I’m currently in Belize attending an archaeological field school called BVAR. Out of respect for the locals and archaeological integrity, I cannot divulge many details about the projects that are currently underway.
Because of this project, Xunantunich and Cahal Pech have been excavated and are now tourist sites. We are currently working at Xunantunich and another site called Baking Pot (which is not a tourist site). This will be a very general description, but I think I can shed some light on what exactly we are doing.
I should also add that I am writing this in the middle of the second of three weeks at this field school, so I will be posting a follow-up after I complete the field school where I can talk about my overall experience after the fact.
My Equipment
Here’s the main equipment I’m bringing with me:
- Dustpan
- Brush
- Rock Pick
- Trowel
- Ruler
- Clipboard (with storage for journals and pencils)
- GoPro (for travel photos more than anything archaeological)
- Tape Measure
- Plumb Bob
- Kneeling Pad
- Work Gloves
- Notebook
- Rain Poncho
- First Aid Kit
- Textbook on the Maya
- Line Levels
- Anti Bug Bite Pen
What’s the Equipment For?
Some of this equipment is for very obvious purposes: weather, bugs, and other environmental problems. Other stuff, though, might be less clear.
We use the pick, trowel, dustpan, and brush for digging with varying degrees of care and force and for moving dirt into buckets to be analyzed. I’ll explain that below.
But what about the plumb bob, line levels, and tape measure?
Well, along with some string, those are used for setting up what archaeologists call a 1×1 (1 by 1). This is a standard sized square of 1 meter x 1 meter made for digging a hole to look for artifacts. We call these holes units, and we can change their size based on the undertaking. These units make it easy to index artifacts and keep track of where we found them. We use the plumb bob when we set up one of these units on an incline
For more information about these, check out this article that gives more detail on how they work.
What are we doing?
Like I said, I have to keep this in pretty general terms. So, I can’t get too specific into what we’re examining or where.
Belize is full of Mayan ruins. It’s one of the main selling points of traveling here (alongside natural wonders like the Great Blue Hole). Our site just looks like hills right now because it’s all buried.
Since this is a field school, most of what we’re doing is just to learn proper procedures. This involves a lot of cataloging and record-keeping as well as physical labor since we are digging with pickaxes and trowels.
As we dig out the different layers of the site to get at what’s underneath, we are also sifting through the dirt to find any artifacts hidden inside. We then catalog how many of these things we are finding and keep track of where we find them. This includes not only the site, but the specific portion of it, the unit, and the layer. In our case, the layers were humus (dirt and organic matter), collapse (fallen limestone), and then the floor.
We then clean these artifacts the following morning so they can be properly examined and processed. You never know what might be important to the archaeological record. Something that seems unimportant may become vital to our research after a new discovery. It’s important to document everything.
Ultimately, what we uncover can help us answer questions about the Maya and their way of life in different circumstances.
How is it?
Archaeology can be tough work. There’s a lot to keep track of, from cataloging and record-keeping to maintaining proper digging procedures and taking care not to compromise anything too important.
You also have to contend with weather, bugs, and other environmental hazards, and you’re going to get dirty, sweaty, and tired.
Even so, it is a life-changing experience to take part in something like this. When you find a structure buried under the ground, untouched for hundreds or thousands of years, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s nothing like Indiana Jones going into tombs, fighting Nazis, and contending with magical artifacts, but it is still an indescribably beautiful feeling.
This type of work is not for everyone:
- Getting used to the climate made the first week noticeably harder.
- You need to have good observation and perception skills.
- Precision and efficiency are equally important.
- There is often limited time to work on-site.
- You need to know enough about the site to draw verifiable conclusions from what you’re finding. In our case we had supervisors and teachers working on particular research projects.
If you have any interest in archaeology, though, I would strongly recommend looking into a field school like BVAR (Once you’ve spent some time studying archaeology). They focus on Mayan archaeology, but there are also plenty of field schools out there for other cultures and histories, like one I had considered going to in Ireland.
This experience has, so far, left me with a new view of the world around me and a deeper respect for the work that has been done to excavate sites like Caracol and Tikal. I’m also visiting those two sites on this trip, so expect something about those soon.
Conclusion
What’s an archaeological site you’d love to visit? Let me know below. Maybe it’s one I haven’t heard of! At the time of editing this post (March 17, 2025), I would really love to visit Machu Picchu and Skara Brae!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or something I can clarify, make sure to let me know below! I’ll get back to them as soon as I can.
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