Iconage again...

[rochvelleth]

Um, I couldn't stop myself making another icon. Sorry. It's another Emmerdale icon, too. But, you see, Matthew hasn't been in it for a couple of weeks, and now he's back, and I was glad, so I made another icon

Comments

[grace_poppy]

Hi again, rochvelleth. I was fakeweestephen up there. Someone's solved the puzzle so we won't be tramping through your journal any more. I really hope we didn't freak you out! But you seem like a very cool person, so hopefully you won't be too upset when you return to your journal and see these messages from strangers.

Are you an archeologist? Your recent Mycaenean post just happened to catch my eye! I love archeology and ancient history. I'm a conservator.

Anyway, thanks again (even though you weren't actually here to give or deny permission for our bizarre behaviour.) Do come visit, if you like!

-Grace

[rochvelleth]

Hello! Not freaked out at all - it seemed quite exciting. As soon as I've finished my thesis, I think I'll check it out properly!

I'm really a Mycenaean linguist, but so much of what I'm doing atm is archaeology that I might as well be one! What sort of conservation do you do? It sounds fascinating.

[grace_poppy]

Hooray! I'm so relieved you're not freaked out or upset. I wasn't sure just how terribly rude fakeweestephen might be on the LJ scale. (He does get a bit wild at times).

Wow, Mycenaean linguistics - ignorant question, but is that just the ancient Mycenaean language? Or is there a modern Mycenaean language too? I love languages and linguistics, but I don't know much about ancient languages. What archeological-ish work are you doing right now?

I'm a paper conservator, so I treat artworks, documents, maps, manuscripts and anything else on paper or paper-like materials. But working with paper, I never get to work on actually ancient things, alas.

[rochvelleth]

Well Mycenaean is the earliest attested form of Greek (when it was deciphered in the 50s, it pushed back the earliest attestation by more than 500 years) - all we have are random administrative documents written in an obscure syllabic script. It's a lot of fun!

The archaeology I'm doing atm ties in with general relations between different Mycenaean sites - lots of pots and mortuary stuff, though I'm not doing much that's hands on (they have lots of Mycenaean pottery in the classics faculty, but I'm mostly just reading about it!).

I've always thought that sort of conservation sounds fun - I used to go to events at the Conservation Centre in Liverpool sometimes, and it was fascinating to see how the conservators handled things. So how old is the stuff you work with then?

[grace_poppy]

So do you just try to examine similarities between the finds from different Mycenaean sites? I mean with your current archeology work. That sounds so very cool. Have you been to Mycenae? I haven't, but I've looked at pictures, mostly of the wall paintings. I was in a play during uni where I got to be the stage designer, and I sort of copied Mycenaean and Minoan wall paintings! It was so much fun! And is Mycenae where the labyrinth was supposed to be?

[rochvelleth]

I've never been to Greece at all, unfortunately :( I'm mostly quite hands off with the archaeology, but yes, it does involve comparing different bits of e.g. pot from different places.

It's Knossos (on Crete) with the labyrinth actually. It's really cool, there's this Linear B tablet and the scribe has drawn a little picture of a labyrinth on the back :)

[grace_poppy]

Ah - sigh, I don't have the best grasp of Greek geography or history or legend.

So do you speak modern Greek too?

[grace_poppy]

Oh, and in my work, the oldest thing I've worked on was an illuminated manuscript from 1385 I think, a Life of St. Margaret. But mostly we get 19th and 20th century items where I work.

I've never been to Liverpool, but I think I've heard about the conservation set-up. Is that where visitors can watch conservation in action?

[rochvelleth]

Wow, the 1385 one sounds really cool! Though 19th and 20th century ones are equally cool in a lot of ways, aren't they? I guess it's vital that we retain and care for as much of that stuff as we can, or some really unique things might just disappear

[grace_poppy]

"Mycenaean Epigraphy Room" just sounds magical and beautiful, even though I don't know everything that you're talking about. I can't imagine deciphering an ancient language from scratch.

Do you study paleography, by the way? Or maybe that's a more modern thing.

I'm American, actually, though I lived in the UK for a couple of years during uni. Paul McGann is my favorite (and Mark is a close 2nd), and I've actually never seen Stephen in Emmerdale! Or if I have, I don't remember! I was in the UK 2000-2002. But the Stephen LJ thing is just for fun - we all take turns "being" him by solving the riddles and finding his password.

Oooh, your mom met them all? &hearts I always love to hear a good McGann story, if you wanna share...!

[grace_poppy]

What will your thesis be? Is it the archeology work you're doing now? Are you getting an MA, PhD, or what?

[rochvelleth]

The main subject is the relations between the various areas of the Mycenaean World, and might they have been closer than we think sort-of-thing (it's sooo complicated, as I realise more and more every day!). Very much fun though :)

This thesis is for an MPhil, actually, but I'm hoping (I have to get funding, so fingers crossed) to carry on to PhD (which will be about random Cypriot stuff).

[grace_poppy]

Fun and cool!

I'm going to friend you, by the way.