Day 41

The Isimila Hotel is being particularly recalcitrant today. This morning, there was absolutely no hot water for showers. By that I mean when I turned on the hot water tap, nothing came out. Now a cold shower isn't enough to put me in a bad mood, but returning 9 hours later to a hotel room without electricity didn't exactly help matters. When the electricity was finally turned back on, Jennifer and I discovered the only electrical outlet in our room had ceased to work. By day 41, I'm starting to suspect appliances only work on a rotational basis here. Right now I'm writing you from a chair in the outdoor bar, next to the outlet for the television. The mosquitos say hello.

Although we are staying back to wash artifacts again tomorrow, we are approaching a major turning point in our excavation. The units we started after we returned from Dar es Salaam are close to Level 4, the point at which the left the original 3 units. This leaves us with a roughly 2 x 3 m trench that is roughly 40 cm deep, and is poised above the Later Stone Age. We now have to decide how we want to proceed. Should we continue with these units or expand the trench laterally? Should we remove the large rocks that litter the exposed surface in order to see what's beneath them? How will we prepare the local workers and site visitors for what we might find? Our next move will have to be both technically and ethically sound, which will require a lot of finesse. With only 3 weeks of excavation time remaining, there is almost no room for error. Field work has never seemed like less of a vacation. For all those cheering for us back at home, keep those positive thoughts coming. We can use all the help we can get!