One of the things that is often a trial for me in my non-archaeology life is my weight. Since starting a field position this summer, a number of people have asked me if I've lost weight from archaeology.

Sadly, no.

However, I did hear that somebody was worried about how my weight loss program was going, due to me being away from the gym and all. I must be getting fat.

Thankfully, no.

But a day in the field can let you know about muscles you'd forgotten you had. It takes stamina and strength to shovel litres of soil all day, and a full screen of dirt is a mighty heavy object. And that's just on the days I get to work on a full, 1 by 1 metre square pit.

Then there's field testing. Walking through kilometres of plowed dirt, dragging a shovel and screen through forests and bush so that I can test pit every 5 metres, complete with my back pack full of water, flags and maps...

It's not a job for the sedentary inclined.

But since I will be going back to school this fall (yay me!) I will have to think about ways to keep fit. Washing artifacts is simply not as calorie burning.

In real news, all is going well. We're a little further north this week, doing some test pitting. And have we found anything?

No.

So blah.