TEA Photo Contest 2023: “Out of the comfort zone: Fieldwork in perspective”

Mud in the hands and dust in the eyes

Alicia Hernández Tórtoles

Institute of History, Spanish National Research Council (IH - CSIC)



This picture was taken in 2016 during what was a relatively cool summer for the north of Spain. I was carrying out the photographic control of the process, but from time to time could not resist taking some pictures of people working so they had a nice “archaeo-souvenir”. My colleague in the picture was disposing of excavation spoil, when I heard him say "Oi! (something like that but in Spanish), what a wind! The bucket almost flew away!". I pivoted on my heel, raised my camera to my eye and caught the exact moment when he covered his eyes.

This image is neither artistic, methodological nor professional. Nevertheless, it shows what field archaeology is all about: mud on your hands and dust in your eyes. Being in the field is more than the sum of its parts; it is the simultaneous fusion of work and passion punctuated by beautiful moments.

My camera survived that and many other archaeological excavations. With it I took pictures of stratigraphic units, archaeological materials, landscapes and also some good memories. Now it is broken in at least 20 different places! Regardless... it was my first camera and carries meaning beyond its functionality. I intend to be buried with it so future archaeologists will believe that it was something important to me in life—indeed, that it represents a ritual object!

I thank the model Antxoka Martínez-Velasco for his work and dedication to our profession as well as all my colleagues for being with me all the way!

A Bronze sword, erosion and heights

 Malene R. Beck

Museums of Eastern Funen


Being uncomfortable with moving heights, the investigation of a Bronze Age barrow threatened by erosion, definitely brought me out of my comfort zone.

The round barrow is situated in the beautiful countryside on the east coast of Northeast Funen (Hindsholm), Denmark. Hovering on a brink 12 meters above sea level it is highly exposed to erosion caused by wind, rain and sea – and even more so in the future because of climate changes. The remaining parts of the monument will presumably disappear into the sea before the end of this century.

In 2015 pieces of a bronze sword was found on the beach below the barrow. This instigated a more thorough investigation and registration of the monument in 2016. The investigation was financially supported by the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces as part of their focus on the increasing number of scheduled sites and monuments threatened by erosion. Because the barrow was scheduled, we decided not to excavate and thereby destroy the remaining part, as it still holds a prominent and very visible position in the surrounding agricultural and coastal landscape. Instead, we took advantage of the possibilities the erosion had left us. By 2016 approximately half of the barrow had disappeared into the sea, and this in fact created a natural profile right through the center of it. Based on the results from recent excavations of a large bronze age barrow showing complex building sequences (the Skelhøj Project) our aim was to establish, how this more regular sized barrow of 20-22 meters in diameter was constructed, and to recreate the Bronze Age landscape using pollen and macrofossil analyses.

The picture shows me in the limited space of the lift basket, cleaning the barrow profile. I prefer being on firm ground, so the trip up in the lift, as well as the cleaning task, making the lift move up and down 12 to 16 meters above ground, was definitely challenging. We cleaned the profile in two-meter broad sections and made photogrammetric registration before moving the lift repeatedly. This enabled us to register the entire barrow profile, showing at least three burial phases and demonstrating the use of wet turfs and turfs from areas that had already been de-turfed once. Leaving the comfort zone brought new perspectives on bronze age barrow construction – but please don’t ask me to go up there again!

Beidha, Petra, Jordan. A Bedouin woman preparing bread in a tabun oven

Micaela Sinibaldi

University of Warsaw



Tabun ovens for the preparation of bread are part of a very long-standing culture in the Middle East. As part of a project aimed at reconstructing the history of Petra after the Byzantine period (which is traditionally but erroneously thought to be a substantial abandonment of the area) excavations by the Islamic Baydha Project at Beidha (Jordan) have investigated a village of the Middle Islamic period. Here, several domestic structures included tabun ovens that are identical to those still used today in the local environs. Current studies have shown that the material culture of Petra in the Islamic period is characterized by particularly intense longevity, including aspects of ceramic production technology, building techniques, and other elements of daily life.

The Islamic Baydha Project gives particular importance to the interaction and synergic effect of three major axes: archaeological research, archaeological training and community engagement. The project values a good understanding of recent and modern material culture from the local area. Such an understanding helps in the interpretation and understanding of archaeological remains when they were found, how those remains were used in life and the reasons behind the maintenance of longlasting local traditions. For this reason, the team involves experienced individuals from the local community to create a better understanding of traditional building techniques and technological aspects. At the same time, this inclusive approach opens up the possibility for the local community to connect more closely with their own local cultural heritage and to the history of the community at the site.

This photo was taken during a visit of the team to a tabun in Beidha, to better understand and record the archaeological traces of a tabun found on the excavation. We learnt, also, that a local tabun lasts an average of 10-15 years.

As archaeologists, we often work within a living community who can provide us with information not only on the latest history of the site, but also on crucial aspects of the local material culture. Researchdriven archaeology can be a powerful and fundamental part of the sustainable archaeology of the future, which must be relevant not only to archaeologists, but also to modern, local communities, and must, therefore, take us “out of the comfort zone” and put “fieldwork in perspective.”

The protection of the intangible cultural heritage of the Bedouins of Petra is also one of the current UNESCO projects in Jordan.