Delusions of grandeur

On a whim, I signed up for an online class on AllLearn.org sponsored by Oxford University called "Archaeology for Amateurs". The class, which starts in June, will focus on the theory and methods of archaeology with a special focus on the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. I mostly wanted to see if I had any real aptitude for a subject that interests me. I'm not expecting any great revelations. And I certainly have no illusions about the work involved. To me, half of the fun is the background research, piecing together the clues until you can stand back and see the larger picture. The sad thing is you're still only putting together the smallest puzzle of an infinitely larger whole.

An observant reader will notice I named the server "Hisarlik" after the mound where the ancient city of Troy was located in Turkey. Troy and I have a long tradition together, mostly from attending Smithsonian Associate programs with my parents, sponsored by the American Friends of Turkey. I'm far more intrigued by archaeological Troy than the mythical one of Homer. The actual weblog name alas comes from a Mick Jagger song.