 | |||||
| From left to right: Emma, Jonathan and Victoria |
Emma Le Pouesard
Home Town: Senlis,
France
Why did you want to
come to Thornton? I am studying medieval art and I want to get near
medieval things. I can’t do that in Montreal, Canada where I study, and my
professor said that I should do a dig in England.
What are you enjoying
most about being here? Finding stuff! I get really excited about finding
anything, even if it is something small and insignificant like tiles.
What are you enjoying
least? The rain!
What have you learnt?
I never realised how many hypotheses archaeologists considered before
selecting the correct one, and it’s fascinating to follow their deliberations.
What are your future
plans? I’m currently finishing my undergraduate course and will start
applying for PhD programmes in the Autumn.
Jonathan Rose
Home Town: Highland,
Illinois
Why did you want to
come to Thornton? I wanted to study medieval archaeology and see how things
are different from the states. I feel a lot more care is taken in English
academic digs compared to American commercial archaeology; you take a lot more
care about their history.
What are you enjoying
most about being here? Meeting people from students from all around the
world. It’s a great experience to meet people from a global environment which I
wouldn’t get to do normally. I’ve also enjoyed the different approaches used
here as it demonstrates how there is more than one way to excavate the same
feature.
What are you enjoying
least? I’m not a big fan of camping, but as a boy scout that’s something
I’ve got used to!
What have you learnt?
The English have a different terminology for things, such as “sections” rather
“walls”, although the measuring system is fortunately the same! Using the mini
mattocks was also a fun new experience.
What are your future
plans? Continue working with archaeology and maybe pursue a Masters in
Medieval Archaeology at Sheffield.
Victoria Yuskaitis
Home Town: Sparta,
New Jersey
Why did you want to
come to Thornton? I’ve got a University of Sheffield Faculty Studentship
for the MA in Medieval Archaeology in Autumn an, in correspondence Hugh
[Willmott] mentioned the dig and said I should come, so I did!
What are you enjoying
most about being here? It’s great to actually be here, although I’ve
studied medieval archaeology for the past few years this is the first time I’ve
seen it, so it’s the fulfilment of everything I’ve been looking for. I also
didn’t realise the dig has such an international mix of students and that’s
fantastic too! I’ve also done research on medieval hospitals in the past, so this
also fits in well with my interests.
What are you enjoying
least? The cold! I expected the rain, but I think the New Jersey definition
of cold varies somewhat from the English version!
What have you learnt?
I do have dig experience, but from Israel, so some of the methodology is
very different and some of the technology here is more advanced. It’s a very
different way of doing things, and that’s been something that’s been really
interesting to find out about.
What are your future
plans? In the past my research has focused on medieval mysticism, so
investigating religion and church archaeology is something I’d like to explore
further.
 |
| Extending Trench P |
Now that most of our trenches are a lot bigger than on Day 1, there will certainly be plenty to keep our students occupied! We are already exploring the possibility of undercrofts, drains and even more walls, and will bring you further updates soon.
 |
| Planning Trench R |
