ethics research

After attending a lecture by our mentor on the ethics of archaeology, we then each chose a case study in the world which have faced controversies in regard to ethics. This is to show us that archaeology is simply not just about being able to dig up artefacts, but also about the ethical concerns that come with the artefact, such as efforts to conserve it, or in the case of shipwrecks - which country should have jurisdiction over it.

I chose a recent case study - stonehenge, and the digging up of human remains which can reveal the site's significance as a burial ground. However, it has received backlash from a Celtic priesthood who claim to be the direct descendants of the people buried, thus expressing fury over the undignified way in which the bodies were dug up. Through this, I had to understand the perspectives of both parties and come up with a rationale solution that ensures that the historical significance of these remains will not be compromised.

After taking everything into consideration, my solution to this issue was to allow the human remains to be displayed at the Stonehenge visitor centre, to allow visitors or tourists to be able to understand how Stonehenge could be used as a burial site in the past. Although Celtic priesthoods have expressed outrage over the uncovering of these remains, further research shows that there was no proof that they were direct descendants, hence I concluded that the remains should be used for educational purposes instead.

surveying exercise

The value of this project is to let us experience how real-life archaeologists survey a site that they think has historical value. By mapping the site out, we can hence deduce which area of the site would be the most ideal for excavation, in terms of physical boundaries and the value of items that might be found from the site.

A major challenge of this exercise was being inexperienced. As this took place in the first week, we were still new to the field of archaeology. We had to choose which items we observed were significant enough to be noted down, which exercises our decision-making skills as well as our ability to make choices.

When mapping out the site given to us, we were then able to estimate which part of the site has signs of human activity, which is where we chose to 'excavate'. For example, there were a few pipes strewn around the area, which led us to believe that they may be used to transport things from one place to another, thus suggesting that humans have been in the area for the construction of these pipes, as well as the receiving of the materials transported.

We were briefed on the method of identifying three types of ceramics - earthenware, stoneware and porcelain, as well as their sub-categories. We had to sort the artefacts into these categories, followed by their size. Only then could we enter the artefacts into the database. Because of this, we were able to see the post excavation efforts that happen after recovering the artefacts, and subsequently were able to appreciate the hard work that goes behind the sorting and cataloging of artefacts.

We initially faced some problems when sorting the artefacts into their respective categories, as we were still newly exposed to the different types of ceramics. Hence, we had to constantly approach our mentor for confirmation to make sure we didn't make any mistakes during sorting. However, after a few days, we were able to sort the artefacts more quickly and accurately, with fewer mistakes being made in terms of misidentification. We also helped with the issuing of serial numbers to each group of artefacts, and this helped us to group the artefacts in a systematic manner to prevent any repetition of serial numbers.

At the end of our attachment, we managed to sort and catalog a whole bag of artefacts within a week, and even moved on to the checking of previous sortings that were entered into the database. Through this process, we learnt the importance of communication as we had to make sure that each artefact was properly sorted into their respective categories.

Towards the end of our attachment, our mentor prepared a mock excavation for us to work on, to experience how real-life archaeologists think and make decisions on the site itself, on a smaller scale. We had to practice decision-making while working with a time constraint, and had to piece together information that we managed to gather from the artefacts dug up to formulate a possible function of the site that we 'excavated'.

Similar to our surveying exercise, we were initially lost on which method we should use to approach the digging up of materials. For example, using a brush to sweep away sand to create a hole in the site may be quick, but it might destroy evidence left on the artefact such as soot, which would suggest the presence of fire in the site. Therefore, we had to think of ways to recover the artefacts in its original form in an efficient manner. My group was in charge of the overall site, which was a temple complex. We had to figure out how old the 'structures' in the site were by looking at the composition of materials used to build the structures, which will allow us to know how the structure has developed over the years.

After the 1 hour and 15 minutes that we were given to 'excavate', we managed to find out that the 'temple complex' we were working on was not built all at once, but rather in stages. This was because certain areas of the temple, like the base, were relatively old compared to the structures at the top. This shows us that the use of the temple could have changed over the years, especially during the colonial period.

3 content knowledge/skills learnt

• how to differentiate between each type of ceramic

Ceramics can be separated based on two things: their clay composition and their firing temperature. Earthenware ceramics are fired at the lowest temperature, while porcelain are fired at the highest temperature. Because of this, earthenware are not as finely grained as porcelain, and this is a distinctive feature. Another method to tell the three types of ceramics apart is to listen to the pitch they produce when being tapped. The higher the pitch, the more high-fired the ceramic piece would be.

• hands-on experience

By participating in activities such as the surveying exercise and the mock excavation, we can experience how archaeologists perform their jobs in the field on a daily basis, hence appreciating the hard work that they put in to recover and piece together information taken from artefacts.

• studying about bioarchaeology

2 interesting aspects of your learning

• going on field trips

Our mentor brought us around the different sites that were previously excavated - Fort Canning Park, Victoria Concert Hall and Empress Place. We also visited NUS Museum, National Musuem of Singapore, National Art Gallery and Asian Civilisation Museum. By first visiting previous excavation sites, then by viewing artefacts that were recovered and now displayed in museums, we were able to understand the background behind each artefact as well as the conservation efforts that goes into preserving it.

• finding unique/decorative sherds

Finding decorated ceramics is a reward because it is interesting to see what people of the past use to decorate. Some pieces do not have colouring but made use of grooves to create a pattern, while others use paint to create designs. The colour of paint used is not limited to just blue, but also red and green, although these are less common.

1 takeaway for life

The biggest takeaway that I had from this attachment is how linked archaeology is to history. With the help of archaeologists, historians can then infer the past lives of people - how they live, the structures they built, how their societies may be organized, etc. This helped me to appreciate the important role an archaeologist plays in uncovering new pieces of history.