With the excavation all over, we thought this morning with some luck we may get a sleep-in, but it was not to be. We all blearily stumbled to the breakfast line at 7am and were frog-marched by Simon up to the site again! Thankfully the spades and trowels were shelved, and instead we had a small talk about the site and the excavation reminding us of the larger picture that our hard work has contributed to. The scale of all our work is impressive; we started off with three small trenches and never dreamed we’d excavate a rua pit, a huge storage pit, a drain, hangi features and so much fire-cracked rock! Back at the quarters everyone dug in filling out the last forms, registering the last artefacts and scrubbing the place from tip to toe.
students of the 2013 field school
This is our last day at the island! And we finished it off in style with our last swim, lots of music, and of course a chilled beer. We are all happy and excited to have learnt so much, it was an experience to remember. We have made some great friends and memories, and all hope to return to this beautiful island in the future. Luckily all is not over yet for us, we will continue to analyse our finds in order to further our understanding of the Maori occupation at GMI over the course of the semester. It’s not over yet folks – watch this space!
– Lizette and Sophie