On Saturday, November 2, a small group of first year archeology students were gathered at a campus bus stop very early in the morning. “Their coats were brushed, their faces washed, their shoes were clean and neat and this was hardly odd, because you know”*- they were going on a field trip! Julian Bennett and Ben Coockson undertook the task of leading these young archeologists to two important sites at Gavurkalesi, near Haymana, and Pessinus, Ballıhisar some 136 km. away from home, where they would encounter enough complaints of hunger, thirst and fatigue to last them for a while.
The ruins at Gavurkalesi, a cult relief and an underground chamber dating from the Hittite period, are located at the top of a very steep hill. So up the hill everyone went, stopping only to pick up pieces of broken pottery and to gape in awe at the surrounding scenery. Once at the top, everyone was busy writing down words of wisdom uttered by Julian Bennett; by the time we were walking (or in some cases tumbling) down the hill, we knew exactly what Cyclopian walls were and how to place them into a relative chronology judging by lichen growth.
The group certainly seemed more active at Pessinus, jumping over rare stucco-covered steps and poking their hands into holes on Corinthian capitals. By the end of the day everyone was worn out, we were treated to honey gözleme at a roadside restaurant, loading up with enough energy to at least drag ourselves back on the bus.
But the real treat was the trip itself; because for most of us it marked that very important first step in learning to see as archeologists.

Yağmur Sarıoğlu(HART/III)