Archaeology Events I had during my time with UWP

This is a letter I wrote to a member of Sing Out group. Because it covers another aspect of my time in UWP, I thought I would share it here (some corrections made):

I see in your Sing Out Groups member profile that you are interested in archaeology. Is there a particular area that you are interested in? I have a long casual interest in the topic.

I have recently read three books on bible lands archaeology, one on the beginning efforts in the 1800's, one on various Sinai Desert sites, and another book about the history of the oldest bible ever found, the Sinai Codex (Codex Sinaiticus). Most recently I just finished reading Howard Carter's book on the first year of excavations of King Tut's tomb. I have also been interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls. I have been trying to read a translation of the scrolls for two years now, but it is hard reading so I pick it up only when in the mood. I did see the wonderful exhibit at BYU several years ago with actual Dead Sea scroll fragments and wonderful Masada fortress artifacts.

I was fortunate in UWP to be in Mexico City when they were making the subway which uncovered many ancient pyramids and archaeology sites in the process. I was permitted to take many artifacts from the "trash heap" after the diggers combed through the dirt to retrieve the biggest artifacts. I was able to recover several white plaster pieces that were the final coating on the pyramids (so they glistened white) and some pottery pieces and one rusty piece and a piece of glass. Their diggings were about 12 to 15 feet deep and you could see the layers of civilization in the trenches.

I was also the recipient of several Mayan (possibly Aztec) doll heads with no history other than they were given to Peter Howard as gifts back in the old days. They were part of the PACE Building collection. Some of them even appear to be Egyptian, but I think that is because of the many Egyptian influences that were reflected in ancient America anyway. Three different sized obsidian spear heads cap off this collection.

When filming for UWP, the filming director and I went to the ancient city of Teotihoacan. We were visiting the site to arrange for an early morning filming of “Dawning” directly on the Pyramid of the Sun when the sun rose (we used the filming at the end of our Mexico film). While looking around for a good place to shoot the film, some workers at the site said "psst, over hear". I obliged. They then uncovered some artifacts which I suspected were fake and tried to sell them to me. After repeated "NO’s" they finally pulled out a small unimpressive doll head from a workers pocket. I thought this could be the real thing. I bought it. Later my conscience got to me and while we were talking to the Director of the site, I admitted my transgression to him. It is illegal to buy, sell or take out artifacts from Mexico and I was representing UWP and decided I didn’t want to venture in an illegal activity. The director asked to see it, and after looking at it said that it was authentic, from the Toltec period. He told me to go ahead and keep it as it was not a treasure piece, thanking me for being honest.

Another time I had a day off from Scheduling for UWP in Roswell, NM, and spent a day on a site helping the local archaeologist sift through sand. He was working a 1200 year old dig (Native American) about nine feet deep and let me keep a few beads & broken arrowheads. Hard work that archaeology stuff.

You said you have an interest in the Civil War. Once when staying with a host family in Little Rock, AR, (the last time I saw Tom Wilkes) my cast mate and I was told to get up and come with our host to a rainy, muddy field. It was Sunday and we wanted to sleep in on our morning off, but it seemed that a construction company was going to start building apartments on Monday, and because it rained, the freshly disturbed dirt was a prime target for Civil War relics. They told me the field was a site of a Civil War battle. My host found a gold spur ( I was ten feet from it, darn) and I found several spent and unspent bullets, a rusty horse brush, the brass tip of a sword scabbard, and one leg of a pot-bellied stove.

My current boss says he is going to take me to Israel, Masada, Sinai and the Valley of the Kings someday to see the Old and New Testament historical sites. He is from Israel and I look forward to seeing the many archaeological sites. Great stuff over there.
(NOTE 2018 Retired, didn't happen, dang)

I was very disturbed to hear of the Baghdad Museum trashing. Many relics from ancient times were lost. I recently saw a site on the internet that showed the missing items in hopes it will help recover them.

Anyway, that is my experience with archaeology, and hope to learn more in the future. If you get time, perhaps you could email me your interests, or post them on the Sing Out site. I will take some digital pictures of my ancient treasures and make them available on the web at some future time.

Thanks for your time, it was great fun remembering these experiences.
All the best, Michael.