2018: Portugal
Tom and his wife, Annie traveled to Portugal and took part in an excavation of a Roman-era fish-processing facility.
The archaeological site, Troia, was located about 40 miles south of Lisbon.
Troia
This Roman site, dating 2nd through 4th centuries A.D., was for the production of a fish sauce (Garum). The field team excavated four separate vats, each about 3 m square. The vat that Annie, Tom, and Portuguese archaeologist, Filipa worked had been used as a refuge dump once it no longer was used to make garum.
This excavation team was small, less than a dozen volunteers and Portuguese archaeologists, led by the highly respected Portuguese archaeologist Dr. Ines Val Pinto.
Troia's site sits on the grounds of a Portuguese all-inclusive resort. Thus, the field team's living conditions were luxurious;the crew was pampered with A/C, hot water, and marvelous evening dinners. This was a fitting way for Tom to introduce archaeological fieldwork to Annie.
