When I first arrived in Larnaca, excited to learn how to do archaeology, I realized that there were a few items I had missed upon packing. For one, I had forgotten my work gloves at home, and I knew I’d need some. Second, I’d only brought jeans to work in, and I learned on the first day that they really weren’t breathable enough, as I was getting too hot. Plus, I’d entirely forgotten to pack a hat for the sun beating down on my face. I needed so many things, but I was so far from home! What’s a girl to do?? Well, Mr. Bricolage of course!

After a day of being out on site, prepping the area, moving rocks around, and reopening last year’s trenches, the professors realized that we needed things. We needed more brushes for brushing, more dust pans for dust, and of course, lots and lots of buckets of every color. Where could they get all these things?? Why, Mr. Bricolage of course! 

Mr. Bricolage is a hardware store in Larnaca that seems to have everything that any of us need for doing archaeology. This was actually a little surprising to me, but not because of the work gloves and construction pants. For some reason, I had thought that the tools we’d be using would be specialized in some way, or that there would be official purveyors of them. I didn’t realize that most of the equipment we’d need for excavation would come from an everyday hardware store. Even the sieves we were using were hand built by our professors from lumber and fasteners, likely bought at Mr. Bricolage. It’s been really impressive seeing how ordinary our tools are compared to how extraordinary the site seems, with the directors having still been able to put together such an excellent project. Thanks, Mr. Bricolage!

-Rachel