I'm bad at this blogging thing: Stirling, Linlithgow, Antonine Wall, and other miscellany.

Nervous chuckling. Apologies for the lack in updates; things have really kicked into the swing of it over here. Now that I've been here for three months (it has been three months on the nose since I left home) it's about time for an update. Time seems to be slowing down a fair bit, and speeding up almost simultaneously. And let's not mention how close to Christmas it is!

It has felt like longer since I moved here, and speeding up in the fact that since then I've written two essays (which I and my fellow Celtic & Viking MLitts would rather not think about again), started doing some volunteer stuff with my convenor, attended some amazing lectures on Iona (potential dissertation topic!), Richard III, and Stonehenge. I might get to work with some material from Iona starting in January, and I've also gone to some new places, as well!



Let's take a trip in the Way-Back Machine, or the TARDIS - whichever you prefer, to the 3rd of November; I took a day trip to visit Alex in Stirling! Stirling is a wee little city, and very quaint and beautiful. It was just starting to get cold then so we bundled up and primarily wandered around the Stirling Castle, town, and the University of Stirling.

Panorama of Stirling from the Stirling Castle ramparts

The Wallace Monument from afar.

Stirling Castle with Robert the Bruce in the foreground.

Next time I go and visit Stirling, I'm going to try and make it to Bannockburn as well (if you don't know about the Battle of Bannockburn, check out this page to learn more! The Battle's 700th anniversary will take place next June), and hopefully even the Wallace Monument.

Wallace Monument from the River Forth

The following Saturday, the archaeology department had another field-trip; this time, the field-trip was a blessing. For once, I didn't have to take notes, the Celtic and Viking MLitts could enjoy themselves on the trip without fear of writing a paper about the locations later, and we had gotten close enough now as a group that it was much more fun. This time around, the trip also had nothing to do with Celtic or Viking archaeology. We first headed off to Linlithgow Palace.

Linlithgow Palace is where most of the Stewart line of kings had lived. Various parts of the palace (such as the room that Mary Queen of Scots) had been destroyed due to occurrences such as fires and collapses, and rebuilt over the years, by people such as James I.

It really is a beautiful place, if not a little late for my program's interest. But that's alright, because my interests in medieval archaeology expand beyond the Celtic and Viking span of time and into later British History. Plus, why not enjoy a free field trip?

Then, we headed off to the remnants of the Antonine Wall, which was constructed by the Romans. Not being a Roman historian much, it was admittedly cool to see archaeological traces of the forts along the Antonine Wall and I am excited about any sort of archaeology, don't get me wrong, but ditches and Roman forts just aren't my complete cup of tea. They were, though, very cool to visit and have the opportunity to see!

Are your eyes archaeologically trained enough to see the remnants of the fort? :)

The rest of November just sort of happened... papers, schoolwork, etc. I did enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner with some friends in the archaeology department and spent some long nights in the PGT room working on readings and research. Now that it's getting closer to winter break, I'm finally narrowing down what I think I want to do with my dissertation. I mean, it hasn't been narrowed down to anything beyond Iona (with a pinch of public archaeology theory?) but it's still there, forming in my head.

Certainly, though, the Christmas season has started here in Glasgow! The Market has opened (it's very wee and often very crowded, but there are a million different smells from all the food stalls and delicious hot chocolate...), George Square has partially been turned into a fair/ice rink, and the lights are up all over City Centre!

George Square

St Enoch's Square Christmas Market

MoMA and surrounding shops near George Square

I've also made my decision in terms of the pursuit for a PhD or job experience. I have decided that no matter where the job market takes me, either the UK or back to the States, I want to build up my job experience out in the field, hands on, doing the bit of my profession that I love, whether it be working in a lab or out in the dirt. This'll give me at least a year or two to decide what it is I want to hone my research in, hopefully consider moving back to the UK if I end up leaving to go home, and build up the experience that I want!

In other exciting news, not only have I booked a trip with Matthew, Patrick, and Heather to Inverness right over Christmas (which will alleviate some of the strangeness of not being home with family) but I also just literally booked a flight to see a long time friend Ramona in Ireland! 

I figure I have the money to do it without breaking the bank and still having loads left over to pocket and pay back after the year is over (thanks US Department of Education...lovely loans you've got there) I can take my winter break to travel, read, and relax... well, as much relaxation as you can get on long train rides and explorations! So far I'm looking at York, Durham, Oban, and Liverpool as additional destinations!

So, I do miss you all back home, but I am looking forward to doing what I've (romantically, cliche-ishly) wanted to do, and that's take some time to myself to travel and go to new places all on my own, while staying with some really good friends!

(P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom!)