Page 23 of Her Dark Priests
Professor Ayad looked at me, and her smile faded. “Hmm, a rather unusual way of volunteering, Miss Hawke, to just show up at a site?”
I blushed. “Yes, I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get away from... family commitments, and when I did, I thought I would just come by and see if I could help out. I apologise for not contacting you beforehand.”
Professor Ayad nodded. “You realise we have no available paid placements, and they take a lot of work in application and interviews to achieve one of those placements?”
I took a breath and looked straight at her. “Professor Ayad, I am not here for a paid placement. I have enough money to support myself for at least the summer period, and I am happy to make tea, carry equipment, take messages, or whatever else you need doing. This is my dream career, and I’m happy just to be on an excavation site.”
Her face softened. “And do you have any background knowledge in archaeology?”
“I... er… I have a degree in archaeology and a Master in Egyptology.” I felt more than saw Wesley’s eyes swing around to me and realised I’d forgotten to mention that in his office at the university.
The professor’s face brightened immediately. “Oh, well, in that case, my dear, you are more than welcome to join us. Do you have fieldwork experience at all? Actual on-site excavations?”
I nodded. “I do, but the digs I’ve been on were mainly based around Roman sites in southern England, so I’ve not much experience with this type of climate, I’m afraid.”
“That’s no matter. As long as you can tell a trowel from a brush and know where you’re not supposed to walk, I’m sure you’ll handle it fine. Why don’t you leave your bag here for now, and I’ll take you over to where the team is working today. Wesley, are you accompanying us, or would you prefer to make yourself a cup of tea in here and we’ll catch up after I’ve sorted Miss Hawke here?”
Wesley beamed and set his briefcase down on the floor. “Thank you, Professor. I’ll confess, I am rather gasping for a cuppa.” He turned to me. “There you go, Miss Hawke, I hope you enjoy your stay here. I’m sure I’ll see you later and you can fill me in on your first day.”
I smiled back. “Thank you so much for your help, Wesley, I really appreciate it. Truly.”
“Oh, er... Well...” Wesley pulled out his handkerchief again and began to polish his glasses.
“Come then, Miss Hawke. I think I’ll take you over to one of the family tombs. Jabari and Rosie are sketching wall engravings, and you can help out there today.”
I followed her out of the building, glancing back at Wesley who smiled and blushed slightly as he popped his glasses back on his nose.
I followed the professor through the ruins. She kept a fast pace, but without my bag and without ogling a certain rather dishy doctor of archaeology from behind, I was easily able to keep pace with her.
“How much do you know about Bubastis?” the professor asked.
“Not much. I did a bit of reading when I knew I would be able to get here, but not much beyond what I could google. The main parts of the temple were thought to have been constructed around 2000 BCE, during the Middle Kingdom, but were badly damaged by invading Persian forces in the sixth century BCE. Repairs were done in the eighth century BCE, and most of the secondary information we have comes from the Greek writer Herodotus.”
The professor looked impressed. “Yes, that’s pretty much spot on. He does give us lots of flavourful descriptions of the place. Unfortunately, the first excavations done in the late nineteenth century were not particularly systematic—more treasure hunting than real archaeology—so hundreds of artefacts were carted off to museums around the world and to private collectors as well. We do the best with what’s left, and despite the look of the site, we are still finding plenty.”
She led me along a low wall, then through a gap that brought us into a deeper pit where two people roughly my age were at work. One was measuring a wall, and one sat with a clipboard, sketching away.
“Jabari, Rosie, this is Victoria... Vicky?” she asked, looking over at me.
“Tory,” I replied. “Hi.”
“Tory is a new volunteer and will be joining the team. She’s academically trained, but her excavation experience is limited to Roman potholes.”
I grinned. She pretty much had the gist of it.
Jabari laughed. “So I imagine your delay issues run more to heavy rain rather than sandstorms?” Jabari was maybe in his late twenties, with dark skin and a close-cropped black beard. He wore a western style cotton shirt and trousers, but also a simple white turban. His dark eyes glittered with humour as he looked up at me.
“You’d imagine right, but I’m game to give anything a go if you just point me in the right direction.”
Rosie, a tall, slender girl with her fair hair tied back under a baseball cap shot me a shy smile and passed me a clipboard and a pencil from a small pile nearby.“Is your sketching any good? You can start on the end wall if you like. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just recognisable for now.”
“Not a problem,” I said, taking the clipboard from her.
“Right then, I’ll leave you to it. We clock off about half past four, so make sure you head back to the camp then. Night falls quickly here, and this is a dangerous place to wander about in the dark.” The professor turned and left us to it.
“Yes, stick with us. You don’t want to be left alone in the dark,” Jabari told me ominously.
I placed the clipboard over my arm and began to sketch. “I can imagine it could be fairly lethal tripping out here.”