The Roman Road Project: A Shout Out in a New Book

On this past Thursday, I found myself laughing out loud on my way home from getting a root canal. Why would anyone be in a good mood after uncomfortable dental surgery, you might ask? I was giggling because I heard a voice actor portraying my imagined Southern accent in a new book about experimental archaeology.

Let me back up a couple of years to when my students built a small Roman road through our school campus. In case you missed it... In a project that they dreamed up, we got our local Department of Transportation and Development to partner with us and assist us in learning civil engineering concepts. We learned how to use the ancient Roman surveying tool, the groma, we hauled lots of rocks, and our road turned out great until a Mardi Gras reveler rolled a bike through the wet concrete of its top layer. It all turned out great in the end though, and if you're looking for resources on how to build your own Roman road, see this post about it.

One of the most interesting moments during the Roman Road Project was getting to host best-selling science author Sam Kean in my classroom. He had reached out to me via email a few months before we began the project. He was working on a book about experimental archaeology and had found my name on a database of experimental archaeology projects hosted by EXARC, an international organization dedicated to the field. About halfway through the project, Sam came to visit and actually helped the kids haul rocks. It was fun meeting him and showing him a few other items in my classroom, like a sponge stick, most likely used by the Romans as toilet paper.

Sam's book came out in July, and it's such a huge project! Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Recreating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations takes the reader on a journey to many ancient civilizations, including California, Mexico, China, Egypt, and a few others. In the Rome chapter, the Roman Road Project is talked about alongside the amazing work of Roman food expert Sally Grainger and hair archaeologist Janet Stephens. What an honor to be talked about in the same chapter! But back to my giggles...

I drive back and forth to work daily, which means usually about 45 minutes in the car every day. Lucky for me, my local public library has LOTS of audio-books of which I take FULL advantage so I was so thrilled to see that Sam's new book was one of those. They hired a voice actor to read the book, and every time he does the voice of someone, whether man or woman, he attempts a regional accent. When I heard myself depicted like Scarlet O'Hara, I nearly had to pull over from laughing, even with a numbed-up mouth and traumatic drill sounds ringing in my ears.

In the book, Sam introduces me with the famous story of my mom telling me that paleontologists had dug up all the dinosaur bones, thus killing my archaeological aspirations. He talks about some of our Roman Technology projects and then tells about his experience helping with the road. His interactions with the kids really stand out - I'm so proud of them! It's a great little segment! He also posted some pics and extra notes from his time with us on his Website in the "Bonus Section" for the book. In all seriousness, I'm so honored that Sam found my and my students' work valuable (and entertaining) enough to include in this fascinating book. Go check it out!