The work of Greek and Roman Studies student featured on CBC’s the Nature of Things, and in National Geographic
The work of Greek and Roman Studies student featured on CBC’s the Nature of Things, and in National Geographic
In the summer of 2011, fourth year Greek and Roman Studies student, Shelley Hartman, participated in a historic archeological dig on Baffin Island. Though the research conducted on this dig was tremendously important, it was an adventure that very few people would have been brave enough to even consider.
On a team led by Patricia Sutherland, adjunct professor of archeology at Memorial University, Hartman partook in the 2011 Arctic Field Season excavation in search of Viking artifacts at two sites on the south shore of Baffin Island.
Despite the callous nature of digging on such a remote location –no heat, little means to bathe, freeze dried food, 24 hour sunlight and a real threat of polar bear attack, Hartman couldn’t decline when Sutherland approached her with an offer to join her on this 5 week excursion.
“It was the most dangerous and outrageous offer I’d ever received,” explains the 60 year old Hartman. “So naturally, I said yes!”
Accompanied by two PhD level archeologists, one master’s student, two Inuit archeological technicians and one Inuit bear monitor, Hartman and the team uncovered many artifacts that tell an untold tale of the Norse people, and their relationship with the land, and other populations.
To learn more about Hartman’s adventure and the research of Dr. Sutherland and her team, tune into CBC’s The Nature of Things at on Thursday, November 22nd at 8:00pm, to watch The Norse: An Arctic Mystery, written and directed by another Carleton alumnus, Andrew Gregg.
This episode of The Nature of Things will feature Hartman and the team’s discoveries, which are also prominently covered in National Geographic (Hartman is in the foreground of the article’s first image).
Read more about Hartman’s dig in this article.