Blank Spaces

'Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration. At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth, and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, 'When I grow up I will go there.' (...)'

J. Conrad, Heart of Darkness

I have always wished for such blank spaces. Unfortunately, today, in the 21st century, there are none. What's more, you can view any corner of Earth from above without turning away from your screen. Kind of frightening, actually. The nearest unknown lands, i.e. other planets, are out of reach and that's not going to change within a couple of decades or a few centuries - is it 50 or 200 years, that's way too long for me, I'm afraid. So what's left?

When sitting in the library, studying for my archaeology classes, I was enlightened, you might say. I found it boring to delve into the history of, let's say, bronze age's cultures. I'm really into digging up bones, playing with geophysics and other means of prospection, but the cultures themselves seemed not that interesting. I'm so glad I was wrong.

What we are doing, is nothing but filling out these blank spaces on the maps - the only difference being the maps are not of today's world, but of the world that used to be. Pointless? Quite the contrary: it's even better I'd say, for you can always find something new even in a place that someone has already visited. And it is everywhere: just outside the door, amidst the Greek ruins, beneath the sands of Egypt, underwater, everywhere.

Not to mention the 'excavations' in libraries - the students of law, social studies, physics etc. are just learning something that someone else has written, sometimes they might come up with something new (especially physicists, if anyone). At the same time, archaeologists are searching for some clues, combining them and secretly planning on checking their theories in the field. There is no way to read something that is two thousand years old (Roman law, for example) and take it as granted; we have to read, analyse and verify, thus filling yet another blank space.

Sure, I am glorifying the archaeology. Of course, I do understand someone might be as enthusiastic about their studies, it's just that I have always had some idea of what scientific research might look like, what does it mean to discover. And still, the archaeology seems to be so much more than I have ever hoped for.

And gave me lots of maps with broad blank spaces.