Sifting sand, shifting gears

by Nicole Findlay

After a month spent digging up the past in Cassleman, Ontario, Jonathan Ouellet shifted gears to sift through the sands of Macedonia.

Roman oil lamp

The second-year student of Greek and Roman Studies spent his summer on two archaeological digs. Ouellett first uncovered ancient Aboriginal tools in Canada and then travelled to an ancient Roman client city in Macedonia.

He found the Macedonian dig through a search of the American Institute of Archaeology’s website.

Belt Buckle

Located at the periphery of the Roman Empire, Heraclea Lyncestis was founded by Philip II of Macedon before it was conquered and subjugated by the Romans.

Although the site excavations began in the 1930′s, only 10 percent has been unearthed to date.

The international team, of which Ouellet was a part, comprised Canadians, Americans, British, Australian, Macedonian and Bulgarian team members. Together they excavated an acropolis and theatre.

“My favourite finds were part of a roman oil lamp,” said Ouellet of his Macedonian discovery. “Someone else found an early Slavic belt buckle that I thought was really cool.”

His experiences on the two digs have confirmed his interest in pursuing graduate studies in archaeology or history.

Dice

In the interim, he might brush up on his artistic ability. “There were a few areas where we had to do drawings of walls and floor plans, and to say the least, drawing is not one of my better skills.”