George Ciotlausi, the supervisor of our Archaeology program in Romania, has written in an update on what our volunteers have been working on the last couple of years. It is a program that is close to my heart as I first got involved with Projects Abroad as an Archaeology volunteer in the summer of 2003! I not only was a member of the first Projects Abroad dig in Harsova but I fondly remember camping in the Transylvanian woods with the other volunteers and Sorin at Racos. Ah, the memories but enough about me! George take it away …

Ready to explore

By George Ciotlausi

Hello my name is George Ciotlausi and I run the Archaeology program in Romania. I would like to tell you a little of what I do.

Last year was the time when the Projects Abroad Archeology project had its 5 year anniversary. It started quite a small project and it was more like an experiment to begin. However, these days we don’t need to look for a place to dig like the old times. The archeologists know the reputation of us and what we are capable of. Over the years Projects Abroad volunteers have taken part in almost 30 archeological campaigns which has spanned the Neolithic times until the late medieval times.

In 2003 the project began and this saw the original contacts with the first archeologist. It was managed by Sorin Sapojnic who went on three major diggings: Racos, Harsova, Bordusani. It was also the time when the first research was done for Saxon Churches.

Working on a dig

Much more after the jump on George’s tenure
I arrived as the head of the program and we increased the number of sights volunteers were able to excavate. Sibiu was our big digging site for 2005. The old medieval city was preparing itself to become one of the European capitals of culture. The restoration of Huet square required archeological diggings and the research of almost 2000 Saxon graves. This project kept us busy for several months. After that we went to the Danube on two Neolithic Tells and we ended the year with the digging at the amazing Brukenthal Pallace from Avrig.

In 2006, and in collaboration with the Sarmizegetusa Cultural Association, we launched a major project in reconstructing and studying an ancient Dacian weapon: the falx. We continued through the year with medieval diggings in Pancota and at the Saxon Church from Rupea. There were also Roman, post-Roman and medieval digs at Alba Iulia, high in the amazing Transylvanian mountains.

On the road

Last year we concentrated on digging churches - we started with a Hungarian one in Sic, continued with the Romano-Catholic cathedral in Alba Iulia and finishing with a monastery in the south of Romania, Gaiseni. Last year was also the time of one of the most interesting digging that I ever saw and it happened in Simleu Silvaniei. The ruins of the old Bathory castle revealed a lot of remarkable information and artifacts. This digging will continue this year and we will be there to help and to learn.

What is archeology? Well most of the people describe some kind of Indiana Jones style person who goes all over the world and gets his hands on precious gold artifacts. From all of this maybe only the outfit has something to do with the real world. A hat, a bottle of water and loose-fitting clothes, so the air can circulate inside them, are some of the tools for the sunny days when you are on a digging site. The machete, shotgun and the whip can definitely be left at home though.

Gold is not the main thing you will find on an archeological site and it is not the main thing wanted. First of all there is a lot of dust, pieces of pottery spread all over the place, ancient structures and bones. Sometimes human bones, teeth and metallic objects.

Why is all of this fascinating? Well why not? You learn about the past and the people that lived in other times and you realize that there is not much of a difference between you and them. You become like a detective having as witness only the artifacts, the structures and the bones to make sense of it all. There is the opportunity to learn new things on every dig, to improve yourself, to see new places and to meet new people. It all about working hard and having fun at the bottom of a dusty trench or sitting around a campfire somewhere isolated in the Transylvanian mountains…