Review of Ode to Odin

Ode to Odin by Bruce McLaren

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Who doesn't love archaeology, travel to exotic destinations, comic misadventures, hissy fits and clashing egos? Bruce McLaren provides the reader with an effervescent, fly-on-the-wall insight into life on a dig in Karakalpakstan, part of the great Silk Routes. As in his previous books, McLaren skillfully weaves a narrative through the history and geography of the region, musings on life, an array of colourful characters and evocative descriptions. Many archaeological biographies and travelogues are as dry as the dirt they're set in, but not this book. Whether you agree with the author in his subtly evolving portrait of the eponymous dig director, Odin, this book will entertain, educate and challenge you in equal measure. But, most of all, it's great fun and easy to read.
Disclosure: Bruce is a longstanding friend and I've worked out in this part of the world on similar digs - in some ways, I think this makes me a more critical reader than most; I can honestly say he nails dig life out there to a T.



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A little bit of nostalgic fun

http://www.pstravelalmanac.com/2017/09/interview-002/

ancient stones in soggy sand

Nearly twenty years ago, I spent several summers digging Mesolithic sites in Scotland. We gridded the sites up into 50cm squares, shovelled out the deposits and sieved the lot, by hand and hose, sifting out tiny bits of flint from the mass of residue. Some of the lithics were recognisable tools (microliths, scrappers, limpet hammers, cores, etc.) and the vast majority consisted of crappy debitage, the detritus of pre-historic subsistence strategies and manufacturing. (See the 2 vols edited by Steve Mithen for a full report - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hunter-gatherer+landscape+archaeology%3A+the+Southern+Hebrides...-a084341540).
So it's with a sense of deja vu that I've spent the past couple of weeks digging 50cm squares in the sands of Cranbourne, looking for Indigenous artefacts - half a world away, different raw materials, but similar techniques in the way the stone tools were knapped thousands of years ago and the way we have been digging them up.
The sites here in Oz are more diffuse scatters of uncertain date than the intensive occupation sites we worked on in the Hebrides. The artefacts number in the hundreds rather than the hundreds of thousands, and can move up and down in sand quite significantly over time, thanks to the activity of burrowing insects and animals, as is evident from the shot-gun cartridges we found over 25cm down. We've found no evidence of hearths or other in situ features which we could date, but the silcrete bladelets and cores are beautiful nonetheless, impressive testimony to the resourcefulness and adaptability of Australia's indigenous inhabitants.
At times the weather's been comparable too (although it's mid-winter here, rather than mid-summer when we dug in the Hebrides), but it makes little difference when you're wet-sieving, so long as you have the proper gear. Perhaps it's no coincidence then that the team here includes 2 from Ireland, 1 from Scotland and a Canadian! You'd think we'd've had enough of getting cold and wet... at least the pay is considerably better.

vids

More Finn mania available for viewing at

http://www.youtube.com/dcshifty

playing chicken

The recent foray of several Kangaroos stars into the seedy world of poultry snuff movies revealed a trivial insight into superstardom aside from their warped imaginations and sickening view of females - the shabby quality of their movie-making. Here are young men who earn more in a week than most of us in a year, and yet they don't seem to have spent any of their excess cash on decent video equipment, training, editing or script development. Perhaps they should enroll in a few art classes at the nearest Continuing Ed school.
This highlights a problem with many overpaid people (professionals in many spheres, not just sport) - they have the means, but lack the skills, initiative, time or education to make the most of their privileges. The lack of hobbies or interests outside kicking a footie, the law courts or trading floor makes them particularly susceptible to alcohol and/or substance abuse, gambling or other ways of pissing their sudden wealth up against a wall. Perhaps clubs (of all sports) and companies should spend more effort in encouraging extra-curricular activities amongst their employees, as part of their duty of care.
Another interesting point was the decision of the club to discipline the person who leaked the video - perhaps they were worried their sponsors might react to the bad publicity more than the mindset of their players.

pics

A couple of pics, as I take a break from typing my end of season report on the dig, here in Hong Kong airport.

(Photo: Bob Miller, Uni. of Canberra)
Those of you who might be concerning that I've abandoned the 'big pick, small plan' approach to archaeology in favour of brushing can rest assured - it was purely for photographic effect.
That said, I did feel a bit guilty as what I'm cleaning is a 12th C lamp, which probably had a bowl placed above it as a foundation deposit... until we did a pick run through. Ah well, Wendy did a great job sticking it all back together, after I'd retrieved the pieces from the pottery bucket.

Wherever I went in the UK, there was a noticable police presence - purely coincidental, of course, that the Old Bill was waiting to arrest a squaddie off the plane from Amman... and out in force on a Fri night in Leeds train station... but I did start to feel a bit paranoid. And then customs took unusual interest in my backpack here in HK, kindly giving it a gentle swabbing (presumably to remove some of the dust attached to it) and giving the hardback copy of Warwick Ball's Monuments of Afghanistan a good prodding. No, it doesn't originate in Kabul, just the photos... honestly, do I look like a drug-runner?!

Siblings and one of my nephews in Leeds - three's trubble, four's a riot?

back in Blighty

Landed in LHR and it was 10 deg C and grey... could be summer, could be winter - you just never know with this place, although to be fair the sun's come out this morning. Flying visit to Cambridge, where I began my archaeology students and rabble-rousing 20 years ago - bit scary, really. Off up to Leeds, the land of culture this arvo and then Aber, where Mum and Dad already have a long list of things for me to do. Sleep was fairly high up on my list, so we might have to negotiate.