What is Next?

Well, the archaeologists' season is coming to an end. They were really successful! Through all the pottery and other walls they found, they were able to prove people living at this site for at least hundreds of years! They also learned about the everyday lives of people through writing on fragments of pottery they found, and learned about what they ate, how they lived, and what they used.

All the archaeologists all have jobs and families to go home to... but where do I go?

Sometimes, that's hard to figure out. Deciding who owns me and where I should go are never easy.

Does the Egyptian government own me? Does the archaeologist who found me own me? Should I never have been found? Should I just be left in the ground?

There is no way to really know who artifacts like me belong to. Each case is different. Just always keep in mind that asking questions about who owns artifacts is important! And its always important to remember the people and country that an artifact came from, because their history has formed who they are today.

So... for me? Well, as you know, I can't be made whole again. I can't really be put on display. I'm just Herb the potsherd. No reason to waste space in a museum on me.

I'm going to be put in a room like this:

                                                   Image

This is a collection room. It is where artifacts that aren't on display are stored. I will have a specific number attached to me, and that is it. All my information will be held in a computer data base.

I'm going to be here for a while. Maybe forever, who knows! But hey, it could be worse right? I could have been stolen, or crushed when the earth shifted. At least here I will be safe.

And this is the end of the trip for us. I hope that you enjoyed your time with me! Archaeology is so much more than just digging stuff up! It is preserving the lives and cultures of the past. I may not be the most glamorous thing you've ever seen, but I tell a story about  ancient Egyptian life, and so I am important! And I'm super glad you took this journey with me!

Promise me this... the next time someone talks to you about Ancient Egypt... tell them about all you learned with Herb the potsherd!