Recently, I gave a talk about Jebel Moya and Henry Wellcome (should be online at some point), and as part of that talk we showed a video filmed in 1912-13. You can read more about the video here. The Filming Antiquity link above gives a very good break down of the video and the technical details. I thought it would be fun to compare a day then and now.
Here is the surviving video (c) Wellcome Collection. Credit: A day at Gebel Moya, season 1912-13 – free to watch.
The black and white images are screenshots from the video.
Now, our day starts early – usually whenever the sun rises. By around 6am we are ready to go. While most people sleepily gather their things, I’m generally fuelling up on coffee. We live in the village, rather than in camps up on the mountain. Our walk takes us past a number of houses and sleepy cattle. I really do love and miss the morning greetings… Tamam? Tamam! All is well, good morning to you too, yes it’s another great day. The climb up the mountain is easy, though I’m very adept at tripping over boulders. Our Sudanese friends are always the first up, because they have super speed powers.
Then and Now
We then plonk our stuff in the House of Boulders, have a team brief and off we go to work. No day is ever the same. I spend my time in the company of skeletons, the rest of us are scattered across the trenches.
Excavation: Then and Now
At around 11, we have ‘breakfast’ (I suppose the trendy word is brunch). This is brought up the mountain, together with any supplies we erm might have forgotten. We have our food in the House of Boulders – generally the delicious beans, eggs, bread – protein and carbs is the way to go. After a rest, it’s back to work.
Relaxing in the House after a good plate of ful
The excavation day tends to end around 2-2:30pm, but really it depends on how hot it gets. Then we wander back down, this time lugging heavy boxes full of pottery and other remains. Then it’s time for a rest, lounging about and chatting with everyone and a quick and rudimentary bucket shower (same method applies for laundry). It’s a good time to catch up with everyone in the village.
The rest of the day is spent on post excavation and we work till late – sometimes till 9pm. We have to process all our material, document everything, digitize documentation, prep our boxes for the next day and deal with logistics. The logistics bit involves Mike and Ahmed (the co-directors), Abbas (who oversees the site year round) and the NCAM inspector. It may sound exciting but it involves stuff like ordering buckets, going through food supplies and all that glamorous stuff. Work is broken by dinner (another delicious communal meal prepared by the wonderful women at Jebel Moya).
The village, delicious dinner
In between, we do a number of things – including spending time with the villagers, sharing our finds, activities with children and going around households to talk about our work. I especially love this part – it’s a good opportunity to meet everyone. People always have many questions and it should be noted that women are especially busy, so us going round is helpful.
Later in the evening, Mike and I really love joining everyone outside. The night skies are beautifully clear – you can see the Milky Way in all its glory. It’s a great time to unwind, watch the skies, chat with everyone and (in my case) keep everyone entertained while trying to avoid mosquitoes.
The Jebel Moya Project 