The Pantelleria Project began its first excavation season this year in 2015 with the first week having seen the opening of three trenches. The project began in what we like to call the ‘zucchini field’ with: the clearing of overgrown weeds, trimming a few Eucalyptus tree branches, and setting-up the first trenches. Progress continues to be fast-paced; the nine of us have moved more than 500 buckets of soil. The weather so far is never concrete, as the island is cloudy and sunny multiple times everyday. The first week of excavations have taught me much about island weather, how a project begins, and the surprising amount of soil on the island!

Professional Moment of the Week: Learning the basics of how one begins a new archaeological excavation project in Italy.

Personal Moment of the Week: Swimming in the volcanic lake, known as Lago di Venere, while the soil tries to swallow you with every step, and then finally learning to float across the 50-100cm deep water.