I love middens

We are in the process of updating the School website for History, Classics and Archaeology at Newcastle. I've been asked to provide some high resolution photos for various sections, and so have been digitally digging through my image archive. I came across this amsuing photo from 2004 - my first ever visit to Catalhoyuk. It was either during my MSc or just after I finished. So long ago that I still dyed my hair black! I remember this midden - I think it was Unit 1668, and probably isn't there anymore. The first midden I worked on, looking at archived micromorphology slides at the University of Reading, and trying to compare the phytolith data from the same units. Although the Masters project had a lot of limitations (working with archive samples is very difficult when trying to compare microstratigraphic data), the lessons I learned formed the basis of the project I went on to do for my PhD. So I still have a soft spot for this particular midden! These were taken using one of my first ever digital cameras as well, back in the day when mobile phones didn't have good cameras. I was so excited that it had a macro function.

Me sat in a midden, Catalhoyuk, South Area 2004

Now there is some microstratigraphy

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