MSFS Day 10: Finishing the Face, Perspectives of Piraino, and Our Journey to Milazzo

Notes from the Field School: August 1st, 2016

Students arrived early to class so that they could continue to work on the facial reconstruction from yesterday. The morning's work focused on the addition of a nose, ears, and general smoothing of the clay. A bit of texturing was also added for the final touches.

Deb helps Mallory with the nose.

Jordan adds ears with Deb's help.

Mari and Elisa smooth out the clay face before the big reveal.

When the facial reconstruction was complete, Deb revealed photos of how the man whose skull served as the model for the plastic skull that we used looked in life. The students felt a collective sense of achievement in seeing how similar the facial features they reconstructed together were with the features of the individual in life. They were rightfully proud of their work on their first facial reconstruction.

Deb shows the students what the individual actually looked like in life.

A closeup of the reconstructed face and in-life photos of the individual whose skull was used for the class's work.

A proud class and their first facial reconstruction together.

Phases of facial reconstruction.

The class discusses their trip to Piraino and Dario describes
the intersection of Sicilian culture and religion.

Afterward, Karl led a discussion with the students about their perspectives on the trip to Piraino a few days ago. Together, we discussed the significance of the mummies and artifacts seen on our field trip. Students shared both their feelings about their experiences in Piraino and their observations from professional perspectives. They discussed the intersection of culture and scientific investigations of archaeological materials. This brought back our discussions of ethics and stakeholders from the first day of the school and led to new facets of understanding these issues in the context of impacts on an actual community. We had a lively conversation about these aspects of the trip as the students asked important questions and commented on things from their individual viewpoints. Students also discussed what they learned from Marcello about the history and culture of the mother church. This transitioned into a conversation about religion and how the cultural perceptions of religion affected both the life and death of individuals for hundreds of years. Dario explained to the students how Sicilians have very close associations with the dead because the bodies remain as representations for the soul. These are culturally important for the living who pray for the souls of the dead and ask them for divine intervention into their everyday lives. For example, one may ask a deceased loved one to help them win the lottery or when they will find love and get married. People also pray for the souls of the dead to help them avoid the fires and suffering of purgatory as the dead are cleansed in the afterlife for their final ascension into heaven.

Lunch was another new and delicious pasta with bacon and tomatoes. We were also served bread, a new-to-us type of salami, a prosciutto and provolone pizza on a puff pastry crust, and a lentil soup with carrots. The conversation over lunch consisted of debating over where one finds the best pizza in the world, the best and worst foods in different countries, and the recovery of a song that we danced to at the eggplant festival a few nights ago.

In the afternoon, we prepared for our trip to Milazzo. We left around 4pm to go see several beautiful churches built during different time periods. We walked around the city and up many steps to see these buildings adorned with sculptures, statues, and frescoes so breathtaking that words cannot describe them properly and pictures do not do them justice.

   

 

        

The Church of Carmine

The Church of St. Maria Maggiore

The body of the Blessed Candida within the Church of St. Francis of Paola

The tiny Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria 

We also saw a Byzantine burial site in the city that was covered by a glass structure to preserve the burial ground. Later, we saw a fenced-in prehistoric occupation dating to the Neolithic. We then walked passed a huge castle on our way to a small museum with interesting fossils and maritime artifacts.

Glass-encased Byzantine burials in the middle of the city.

A Neolithic occupation site.

Castle with church in the background.

Some of the many steps taken during our adventure in Milazzo.

The museum with fossils and memories of the sea that we visited.

Later in the day, we went for a swim off of the coast. We spent a few hours letting the waves carry us to the shore and bobbing in the refreshingly cool, clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun began to set behind us. Just before it disappeared, seemingly consumed beneath the waves themselves, we were able to get a quick class sunset selfie.

Sunset swimming in Milazzo.

After leaving the beach, we walked over to a seaside restaurant for dinner. Padre Paolo, who is in charge of the convent, and Carmelina, our wonderful cook, as well as Carmelina's daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, joined us for dinner. Katia, our Italian teacher, also joined us a few minutes later. We dined upon pizzas with a variety of delicious toppings, risottos, and pastas. We also had a few different types of bruschetta and fried calamari to get us started. Karl called us to attention during the meal to toast to our amazing hosts, visiting researchers, and the success of the school in its first year. Thanks to Katia, he was able to do the first part of the toast completely in Italian!

 Appetizers of classic bruschetta, fried calamari, and a special seafood bruschetta.

 Two kinds of risotto with seafood.

Salmon tomato pizza (left) and sliced beef with veggies pizza (right).

Four cheese pizza (above) and margarita pizza (below).

We rode home after another full day of fun, food, and new experiences. It is exciting to think about what the final days of the school are going to bring for us! Next up, we will journey to Palermo for a look at the amazing catacombs of the Capuchin Church to see a large collection of mummies, including the famous child mummy, Rosalia Lombardo. Stay tuned!

Written by  Dr. Johnica J. Morrow (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)