The dig is finished

We finished up cleaning pottery and photographing and documenting the site late Thursday afternoon, the day after a gigantic downpour turned the excavation into a mudbath. We were dogged by rain the whole two weeks I was there, but it wasn't so bad the first four, I've been told. As the rain poured down for the better part of an hour and Jove thundered with both great menace and great proximity, one of the supervisors, proclaimed in a rare English utterance, "The dig is finished." This the same fellow who on many occasions was heard to state, "We will never surrender!"...

That coin turned out to come from the 3rd c. BCE, and so worn that a ship's prow seemed like military standards -- in total contrast to the two pristine asses found the following day, which seemed to have been deposited by the hand of the moneyer himself! Hopefully I can soon post pictures. At the moment, the hostel is giving a free pizza-and-beer party to celebrate the opening of their new patio, and at 9 Elton John is giving a free concert at the Colosseum, so the rest must wait.