Diary Of An Archaeologist - Wattys 2019 Non-fiction Winner

That Time I Wasn't Allowed On An Excavation

For this story, I'm taking you guys all the way to South Korea. After graduating from Archaeology, I proceeded to my masters of Cultural Heritage, and as a part of this master I had the option of studying abroad for two months.

So, I chose to study in South-Korea.......because I don't know it sounded cool and I was the only one who picked South-Korea, so I felt adventurous in exploring it by myself.

In my class, I was the only foreigner which meant I was the only one who didn't know anything about Korean History and was only vaguely familiar with their Cultural Heritage. Luckily, my professor was a lady who was the head of the Korean division of UNESCO, and she was very well acquainted with an old Archaeology professor of mine, so she took me under her wing and helped me learn 3000 years of Korean history in one week, before all my regular courses started.

I still don't know how I survived that week; I hardly slept, studied harder than ever, and definitely would not have made it if it wasn't for her.

To help me with this, she took me to different museums and historical sites throughout Seoul. Here she told me the history of the place, the practices of the people and how this cultural heritage was protected. I was honoured to have her as my teacher and often tied these places to places in the Netherlands from that same time period to help me understand the timeline better.
She encouraged me in my method because Korea and the Netherlands have a far longer history than I ever knew. Who would have guessed I could learn something new about my country's history when I'm thousands of kilometres away.

So, one day she told that the next morning she could take me to Ganghwa, a county a few hours driving from Seoul where we would go to see one of Korea's World Heritage Sites; the Ganghwa dolmen. Dolmen are stone grave markers of the ruling elite from the Neolithic and Bronze period. They usually consist of two or more vertical megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or 'table'. Dolmen are structures that are found all over the world, but it is said that Korea holds 40% or more of the world's dolmen. In the Netherlands we call them 'Hunebedden', and although we don't have as much a Korea, it was another link I loved to see in real life.

The next day as we drove to Ganghwa, my professor explained to me that there was an excavation at one of the dolmen sites on Ganghwa island, and I was SHOCKED. I had seen dolmen before, but every dolmen I had seen so far remained undisturbed because of the Valetta Treaty. So, you can see why I was ecstatic to bear witness to this. I basically became like ever hyperactive kid that's on their way to Disneyland in that car.

Now, I thought that I had seen excavations abroad. Thought that I generally knew what they looked like, but this excavation was unlike anything I had ever seen. The entire area was heavily secured, we got special 'guest' tags so that everyone could see who we were and even then we got instructions to basically stay away from the excavation pit. My professor went to talk with the archaeologist leading the excavation, and I was left alone there, the pit with the dolmen excavation just a few meters away from me.
Naturally, I took a few steps towards it, trying to get a better look. Can you blame me?!

Telling an archaeologist to stay away from an excavation is like telling a monkey to stay out of a tree, it isn't gonna work.

So, I took a few more steps, walked around it a bit, spotting the pottery, comma-shaped jewels, bronze and stone tools, and other funerary artefacts that had been excavated from the dolmen, until someone roughly pulled me back. I fell flat on my back and looked up at the man who had just pulled me to the ground.

"You're not supposed to be here." He yelled in Korean, but I understood what he said, even though I didn't know how to properly respond in Korean, instead opting to answer him in English.

"I'm sorry, I was just fascinated. I'm an archaeologist too; I don't mean any harm."

He eyed me suspiciously, "If you are an archaeologist where are your qualifications?"

My qualifications? What was I supposed to show this man? A card, a badge? I had my degree of course, but that is not something you just carry around. Instead of arguing, I decided it would be best to explain the situation, after all, I was just a guest. "I'm with my professor, miss –"

"It doesn't matter who you're with if you don't have qualifications you're not allowed to be here. Only archaeologists are allowed on the excavation."

"Like I said. I am an archaeologist. I have studied Archaeology in the Netherlands, and I'm currently in Korea on an exchange program for my masters. I am just as qualified to be on this excavation as any of you."

Big mistake! My cocky remark made the man furious, shouting something over the walkie-talkie, and within seconds a couple of guards came up to me to escort me out. Me and my stupid sense of pride argued even more, trying to explain that I was here with my professor. I did not just study for four years to be denied access on an excavation. I was absolutely furious.

The loud argument brought my professor and the head of the excavation out of the office to see what the hell was going on.

As soon as the guards and the man saw my professor, they knew who she was and bowed deeply. Like 90° degree angle deep.
She demanded an explanation and the man told her in Korean what had happened. Now, I couldn't understand everything he said, but from what I heard I assumed he was truthful, which is why I was surprised to see my professor laughing.

"You have drilled your team in shape," she remarked to the head of the excavation before she motioned to me, "this is Alatary, she's a Dutch archaeologist who is currently one of my Cultural Heritage students. She has worked on multiple excavations, but in her country, they don't excavate dolmen so I took her here to show her how we do things."

The man proceeded to apologise excessively, bowing repeatedly for me and my professor motioned for me to do the same, so I did. By now, I noticed that we had drawn the attention of the entire team, and I began to regret my actions so much.

We got a tour throughout the excavation. My professor was treated like the queen that she is, and I mostly remained silent and smiling unless I was asked something. If I could have buried myself in that dolmen with my shame, I would have done it.

Seriously guys, just because you're qualified to do something, doesn't mean you have the right to probe around in one of your colleagues' projects. If you're a guest somewhere, that doesn't mean you can go and walk around in restricted area's even if you're qualified; you're a guest, ask and respect the decision if you're denied. People are just trying to do their job.

I later recounted this story to my friend Lisa (from the Oslo story), and she compared it with the hypothetical situation of a doctor going to a random hospital and just starting to treat patients because he's qualified. Sounds idiotic, doesn't it?

Well, I surely felt like an idiot but luckily my professor chalked it up to cultural differences and smoothed things out for me. Once my classes officially started I made a lot more friends, both Korean and foreign, and learn so much more about the culture. It was the best summer of my life, I had a blast and would recommend everyone to study abroad if you get the chance; it will really give you a new perspective on the world and even your own culture.

A/N: As always thanks for reading. Feel free to vote or comment, and I love to hear your thoughts.

-Wednesday I'm taking you guys back to a ship. But this time were taken a dip into the world of underwater archaeology.-