Page 20 of Troy Story
“The nineties?” TJ gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “When I worked in the Jordanian desert, it got up to a hundred and ten.”
Dusty poked him in the shoulder. “No more desert stories. You promised.”
“Besides, that was probably a dry heat,” Emilia said. “Try digging in a jungle with ninety-five percent humidity, vicious snakes, and giant bugs.”
“Hey, we had scorpions,” TJ snapped. “Deadly ones.”
“I’ll take a scorpion over a venomous spider any day.”
Stuart frowned at them. “Both of you might be used to working under harsh conditions, but I’m concerned about Mort and Clarissa.”
Emilia gave him a sheepish look. “Sorry. Maybe you could ask the workers to set up a few canopies once we get the trenches laid out.”
He nodded. “That’s a great suggestion.” Even if most of the crew could handle the heat, they’d all benefit from less sun exposure.
Before he could propose the idea, Kerim called everyone to attention. “If you’ll all gather around, I’ll give you a quick overview. This is where we’ll be working this summer. If you’ve done your background reading, you’ll know that archaeologists initially claimed that Bronze Age Troy was confined to the citadel. But in the 1980s, remote sensing revealed a series of structures in this area, which we refer to as the lower city since it’s below the citadel walls. This would have served as the residential part of the city, occupied by the working-class citizens. By contrast, the citadel would have housed the royal family and upper-class occupants.
“Since only a small percentage of the lower city has been dug up so far, we have a large area to work with. By excavating here, we’re hoping to reveal more of the residential structures, storage buildings, and other architectural features dating to the Late Bronze Age, also known as Troy VI or VII. Since all of you have some archaeological training, we can start by taking ground levels and staking out a couple of trenches.”
Clarissa raised her hand. “Dr. Özgen? Sorry, but I’ve never been on a dig, and neither has my dad.”
“No need to apologize,” Kerim said. “We’ll get you up to speed soon enough. Stuart, could you help them?”
“Of course. I already assigned them to my trench.” Stuart cast a reassuring smile at Clarissa, who beamed at him in response.
Mort wiped his forehead. “Any chance for some shade? It’s going to be damn hot if we’re out in the sun all day.”
“We’ll erect some canopies soon, I promise,” Kerim said. “But Mort, if you need to take a rest, feel free to head back to the café, relax in the shade, and have a cold drink. We can’t have you getting heatstroke.”
The thought made Stuart’s stomach churn. The last thing he wanted to do was put one of the university’s most valuable donors at risk. He was glad Kerim was on board with the canopy idea.
At the pause, Dr. Hughes spoke up, his voice laced with frustration. “If you’ve quite finished, Kerim? It’s all very well to be digging up bits of broken pottery, but that won’t impress my peers when I give my talk in Amsterdam. It’s vital that I—I meanwe—uncover something groundbreaking this season. Something that proves without a doubt that the Trojan War took place thousands of years ago.”
It was a bold claim, and one Stuart wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Even if most archaeologists agreed that this site—Hisarlik—fit the description for the legendary city of Troy, they weren’t convinced the Trojan War had been a real event.
But Stuart knew better than to contradict his boss.
TJ, however, had no such qualms. “Sir? Are you implying the Trojan War was more than just a story? That there was an actual ten-year siege, likeThe Iliaddescribed? Because that hasn’t been accepted by most of the scholarly community.”
“TJ,” Stuart hissed. “Be quiet.”
But TJ was on a roll. “A lot of archaeologists think there might have been a series of smaller wars. Or that the city was destroyed by an earthquake, but—”
“Enough!” Dr. Hughes snapped. “Are you—a mere grad student—callingmytheories into question?”
“I…no. Sorry, sir.” Firmly chastised, TJ stepped back a pace.
“As I was saying,” Dr. Hughes continued. “What we’re really after is a cemetery—the spot where all the soldiers ended up after the Trojan War. There must be loads of skeletons, complete with Bronze Age weapons. Perhaps even the remains of chariots.” He pointed off in the distance. “I suggest we strike out further west, past the defensive ditch ringing the lower city. We might have more luck there.”
“The Ministry of Culture asked us to focus on this area first, and I’m not about to go against their wishes,” Kerim stated. “Is that clear?”
Dr. Hughes turned to Stuart. “I think my assistant director would agree that my goals could yield more important results. Isn’t that right, Dr. Carlson?”
Stuart stood frozen in place, pinned in the laser beam of his boss’s scrutiny, until Dusty caught his eye. She gave him a quick nod, as if to say, “You’ve got this.”
He straightened up, keeping his voice firm. “Since we’d like to stay on the Turkish government’s good side, let’s comply with their wishes. Depending on what we uncover, we can always expand our efforts later. For now, why don’t I divide us into teams, and we can start clearing the site?”
He held his breath, hoping his boss wouldn’t lash out in anger, but Dr. Hughes gave a grudging nod. “I’m not about to sacrifice my chance to make history because of a few shortsighted bureaucrats. But since this is the first week, I’ll let it go.”
