This post is for the people interested in joining the SEEP 2007 Kampos survey and who would like to know a bit more about what they are getting themselves into.
Location: The survey will take place in an alluvial plain extending roughly east-west and starting at the head of the Bay of Karystos. Kary
stos is a small town at the very southern tip of the island of Euboea, which is the second largest Greek island located just to the east of the Greek mainland (mostly Attica and Boeotia). The town has about 5000 inhabitants and is not very touristy in the summer, which some of us have grown to appreciate. Getting to Karystos is not that complicated, it is cheap (once you’re in Greece) and can be done either from Athens or straight from El. Venizelos airport. What you need to do is get to the port of Rafina and from there the ferry ride to Euboea is only 1h long. Detailed getting-to directions will be provided when the time comes.
When: The survey will take place between July 14 and August 18.
Work conditions: These can be rather strenuous, especially in the beginning. This year the work will include the field part and a bit of data entry afterwards in the afternoon. The fieldwork consists of between 6-8 hours (the beginning and the end times are negotiable) of walking per day. Besides walking, we will also be stopping to measure and record sites, and collect on (or off) site artifacts.
Usually there is a longer break in the middle of the workday (cookie break) but other shorter breaks will be made whenever someone feels (s)he needs one. The area where we will be walking tends to be quite hot in the summer and shade is usually unavailable. The terrain is both flat and hilly and there will be some light climbing involved. There will most definitely be some fence jumping as well. However, what you should keep in mind the most is that the prevalent vegetation in the area (other than on cultivated fields) is thorny, short, and unpleasant, although some people are more resistant to scratching than others.
As for the expected material, this is an artifact-poor area, so don’t expect spectacular finds. Survey finds are not spectacular by definition as they are found on the surface exposed to weather, trampling, erosion, and other factors that can affect them adversely. Having said that, there is no way of knowing what we might actually find. If someone is interested, more information on methodology will be posted on the blog once we work out all the details.
All data entry will be done at the house (1 extra hour of work in the afternoon, but without a fixed schedule) and there might be some museum work involving washing and labeling finds, depending on the amount we find. Also, some help with the house maintenance will be greatly appreciated.
Living conditions: There’s a photo of the new ‘SEEP House’ in Karystos a few posts below. We have rented it last year after having to move from our old house not far away from this one. As far as facilities go (and I’ll try to put up some photos of the interior once I have them), there is a nice big porch on one side and a concrete court and a huge garden on the other. There will be a ‘boys room’ and a ‘girls room’ and another room for visitors when there are any. On top of that there is also a ‘study room’, with a small library. We are also trying to put up some simple outdoor accommodation for people who appreciate fresh air. If someone wants to put up their own tent in the backyard that is also possible since the space is really big. Other than that, there’s a small kitchen, two toilettes, and a hot water bathroom. By the summer we will also install a couple of cold water showers outside. Laundry can be done manually (there is a space reserved for that) or you can take it to one of the laundry services that operate in the vicinity.
As for the Internet, we are right now working on establishing a wireless connection at the house, so, if you have your own laptop you can just plug in. If not, there will be a computer designated for public web access. There are also a couple of internet cafes in the town.
Off work: We will be working Monday to Friday so everybody will have their weekends free to do whatever they please or to do something together. As for the food, people usually take care of their own breakfast (SEEP provides the ingredients) and there is a joint lunch (we all help preparing the food, setting and cleaning the table) after fieldwork , although this is not set in stone and depends on personal preference. Before dinner we usually have ouzo (or Gin and Tonic or whatever you like) hour at the porch. The dinner is not paid by SEEP and it’s up to the crew members to decide how to organize their dinners. There are many tavernas and souvlaki places in the town and a variety of other foods can be found. The prices are quite reasonable and the quality is usually good. Also, quite often there will be cookouts at the SEEP House (we usually do a lot of grilling) and there is a kitchen in the house if somebody wants to cook their own food.
The beaches in Karystia are very nice and not too touristy. The SEEP House is less than 10 min walk from the main town beach. There will also be motorized excursions to the more distant but much prettier beaches, especially at the Paximadhi peninsula, which borders the Bay to the west. If there are interested people, we can also organize short field trips to other places of interest in the area, e.g. archaeological sites; magnificent Roman quarries, which Karystos is famous for; ‘dragon houses’, etc. If someone is interested in reading, there is also a small but quite informative library at the SEEP House that, besides scientific books, contains a lot of paperbacks of various genres. There are also many places that you can take a weekend trip to since they are not too far away from Karystos (e.g. Athens, Sounio, Eretria, etc.). Finally, the area is famous for good hiking, if you are not too sick of walking by the end of the day that is.
If you have any more questions of any sort, please leave them at the comments section of this post and I will try to answer them promptly.
All the best!
