, that’s an artifact. An example of a //feature//, on the other hand, is the street outside the courtyard. The street was created by humans, but it’s not portable; it’s part of the larger landscape here, which is what makes it a feature. For example, a burial pit is a feature we might see when excavating a larger cemetery.”
“I think I understand now,” you say.
“Moving on, then, to the next question,” Lisa says. “What does surface survey involve?”
[[“It involves people using electronic devices to move through a landscape and record what they detect.”|wrong survey]]
[[“It involves people walking through a landscape and recording what they see.”|right survey]]
(set: $progress to 13)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“Right!” Lisa says. “Artifacts are objects that have been made, modified, or used by people. They have to be portable, too. So a terracotta bowl is an artifact, but a stone wall is not, because it’s not movable. This coffee cup here is also an artifact, even though it’s not terribly exciting right now. It will be, though, to someone who excavates this house 2000 years in the future. The cup will probably be in pieces, or fragments, then, and scientific tests — depending on what the technology is like — might be done on the cup to test what kind of liquid it once held. We can do such tests nowadays on vessels and learn about ancient wine and beer. So, that’s an artifact. An example of a //feature//, on the other hand, is the street outside the courtyard. The street was created by humans, but it’s not portable; it’s part of the larger landscape here, which is what makes it a feature. For example, a burial pit is a feature we might see when excavating a larger cemetery.”
“I think I understand now,” you say.
“Moving on, then, to the next question,” Lisa says. “What does surface survey involve?”
[[“It involves people using electronic devices to move through a landscape and record what they detect.”|wrong survey]]
[[“It involves people walking through a landscape and recording what they see.”|right survey]]
(set: $progress to 13)
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(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]
Lisa shakes her head. “Actually, surface survey is different than that. Field survey, which is just another way of saying surface survey, is usually done in a systematic way nowadays. What this means is that the team sets up a survey area, say 30 feet by 30 feet, and they divide up the area into sectors, which are usually straight paths of equal distance spread across the survey area. Each team member then walks their line, which will be spaced at some distance from the next person, and searches their area. They can pick up diagnostic items, like a well-preserved piece of pottery, but they can also touch nothing and simply record or count what they see. Later, all this information is put into a database, and researchers can see where there are clusters of finds or material. This can actually tell us where to dig! It can be hard to visualize, but I’ve got a picture...”
(click: "a picture")+(t8n:'dissolve')[She turns the laptop next to her so you can see the screen.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/471bcfccd30f5050bbf4f927012a7114/98017accd1b9b25e-f1/s500x750/29b83616d5b2c4034fc9b88e7c3be112e70f2b77.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Anyway, that’s what you do in field survey. You walk in these straight lines called transects.”
“Cool,” you say. “But shouldn’t all this stuff be buried really deeply? Don’t you need to dig to find stuff?” ]
(click: "buried really deeply")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Actually, no,” Lisa says. “You don’t always need to dig. That’s why survey can be so helpful. It allows you to see what’s on the surface without breaking ground. Excavating, on the other hand, is destructive. Over the centuries, artifacts can get brought up to the surface, sometimes through processes like modern-day plowing, which churns buried objects up to the surface.”
“Farmers in Italy must find a lot of ancient artifacts,” you say.
Lisa nods. “When a farmer finds archaeological material, they’re supposed to tell the Culture Ministry so that archaeologists can investigate the site properly. An assemblage of pottery fragments on the surface of a plowed field can be a sign of more material at a deeper level, or nearby. Much can be learned if the investigative process is recorded properly. Conversely, so much can be lost if farmers try to do it on their own, or if they ask the //tombaroli// to come in at night and do it for them.” ]
(click: "tombaroli")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“The //tombaroli// are the tomb robbers, right?”
“Yes. It’s a complex issue, because farmers might not want to lose control of an area of land to archaeologists, since anything found belongs to the state. The farmers might want to try to make money by illegally selling artifacts they find, with the help of the //tombaroli//. But if the excavation process is not recorded, if important finds are not made available to the public for study and for enjoyment in museums, the loss is just so enormous, so permanent and tragic.” She shakes her head angrily. “But the Italian government could, I think, make things easier by fairly compensating farmers or others when they find antiquities or discover new sites. That’s what they do now in England — if someone, anyone, finds a cultural object and turns it in, they get compensated. Some very interesting finds have come to light because of this process.”
“Sounds like it,” you say.
“But I mustn’t wallow in this disturbing and intractable issue,” Lisa says. “We were discussing survey, weren’t we?” ]
(click: "discussing survey")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Yup.”
“Right,” Lisa says. “One of the important things to remember about survey is that it’s a good non-destructive way archaeologists can get a sense of a site, or where to dig. That way, we don’t have to just take shovels and dig holes all over, like gophers in a garden.”
“That’s funny,” you say. “Because when I think of archaeologists in movies, they’re always digging. You never see one using something like Google Earth to find sites or doing surface survey — maybe because it’s boring to watch. Speaking of Google Earth, do we really need other kinds of survey techniques? I mean, shouldn’t you be able to see enough with Google Earth to find new sites to study?”
“Google Earth is an interesting topic,” Lisa says. “Let’s use it to make one last question. Give this your best educated guess: Is Google Earth an effective survey tool for archaeologists working in Italy, and why or why not?”
[[“Google Earth is not effective for archaeologists working in Italy, because Italian authorities block us from using those images for survey purposes, due to privacy concerns.”|no goog earth]]
[[“Google Earth is definitely used by archaeologists, but sometimes we need ground-penetrating survey techniques aside from aerial survey.”|yes goog earth]] ]
(set: $progress to 14)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]Lisa smiles. “Bingo! Surface survey may seem old school and dull in this high-tech world of ours, but it’s time tested and often very effective. Field survey, which is just another way of saying surface survey, is usually done in a systematic way nowadays. What this means is that the team sets up a survey area, say 30 feet by 30 feet, and they divide up the area into sectors, which are usually straight paths of equal distance spread across the survey area. Each team member then walks their line, which will be spaced at some distance from the next person, and searches their area. They can pick up diagnostic items, like a well-preserved piece of pottery, but they can also touch nothing and simply record or count what they see. Later, all this information is put into a database, and researchers can see where there are clusters of finds or material. This can actually tell us where to dig! It can be hard to visualize, but I’ve got a picture...”
(click: "a picture")+(t8n:'dissolve')[She turns the laptop next to her so you can see the screen.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/471bcfccd30f5050bbf4f927012a7114/98017accd1b9b25e-f1/s500x750/29b83616d5b2c4034fc9b88e7c3be112e70f2b77.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Anyway, that’s what you do in field survey. You walk in these straight lines called transects.”
“Cool,” you say. “But shouldn’t all this stuff be buried really deeply? Don’t you need to dig to find stuff?” ]
(click: "buried really deeply")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Actually, no,” Lisa says. “You don’t always need to dig. That’s why survey can be so helpful. It allows you to see what’s on the surface without breaking ground. Excavating, on the other hand, is destructive. Over the centuries, artifacts can get brought up to the surface, sometimes through processes like modern-day plowing, which churns buried objects up to the surface.”
“Farmers in Italy must find a lot of ancient artifacts,” you say.
Lisa nods. “When a farmer finds archaeological material, they’re supposed to tell the Culture Ministry so that archaeologists can investigate the site properly. An assemblage of pottery fragments on the surface of a plowed field can be a sign of more material at a deeper level, or nearby. Much can be learned if the investigative process is recorded properly. Conversely, so much can be lost if farmers try to do it on their own, or if they ask the //tombaroli// to come in at night and do it for them.” ]
(click: "tombaroli")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“The //tombaroli// are the tomb robbers, right?”
“Yes. It’s a complex issue, because farmers might not want to lose control of an area of land to archaeologists, since anything found belongs to the state. The farmers might want to try to make money by illegally selling artifacts they find, with the help of the //tombaroli//. But if the excavation process is not recorded, if important finds are not made available to the public for study and for enjoyment in museums, the loss is just so enormous, so permanent and tragic.” She shakes her head angrily. “But the Italian government could, I think, make things easier by fairly compensating farmers or others when they find antiquities or discover new sites. That’s what they do now in England — if someone, anyone, finds a cultural object and turns it in, they get compensated. Some very interesting finds have come to light because of this process.”
“Sounds like it,” you say.
“But I mustn’t wallow in this disturbing and intractable issue,” Lisa says. “We were discussing survey, weren’t we?” ]
(click: "discussing survey")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Yup.”
“Right,” Lisa says. “One of the important things to remember about survey is that it’s a good non-destructive way archaeologists can get a sense of a site, or where to dig. That way, we don’t have to just take shovels and dig holes all over, like gophers in a garden.”
“That’s funny,” you say. “Because when I think of archaeologists in movies, they’re always digging. You never see one using something like Google Earth to find sites or doing surface survey — maybe because it’s boring to watch. Speaking of Google Earth, do we really need other kinds of survey techniques? I mean, shouldn’t you be able to see enough with Google Earth to find new sites to study?”
“Google Earth is an interesting topic,” Lisa says. “Let’s use it to make one last question. Give this your best educated guess: Is Google Earth an effective survey tool for archaeologists working in Italy, and why or why not?”
[[“Google Earth is not effective for archaeologists working in Italy, because Italian authorities block us from using those images for survey purposes, due to privacy concerns.”|no goog earth]]
[[“Google Earth is definitely used by archaeologists, but sometimes we need ground-penetrating survey techniques aside from aerial survey.”|yes goog earth]] ]
(set: $progress to 14)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]
“Actually,” Lisa says, “Google Earth is a tool that we archaeologists working in Italy //do// use. It can be very effective, but of course it depends on what questions we’re looking to answer and on the condition of the site. Think of it this way: there are many different kinds of aerial survey — from Google Earth, which is something that anyone can use, to more expensive options like LIDAR, which uses lasers and measures reflections. There are certain landscapes that you can’t see with Google Earth, like heavily forested areas, so you would need other types of aerial imaging that can actually shoot through thick trees or jungle canopies. And even before all this fancy technology was invented, people used hot air balloons for aerial reconnaissance, which can still be helpful.
(click: "hot air balloons")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“But archaeologists often do things in combination, as I’m sure you’re picking up on by now. So, they might start with aerial photography and then move to a ground-based remote sensing option. These options basically allow archaeologists to take x-rays of the ground, without disturbing anything. There are several different techniques, but a commonly used one is called ‘magnetometry.’ What this means is that a trained archaeologist uses a tool called a magnetometer — I’ve got an example here I can show you.”
Lisa types on her laptop keyboard, and an image pops up.]
(click: "an image pops up")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/1621c7bbebbf1a9a74e1f7a83f8cb63b/fc55c76b67ec7119-25/s1280x1920/716b2699a6ec243e4a7866c0b7671727be940c8e.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“The way this image is taken is by walking across the landscape while pushing the magnetometer. And the tool takes readings — measuring distortions in the earth’s magnetic field through the slight presence of iron — so they can pick up things like hearths or kilns that would have been heated, or pits and ditches. Then, the archaeologist assembles the data and creates a map of the site, which can show us certain //features// — remember that word? — in the landscape below the ground. Magnetometry, combined with aerial survey and field survey, can really give a lot of information to the archaeologist before excavation. And in some cases, it’s used as a method of recording without ever excavating at all.” ]
(click: "method of recording")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I’m starting to see how things fit together,” you say.
“Good,” Lisa says. “I’ve got a little work to catch up on now, but let me know if any questions come up.”
“Thanks,” you say.
You go up to your room and sit down on your bed to take a well-deserved rest...]
(set: $progress to 15)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]“You’re right,” Lisa says, “Google Earth is a tool that we archaeologists working in Italy //do// use. It can be very effective, but of course it depends on what questions we’re looking to answer and on the condition of the site. Think of it this way: there are many different kinds of aerial survey — from Google Earth, which is something that anyone can use, to more expensive options like LIDAR, which uses lasers and measures reflections. There are certain landscapes that you can’t see with Google Earth, like heavily forested areas, so you would need other types of aerial imaging that can actually shoot through thick trees or jungle canopies. And even before all this fancy technology was invented, people used hot air balloons for aerial reconnaissance, which can still be helpful.
(click: "hot air balloons")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“But archaeologists often do things in combination, as I’m sure you’re picking up on by now. So, they might start with aerial photography and then move to a ground-based remote sensing option. These options basically allow archaeologists to take x-rays of the ground, without disturbing anything. There are several different techniques, but a commonly used one is called ‘magnetometry.’ What this means is that a trained archaeologist uses a tool called a magnetometer — I’ve got an example here I can show you.”
Lisa types on her laptop keyboard, and an image pops up.]
(click: "an image pops up")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/1621c7bbebbf1a9a74e1f7a83f8cb63b/fc55c76b67ec7119-25/s1280x1920/716b2699a6ec243e4a7866c0b7671727be940c8e.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“The way this image is taken is by walking across the landscape while pushing the magnetometer. And the tool takes readings — measuring distortions in the earth’s magnetic field through the slight presence of iron — so they can pick up things like hearths or kilns that would have been heated, or pits and ditches. Then, the archaeologist assembles the data and creates a map of the site, which can show us certain //features// — remember that word? — in the landscape below the ground. Magnetometry, combined with aerial survey and field survey, can really give a lot of information to the archaeologist before excavation. And in some cases, it’s used as a method of recording without ever excavating at all.” ]
(click: "method of recording")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I’m starting to see how things fit together,” you say.
“Good,” Lisa says. “I’ve got a little work to catch up on now, but let me know if any questions come up.”
“Thanks,” you say.
You go up to your room and sit down on your bed to take a well-deserved rest...]
(set: $progress to 15)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="15"></progress>')]