By Suzanne Davis
Campus is hopping with students and faculty here in A2, and I have to say—it’s pretty fun. Our Wolverine community is doing great on vaccinations and masking, and the energy from having everyone back together is inspiring. Meanwhile, here in the conservation lab, lots of projects are either continuing or just getting started.
A new(ish) project I’m especially excited about is the Kelsey’s Jebel Barkal Archaeological Project, which is gearing up for a 2022 winter field season in Sudan after being grounded during 2021. We have several generous sponsors for this work, including the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, which will be funding conservation work at the site through a large Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation grant. If you’d like to learn more, please visit our brand new website, which I and several of my colleagues have been developing over the past month. I encourage you to sign up for the Jebel Barkal blog and stay tuned, since we’re working on adding other social media.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that we luuuuv fall around here. Luckily for us, it’s the autumnal equinox and the weather has turned right on schedule—from 80 degrees and sunny to 60 degrees and raining like crazy. We’re putting on sweaters and re-reading Colin Nissan’s McSweeney’s essay on decorative gourds. I’m not going to link it, because the language is too fruity for a family-friendly blog, but if you already know and love it, now is officially the time to get reacquainted.
