On Saturday June 15th, we took a break from excavation and museum tours to learn a different, but very important skill in archaeology: drawing illustration. Drawing illustration has many advantages over more modern tools such as photography and photoshop. By drawing an archaeological find, you are allowed to magnify important features of the finding such as patterns, scratches, texture, etc. Once an archaeological find is stored away, a hand-drawn image is used in reproductions for texts and reference. Often archaeological drawings are some of the most important pieces of evidence for a text because they demonstrate detail that photography cannot.
Lucky for us, our teacher Mark has years of experience drawing on archaeological sites and recording archaeological finds. We learned about pottery drawing, small finds drawing, section drawing and digital illustration. Everyone’s inner artist came out as we first practiced on teacups before moving on to pottery pieces, animal bone, Roman glass, hairpins and brooches. A bit of patience was needed and a lot of coffee was provided!
Here is everyone intently listening to Mark’s explanation of artefact drawings.
Amanda is quite the artist! She’s very focused on perfecting her illustrations.
Western Classics Abroad 
Students back in a classroom. That’s what I like to see!
Glad you all enjoyed the course. I loved teaching you all. Very enthusiastic students. 🙂