I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Alex Marko, an archaeologist at the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. I met with him on Tuesday afternoon, August 6, 2024. He presented himself politely and when answering questions he took his time answering and did not rush through them.
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Q – What pushed you to choose archaeology as your career? What made you decide? What might have made the decision easier?
A – Alex told me that he grew up in Norway when he was a child. His family’s neighbor had a Viking burial in their backyard. So he became interested in archaeology at a young age.
Later in college, he took a class on archaeology with a friend. Because of that class, he started to realize his love for archaeology. He loved fieldwork. Having the opportunity to go to a place that holds possibly hundreds of years’ worth of knowledge and being able to learn about the average person from those different periods drew him in.
Q – How do your experiences at various archaeological sites shape your approach to excavation and research? Do you have a memorable experience from one of these projects?
A – Alex said as simple as it is, his most memorable experience was his first archaeological project. He was at a site in Pompeii where he learned about the everyday lives of the ancient people. He said everything was so well preserved that everything held so much importance and information.
Q – When I asked him his favorite piece of history he found at the site, he told me it was a well.
A – On the site in Tharros, the well was a staple in the community for the ancient civilization, until the Romans took over. When there was no longer a use for the well because they had built aqueducts, they sold it. A stone wall was built around it, cutting it off. But at some point, the Romans needed the well again. So they knocked down part of the wall and put in a door. Thus it again became an important part of that civilization.
Alex described the story so vividly I could almost imagine the well clear as day. He described the rope marks on the outer rings of the well from the rope rubbing against it as the water was pulled up. He loved how he could picture this community using the well in their everyday life.
Q – Can you describe a project where your role as an architectural specialist made a significant impact? How did your expertise contribute to the overall success of the excavation?
A – Alex used his site in Tharros as an example of this. It was where they discovered when the city was built. This helped them determine the period, how long it’s been abandoned, and categorize the information collected. He and his project team were able to tell when the Punic Period ended and when the Roman Period started. They also discovered that once the city was abandoned, some bricks or materials were taken to build elsewhere.
Q – You are currently working on the Institute’s College Hill project, can you tell me more about what you are doing?
A – He spoke about how the project was student-run and that they are currently going through and updating the information on the catalogs to ensure everything is accounted for. They are examining artifacts and theorizing what they were used for. The end goal is to have an updated record of all artifacts. Alex also shared with me that a book might be published based on the experience.
Q – When you were a trench supervisor at the Tharros Archaeological Research Project, what were some of the most significant discoveries or challenges you encountered?
A – Alex said they discovered a lot of coins at the site. Many of them were in perfect condition allowing them to determine the dates and information from them. This was a great discovery, helping them know the period and much more.
When at the site in Tharros he also found a temple and was able to find that the temple had eight phases. His favorite thing he discovered in that temple was a possible ritual sacrifice to a god. It’s a little pit filled with ash and little traces of ceramics. He said it was possibly a sacrifice to the gods to ensure that their temple would be built safely and quickly. He also theorized it wasn’t done by a priest, but instead by the workers while building the temple. There was also a 40-cm deep layer of pure charcoal that might have also been for the altar. Next was a 2-meter-long amphora filled with ash in fragments of fish bones and a small stone face was buried. He also believes that it’s part of a sacrifice to the gods.
Q – In your previous experience with cultural resource management, how did you balance the need to preserve archaeological sites with development?
A – His job was to thoroughly search sites for artifacts or information to see if the area was safe to build in without losing history or artifacts. If he or the project team were to come across any artifacts or fragments of history, they would research, and search for more information. Then determine if they can relocate all the artifacts or if the site is worth preserving. In most cases, they would excavate as thoroughly as possible, to enable the area to be used in construction. On one occasion, he walked behind a dozer to see if any artifacts were left behind.
Q – What would you do if an artifact was ever lost on the site or in general?
A – On active sites, he says they always take photos of the artifacts as soon as they are seen so they have a record of the item. They’ll also write down as much information on the artifact as possible so they can hopefully find the object or still learn something from it.
Q – What’s your biggest find? / Your favorite/most memorable/etc
A – It’s not just the artifacts themselves that are Alex’s favorite. To him, finding the information they hold is the best find. If he had to pick an artifact he would pick the well from the Tharros site. It told the story of people’s everyday lives. He also just loves recognizing patterns. They help find what an artifact was used for, how much it was used, and even narrow down who used it!
What Alex Marko has to say!
A – What’s often talked about in archaeology are the artifacts and the “showy” aspects of it. Everyone has their favorite part of archaeology. But his favorite is the knowledge and being able to learn secondhand about the history around him. Archaeology is interesting for everyone. He encourages everyone to give it a try. Whether it be by taking a college class, reading, or even traveling.
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-ˋˏ ༻Haylee Guellar, Joukowsky Institute PrepareRI Intern, Summer 2024༺ ˎˊ-
