By: Kale Dalton, SCDNR Archaeology Intern 

During my time as an intern with the SCDNR Archaeology team, I had many different experiences both out in the field and in the lab. When trying to choose one of them to write about, I had some trouble deciding on just one. How could I possibly pick a favorite experience to write about when every one of them is unique and had such an impact on me? Do I pick our trip to Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve and the discussion of sea-level rise? Do I pick our trip behind the scenes at the South Carolina State Museum? When going through these options, I realized that there was something each of these experiences had in common that I have not seen many people discuss. These experiences would not have been the same without the company of the people around me. When people think about archaeology, the first thing that comes to their minds usually is never the people they work with. They think of archaeologists digging up artifacts or putting things in museums, and while those are definitely a part of it, one of the most important things is often overlooked. The connections that you make throughout your life are important, even more so when it comes to the field you choose to pursue, and networking is such a fundamental part of archaeology.  

It is something that builds your standing in the field, and it gets you connected to other archaeologists who might have a speciality that you may need. Each of us came to this internship for different reasons, whether it be research or credit or curiosity. Despite our differences, we found things that we all related to. We formed close connections while riding in the van together on the way to different destinations.   

All of us interns learned together. We found new inspirations for our passions. We worked out in the field together, digging holes in the woods under bushes in the heat. We spent extra time, even into one of our lunches, to prepare ourselves for a disaster recovery scenairo. We have laughed together, created inside jokes that only we will understand. We all formed bonds that will continue on into our professional careers. This is what archaeology is about, building your own history for others to discover. This internship brought us all together. While this isn’t my first time completing this internship, experiencing all of this with this cohort felt like living it for the first time. It opened my eyes to more new ideas and experiences. The friends that I have made during this internship will last for a long time, and I know the people that I spent this internship with would support me through anything. These past six weeks have been some of the best I have ever had. These new experiences and feelings really prove that friendship is definitely magic.