Busy library study week 📚 Week in the Life of an Archaeology Researcher at Cambridge University

To the office. I have quite a few reports to compile and write today about various analyses that I did over the summer. They're just mini-analyses, mini-reports about the upkeep of the instruments, but they need to be done, and a load of other admin stuff, and also writing, if I get a chance. We'll see. Okay, mini-report number one is done, so now I'm moving on to report number two. Also, do you like my new glasses? They're a bit big. I think I need to get them tightened again, but I think they're nice. So I'm still processing PXRF results, but these ones are different ones from some experiments I did a few weeks before to see the direction of the x-ray beam, because when we analyse archaeological objects, we're assuming that we're analysing a specific spot on that object, but if the beam is actually pointing slightly off in a different direction, then we're not actually analysing what we think we are, and this could mean that our interpretations aren't right either, and so one of my summer tasks was to actually do this experiment. It is lunchtime, so I've come on a quick walk to drop off some parcels and just enjoy the sunshine. It's not actually that sunny, but it is warm. Ready? I'm on King's Parade and it's always so busy, so this is like serious exposure therapy for how people just don't care what other people are doing. Holding in public still gives me the fear 10 years later. Okay, I'm heading back to the department now, down one of my favourite streets in Cambridge. I think I've talked about this before, but maybe not on a long form vlog, but basically this is part of St Bennett's Church, which is a thousand years old. Not that part, the church. And these buildings are all part of Corpus Christi College, where I went for a formal year, and we're just coming up to one of my favourite buildings in Cambridge. I say this so often, but this one, it's really low key because I'm not going to lie, I don't really know what it is. It's called Chris Adams House, now anyway, but it's just so wonky. I love it. It's just properly wonky. And look how nice this little side street is. I'm going to the library because now I'm going to do some writing on my paper. So this is the Haddon Library. It was founded in 1920, and it's Cambridge's archaeology and anthropology library, so the majority of these books are all archaeology related or anthropology related, and it's one of my favourite libraries to work in because it really feels like Cambridge. There is actually like a secret study room upstairs. It's probably not a secret, I just didn't know about it. So I've come to this library specifically to really get in the zone for writing an article on pre-Hispanic Columbian goldworking, specifically the use of stone matrices by the to make ornamental gold work such as necklaces. These stone matrices are a super interesting aspect of their metallurgical process. I'm going to put a picture on the screen now, and I had the absolute pleasure of 3D scanning some of these matrices at the Museo del Oro in Bogota in 2023. So writing this paper feels really special. I'm going to the library again, but this time I'm going to a different library. For now, I'm going to the classics library, and then when the classics library closes, later this afternoon, it closes at four, I'm going to go to the main university library, which is open until seven. Can you believe I've still never been? I mean, I've been, I've not been inside. I've been here three years now. Plan of action today is to get at least a few paragraphs more done on my paper. Basically, I'm having a writing day and a reading day as well because I've got to check through some other papers that I'm a co-author on and someone's presentation, which I'm a co-author on, but I thought the library was a good place to do that. So let's go. I'm off to library number two. It's 3.45, so I did have another 15 minutes before I had to leave, but I got too hungry, I'm not going to lie. So on the way to the next library, I'm going to have this. These are my absolute favourite protein bars. They're dairy-free, vegan, celiac-friendly, and actually really nice. And it's my favourite flavour as well. Caramel Blondie, it's white chocolate. Let me show you. Doesn't that just look amazing? I needed that. I'd like to try these as well. I also have a discount code, which I'll put on the screen now. I've been buying them for one or two years now. They're my absolute favourite. I only get them for free. They're worth it. Certified allergy-friendly. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit lost. I thought it was easier to get from that library to the other one, and I must have gone the wrong way. Oh no, it was just over there. This building is cool. Look at that gooey stuff. I can see it. I still think it's ugly, I'm sorry, it's just never going to compare to the libraries in Oxford. Tell me that doesn't look like a prison. It looks like a prison. Right, so I'm not just writing here. I mean, I need to get some writing done, but I have actual books to pick up from this library. So I need to go and try and figure out where they are, but also I ordered one to the desk. So there should be one ready for me, and then I need to go and find the others myself. This looks good. I should go to that. Okay, fine, this part's pretty. Currently in the lift up to the sixth floor. This is the freakiest lift I've ever been in. I wish I had shown you how I actually got into this lift, but it looked like a big safe, and it felt like a horror movie. Aside from this really nice view, that's King's College Chapel just poking out the trees over there. The top floor also felt a bit like a horror movie. There was no one there, it was dark, as you can see, and it was weirdly clinical and prison-like. So I tried very hard to get back down as soon as possible. I'm trying so hard to get out. And so I went back down to where I started, essentially. These are actually group study spaces, but because it's the vacation period, not many people are here, and I managed to nab one for myself. What I didn't realise is there is actually a main library study space, the main reading room, which I didn't go in, and probably for the best, because you weren't actually allowed to film in there or have cameras. and actually the library was way better than I expected it to be. It was beautiful on the inside, as I'm sure you can tell. Unlike the prison-ness out here, at least on the ground floor, it didn't look like a prison, the top floor... And now I've got to quick march half an hour to the gym because I have a Pilates class, which I definitely am not going to be able to film in, so I'll probably see you tomorrow morning. Morning! It is 8.15 right now, and I've just had some breakfast, sitting down with my coffee, and then I'm going to get to work. Don't have any Wi-Fi today, which is a bit annoying. Sorry, excuse the hoovering in the background. We're getting a new Wi-Fi box, so I'm just waiting for that to arrive. The old one has been switched off already, which is a bit frustrating because I really needed to work. But what I'm going to do is basically ride straight from my break. So what I meant by that was to just write my ideas on a plain document because I couldn't access the online file. What I don't understand is why I didn't just use my hotspot. Clearly my critical thinking brain was not switched on that morning. Afternoon! Sorry, I haven't really filmed much today. I wasn't really thinking about it, I'm not gonna lie. What I have done is written two full paragraphs and redrafted. That was all without the Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi is now working, we have the new box and I'm going to move on to the next one, for which I needed to do some reading for at the same time. So that's good, we've made good progress. I'm hoping to do another two paragraphs, so I'm aiming for at least 500-600 words today. I've already done 350, so I reckon I can do it. If we can push to more, that would be great, but at least 500, that's the target. It is 5.45pm right now and I don't know how that happened, but I have a Spanish lesson in 15 minutes and I haven't prepared for it. I need to cram all of these keywords that I learned last lesson and try and remember as many of them as physically possible. And I'm looking at them now, I don't remember them, here they are. There's too many. I should have stopped earlier to get this done, but I did get my 500 word target done, so that's good. Now I'm gonna get on with it and stop talking. Good morning! It's Friday, I'm in the office again and I've just been reading. So right now I'm reading a book called Territorios y Memorias Culturales Moiscas, Etnografías, Cartografías y Arqueologías. It's really interesting so far. So I'm probably going to be doing that for the next half an hour and then I'll move on to the next part because I can't get too carried away with reading this because although it's super interesting, I don't have to be reading a book back to front. It's home time! I'm done, I've just set off home. Sorry, I really didn't film. I know I was too- oh my god! Anyway, I'm now walking home and I've decided to go through Downing College because it's beautiful and I can show you it as I walk through. I love the gardening here, it's amazing. Look how nice it is! This is their library, how stunning. And then we have just the most beautiful architecture ever. Sorry I didn't film much today, basically I was really struggling with a section of my paper and it's still kind of terrible but I wrote the paragraph, I read the literature and it's on the paper. The words are down and I'll refine them later. That's the next week's Rosie's problem. I'm gonna run, obviously. I think this is gonna be an 8k loop but I'm only running for all of it, I can tell you that right now. Hello, hi, yeah I forgot to film an outro again for the video, sue me, I will try harder next time. If you made it this far, good job, good work, congratulations. I was wondering if there were any types of videos you would like to see, so more vlogs, shorter vlogs, longer vlogs, long form videos where I talk about archaeological sites or scientific results, that sort of thing, or more short. Let me know in the comments. Anyway, thank you for watching, really appreciate it, have a lovely day, bye!