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MON. 10/02/2000

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check   http://www.zeugma2000.com for more info about The Zeugma 2000 Project

We interviewed Rob Early, project director,  from the Oxford Archeological Unit, in the midst of excavation work at Level B.  There is a Roman street along the site, which they currently think marks a public space.  Early and his group specialize in rescue archaeology.  He found out about the site just days before traveling from England to Turkey; and instead of having the normal three-month planning period, they barely had 3 weeks to conceive and begin the difficult process of getting a full-scale operation underway.  Present thinking among the archeologists hints at a cataclysmic event in Zeugma's history, resulting in a large destruction layer, with a significant amount of artifacts having been recovered just underneath.  Some postulate that this event could have been the sacking of the city by the neighboring Parthians.

Aurora Ortega, one of the conservators, at work preserving a mosaic in situ, or where it lies.  They use the exact same composition of limestone and water to preserve the mosaics as the Romans did. 

Ozgen Ocar, an investigative journalist who has written about Zeugma, and is serving as a consultant to Digital Ranch on many of their Turkish productions, looks at a wall with Turkish archaeologist Mehmet Onal.

The project employs over 140 local Turkish workers.  At its peak, the Zeugma excavation employed up to 90 archaeologists and more than 25 conservators.  DP Tufan Turanli stands atop a wall to capture some of  the action.

Digital Rancher Tod Mesirow (left) and DP Tufan Turanli prepare to dive Villa A, visited and filmed by Digital Ranch in June, and now submerged beneath the Euphrates.  Despite low visibility (under 3 feet) and the potential presence of the parasite bilhurtzia, they successfully located the ancient ruins and videotaped in the murky depths. For more dive detail click here

Project lead conservator Kristian Schneider showed the team around the site laboratory and shared his knowledge and insights into the preservation process.  Zeugma is almost unique among archaeological projects in that the directors have made a total commitment to conserving and rendering "museum-ready" ALL the artifacts taken from the site.  Many mosaics (over 20) were also left in situ after being uncovered, studied, and then reburied - both to leave something of the ancient city for future generations, and also in recognition of the fact that once taken out of their original architectural contexts, these works of art lose much of their meaning.