The saying ‘The early bird gets the worm’ rings true for both our avian friends and archaeologists in the heat of Southwest Asia. Everything begins bright and early, with a 3:30 am wake-up for breakfast, and a 4:30 am departure to reach the field within the hour. Most of my time was spent in Area A as a trench assistant. When needed I would assist in extracting particularly fragile remains, identification, and updating in-field bone logs. Generally, I worked per the direction of trench supervisors excavating, cleaning, bagging, and tagging, and discussing stratigraphic context. One thing no one prepares you for is the challenge of distinguishing crumbling mudbricks from dirt, especially with the sun’s glare making it feel nearly impossible most days. Thanks to the patience of my trench supervisors and a good pair of sunglasses, however, I ended this season feeling much more confident in identifying features, a goal I had set for myself this year.

I processed the faunal remains for all three areas once they were brought back to the field house. Though a bit tedious, it is incredibly rewarding to understand human history one fragment at a time. Bones were cleaned carefully and laid out to dry over a minimum of 24 hours. Identifiable bones were recorded with species, bone type, side, and taphonomic markings when applicable. The common animals identified remained consistent with previous seasons’ findings, including sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), equids (Equus sp.), and cattle (Bos taurus). After a unit was closed, all faunal materials were counted, weighed, and photographed as necessary. Bone samples for carbon-14 dating were selected by collaborative effort between directors and trench supervisors. At the end of the season, I wrote the preliminary faunal findings for the 2024 season field report.

This year, I wanted to explore 3-D modeling during my free time as I felt it would be worthwhile to create an accessible and digitized reference collection of diagnostic pieces that were best preserved or particularly notable. Using Polycam, a photogrammetry modeling mobile application, I took detailed photos from all angles which were stitched together using the program to create 3-D models. This process was a lot of trial and error from figuring out how to make sure the background wasn’t incorporated in the result, to finding proper lighting for the bone details to show. I hope to continue building this digitized reference collection for future teaching and project-related applications. I also would like to use this newfound skill to continue creating bone models for zooarchaeological purposes. I am incredibly passionate about accessible and open-access resources, and I believe the digitization of collections is one of the most attainable ways to do so.

Of course, as hard as this team worked on-site, we equally had fun off-site! We explored an assortment of different places including spending a night in Duhok, visiting the Faida rock reliefs, exploring the bazaar, and a special tour inside the Erbil citadel. My favorite place to date that I visited is the Lalish Temple. Located in a mountain valley in the Nineveh province, the Lalish temple has a sacred significance and is an important pilgrimage site for the Yazidi religion. I felt a sense of peace while walking through the village, along with the kindness of the devotees who had come to worship. We got the opportunity to sit for chai and tour parts of the temple, taking time to experience the diversity of religion and culture.

My time spent with the Gird-I Matrab project over the past two seasons has been essential in my development as an archaeologist and for my excavation skills. I have been able to learn so much about the Northern Mesopotamian region and participate in an excavation project that has supported my developing interest in zooarchaeology. Thanks to our incredible international collaborative group of researchers, the 2024 season had another year of successful excavation. I am committed to utilizing all I have learned while on-site for my future academic pursuits in archaeology and want to extend a final thank you to all those who have supported and shaped my journey during the 2024 season at Gird-I Matrab.

Madeline Conigliaro-Nguyen graduated with her MA from the University of Chicago in 2023. She continues to participate in several archaeology projects in the Kurdistan Region with the intention of applying for graduate school this year. Her primary research interest is in zooarchaeology in Southwest Asia, with a focus on human-animal relationships, particularly as they pertain to ancient ontologies, subsistence strategies, and the social and ritual roles of animals. To learn more about the project, follow @gmap_erbil on Instagram!

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