Page 78 of Field Rules

“Whoa,” Logan said. “Does that actually happen?”

“More than you think,” he sputtered. “Even with our tools locked up in the caretaker’s shed, a determined thief could easily clip the lock.” He turned back to Olivia, “I’m going to have to report this to—”

“Hang on.” Juno pushed past Grant until she stood in front of the gate. “First of all, maybe you shouldn’t be calling the students idiots. Second, I don’t think everyone knows how tricky this lock is. May I?” She pulled the key out, then inserted it back in. Like Grant had shown, she turned it to the left until it clicked, then kept going counterclockwise, whereupon it clicked again, and she pulled it out. “People forget to do the last part because it’s not obvious.”

Olivia stared at Juno in admiration, stunned at how easily she’d put Grant in his place. Then again, she didn’t need his approval for anything. She’d built up such a solid reputation in Cyprus that she wasn’t intimidated by his bullying.

Juno motioned to the rest of the students. “Gather round, people. I’m going to show you the magic of locking up this troublesome gate. This way, none of you needs to fear the wrath of Dr. Grant Nilsson.”

Olivia almost laughed until Grant intruded on her personal space. The scent of his citrusy aftershave was so strong it made her eyes water.

“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d been paying attention the first time I showed you. I think you’ve let yourself get distracted.” He cast a none-too-subtle glance at Rick.

Rather than cower in his presence, she maintained her composure. “I disagree. Like Juno said, it’s tricky. If you report me to Dr. Roth, I’ll tell him you called one of the students an idiot just for asking a simple question.”

He stared her down for a moment, then walked off in a huff. For now, she’d take it as a victory, though she wished she hadn’t made such a glaring error in full view of the students. At the time, she’d thought she’d locked it, but she hadn’t double-checked to make sure. She’d have to work extra hard today to redeem herself.

At least she’d begun to feel more confident about supervising a trench. Unlike surveying, excavation was a skill she’d learned before. Now that they’d been digging at the House of Heracles for four days, the site had become less about grunt work and more about discovery. Having cleared the weeds, rubble, and modern dirt, they’d reached the Roman level of the site, which was dated to the third century AD. Trowels and small whisk brooms replaced shovels and picks as they uncovered paving stones and delineated the outline of a room. Along with the ever-present potsherds, they’d found mosaic tiles, coins, and small terra-cotta figurines. Though it was a slow process, Olivia liked watching how the site gradually revealed itself.

For most of the morning, Olivia worked with TJ, excavating near the west wall of the trench. When her trowel hit something solid, she combed through the dirt and revealed an object with a curved shape. Using a small paintbrush, she cleared the dirt away.

“Hey, TJ,” she said. “Check this out. The slope’s kind of uneven. Do you think it’s a broken pot?”

He crouched beside her and ran his fingers along it. “That’s not pottery. It might be bone.”

“Bone? Like human bone?” A thrill ran through her.

“Maybe. Let me take over for a sec.” When she passed him her paintbrush, he continued the process until the curve of a skull became visible.

“I’m going to get Rick and Stuart,” she said. “I need them to take a look.”

She clambered out of the trench and found them relaxing in the lab area. Having finished putting up the canopies, they were taking a much-needed break. “No rush, but I could use your help when you’re free. I think we uncovered a skull.”

Stuart set down his water bottle. “A skull? This I’ve got to see.”

He and Rick followed Olivia into the trench and stood over TJ as he continued brushing. Within minutes, they agreed the object had to be a skull. Though it was bashed in on one side, it appeared human.

Olivia watched in awe. “I never thought we’d find a skeleton. This wasn’t a burial ground, was it?”

During her field school at Clear Lake, she’d learned about the rules pertaining to burials, particularly those found at Native American sites. She wasn’t sure if the same rules applied to archaeology outside of North America.

“We’re in the clear because this structure was definitely a villa,” Rick said. “Based on historic records and the wall fragments we’ve found, we assume it collapsed in the earthquake that destroyed a lot of Paphos. Whoever’s skull this was, they were probably killed in that earthquake.”

“You mean the house collapsed on top of them?” TJ said. “That’s wild.”

“With any luck, there might be more than one skeleton,” Stuart added.

While Olivia called her students over and explained the situation, Rick went to get Juno. She hopped in to join them and knelt next to TJ. After she brushed more dirt away from the skull, she looked up at Olivia. “Have you ever uncovered a skeleton before?”

“Nope,” she said. “TJ probably has, though.”

She waited for him to launch into a story, but for once, he didn’t seem too eager. “I have, but I wasn’t in charge. It’s a tricky process.”

“Juno, you want to help us out?” Olivia asked.

“With pleasure.” Juno motioned for the students to come closer. “This is a huge opportunity. You’ll need to work at a slower pace, but you’ll learn how to document human remains.”

Brynn shuddered. “But there’s no curse or anything. Right?”

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