Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell. 

I didn’t know until recently that this phrase possibly originated from a practice from 17^th century England. People were saved from being buried alive by having their hand tied to a string attached to a bell above the ground. If anyone awoke from a coma-like state they could move their hand and be “saved by the bell.”

My name is Rose and I’m a Greek and Roman Studies and Anthropology student. The purpose of my blog is to explore different topics in mortuary archaeology for my Anthropology class. In other words, I’ll be learning about everything from bog bodies to ice mummies. Then I will be sharing my thoughts and ideas about what I’ve learnt in class. As our professor says, everyone is to some degree fascinated with death in order to be enrolled in the course. When I was younger I loved watching documentaries on Egyptian Mummies and ancient civilizations. I also watched shows that would have archaeological topics like “Mystery Hunters” and “The Magic School Bus.” I love learning about random facts like the etymology of "saved by the bell." My interest in the archaeology of death also stems from other classes I have taken. Some of my favourite classes include the History of the Bronze Age Aegean and Homer, Women in the Ancient World, and Greek and Roman Mythology. I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in two field schools. The first was an onsite lecture series in Greece and Turkey. We not only travelled to a number of popular archaeological sites such as Mycenae and Delphi, but we also got to visit two archaeological dig sites that are not open to the general public. The second field school I went to was called the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project, where I participated in the excavation of one of the sites I had visited the year before called Eleon. It was an amazing opportunity, and I learned both excavation and conservation techniques. I hope that this course will touch upon some examples from Greece, as that is my primary area of interest. I would also like to learn more about frozen bodies, grave goods, and Egyptian mummies. I hope to gain a broader perspective about funerary rites, and a greater understanding of cross-cultural practices. After my undergraduate degree I’m planning to travel for a couple of months to visit my family and then I am hoping to go to law school. I would also like to participate in excavations when I can.

P.S. Here’s a link to some photos of the Eleon excavation team on the site.

P.P.S. Here’s the blog from the exacavtion.