After a few successive years of archaeology during the summer, last year's break has left me itching for some more time in the dirt!

By popular demand, this journal will cover my project at Bamburgh Castle, Northumbria, England for the month of July. For more about the project, see the official site of the Bamburgh Research Project (BRP).

As you may know, my MA in archaeology dealt with early medieval Ireland, which I have visited many times. Some projects over there looked potentially interesting for this summer, but either filled up before I started looking, or did not work out schedule-wise. Two years ago, while working in York, England, I met some archaeologists who recommended BRP, and it had an open schedule, so here we are.

Way back in 1987 I rode through the area and past Bamburgh Castle on my attempt to cycle from Scotland to Land's End (that effort ended with a bad crash not much further to the south), so I've visited the general neighborhood before. It's right on the coast of the North Sea, which should provide quite a change from Southern California.

We'll be staying in tents, which may prove interesting, and will be a new thing for me in this kind of weatherly situation. Tents in Egypt work well, not sure about England. Anyway, at least we'll have pubs and be working on a medieval site. Ken is a happy, happy boy.

True, I will miss my new baby a great deal, but fieldwork's in my blood and I'd go crazy if I didn't get to do it! So, many thanks to my boss and colleagues at CSUN for granting the time off from my regular computer job to make a contribution to understanding the past.