Unconquerable World

I don't know if you know this, but I'm in a class called Archaeology of Scotland 1B. We've been learning lots of interesting things all semester long, but it takes me awhile to realize what I've learned because I spend the entirety of lecture furiously scribbling down the PowerPoint notes. That's all I do. The lecturer talks during class, but I don't really have time to listen. I'm too busy copying down the notes. It's not until later, when I read them accidentally as I look through my notebooks for certain doodles, that I realize what I've written and learn interesting things about Scotland.

For example: Roman soldiers dressed like Scottish girls. Or I guess it's the other way around. It's true. Archaeologists have said it so it must be true. They're never wrong about the stuff they've inferred from shards of pottery. Roman soldiers wore tights to keep them warm and leather skirts over them. And boots. When I heard this, I exclaimed, a bit too excitedly, "That's what the girls wear!" That greatly embarassed Vita-L, who looked at me and shook her head, as if to say, "Thanks for totally giving away that we're not from here. I was fitting in so well." But then, she nodded, because she had to agree that I was right. What? Did I not mention that I take a class with Vita-L? Why is that such a big deal? It's not like I know her from the Bo' and have taken 9 classes with her before this. You must have her confused with Vita-K. Oh, I miss Vita-K.

Another thing I've learned about Scottish history: The Scots are really proud of it. This week, we've been studying the Roman period. The authors we've been reading and lecturers all emphasize the same things: as students of archaeology we must learn to be impartial, to look beyond the Roman historical records and their Roman biases and study the archaeological record. And what do we find when we learn to ignore the Roman writings and judge the evidence fairly (Scots didn't have writings yet at this point, they just talked to each other a lot)? We learn that the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland because the Scottish people were strong, brave, and wonderfully sophisticated (unlike the easily conquered English to the south) and not only were the Romans not able to take over Scotland, but the Roman presence actually encouraged the Scotmen to unite and become better people. That's right, the only lasting impact the Romans had on Scotland was not introducing technology or coins or efficient agriculture practices or pretty architecture (the Scots had no use for these things), but the one lasting impact the Romans had was creating a stronger Scottish identity. The Romans allowed the Scots to realize their full potential as a nation. It's amazing how clear history becomes when you take away the prejudices of nationalism and focus on really old dirt.

Maybe when I'm not sick anymore I'll tell you about the University strike yesterday and how classes were either cancelled or rescheduled.