Hello Everyone!  The high was 25 F today!  Prague is beautiful, but I am not built for winters here!  Dr Novotny has been awesome, however, I feel I have overstayed my welcome.  Unfortunately, things have not been going well on the publishing of the Far Forest Scrolls via traditional means.  I am looking into making arrangements to head home to S. Cal.  I am looking forward to sunshine and palm trees.  It is supposed to snow this weekend.  
        I have been working on the website for Far Forest Scrolls and it is coming together nicely.  Hopefully, I will finish it up soon.  The scrolls have been taken the Národní muzeum, or National Museum here in Prague.  The museum is awesome!  The scrolls are in the Historical Section of this amazing museum.  It reminds me of the White House, but with really cool architecture.  It is incredibly ornate and unbelievably cool.

For an update: Matus has helped us get some more proposals out there for publishing this awesome story.  We have started working on the website.  It is slow going!  If you want to check out the early version go to:
http://farforestscrolls.com/
One of the biggest hang ups is trying to get the illustrations scanned without hurting the ancient scrolls.  We are working on it.
  Also, at Matus' suggestion, we put up an early Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Far-Forest-Scrolls/538154456208414?fref=ts

Last night, I had a go at getting to the scrolls that were in the three chests when Professor Weber went into the pub.  I had a run in with one of the two remaining guards.  I am convinced Dr Weber has totally lost it.  I am so worried and not sure what to do.  
A member from the British Archeological Society came by today to talk with Dr. Weber.  He came with a constable.  They were supposed to take a tour of the two sites, but both suddenly disappeared?  I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw one of Weber's guards leave in the car they came in?  The implications of this are too horrible to think about.  I just emailed the West Mercia Constabulary about this.  I do not have access to a phone and am restricted to my tent-no further digging, and they won't let me near the scrolls or other finds.
      I fear if I don't get out of here soon I will end up suddenly disappearing like the poor souls from today.  I don't understand why their constable/coppers don't get in here.  I also can't figure out why the Council for British Archeology doesn't come in and protect their cultural heritage.  Weber obviously hasn't been following protocol from the beginning, which technically makes everything we have been doing a crime.
      I hear Dr Weber coming over, I know the guard did not get a good look at me last night, hopefully nothing will come of my attempt to get the scrolls.
I recorded myself trying to get the scrolls with Anne's old camera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M12CNTwsMj0&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1 

Hey everybody.  Tiff, I got a chance to peruse your website!  Looks good!  If anyone hasn't seen it, it is at http://tiffanyarcheology.blog.com/   I hate to think someone as smart as you is forced to wait tables to support you and Chloe.  Has to be hard to save tuition money like that.  Unfortunately, I am a nerd, not a fighter, otherwise your ex would be in trouble!

Anyway, this has to be quick.  Anne and I have been working almost nonstop-fourteen to sixteen hour days.  We did find out we apparently have some private funding source, but nothing more specific.  We have heaters and everything as well as new lights.  Haven't seen JJ or anyone else for awhile.  Dr. Weber is definitely acting totally bizarre.  He obviously thinks we are on to something big.  The temps were in the high 50's when we got here, now it is usually low 50's.  Today's high is only supposed to be in the forties?  What is funny is that the weather here is remarkably steady, like yesterday, the high and the low are both the same!  So no freezing nights yet.  
p.s. I saw Chloe's pics on facebook, she looks great!  Need to go, Hunter. 

                The digging has been going great.  In fact we have gotten into some really amazing finds.  We found some awesome pottery, a few are intact, and even a few weapons.  It smells of something bigger coming.  The coolest thing we found was an old map that mentioned something important being buried about a km away.  So, we are adding a second dig site over in a place called the Far Forest in Worcestershire.
                This new site is mentioned quite specifically in this ancient map (it is well over 1k years old).  The site is very remote and I thought, great this is going to take a year or two!  Not!
                 When Anne, JJ and I went over there we found out it has already been cleared and set up?  It is near Dowles Brook and is quite a raw area, so who did the grid and digging so far?  Not sure.  JJ, who has been here the longest said that he believes several teams of doctoral students and post-docs have already come and left, fired by the apparently mad as a hatter Dr. Weber.
 
              Another weird thing is a strange letter came to Professor Weber yesterday.  JJ thought it had something to do with him being fired from the U?  Dr Stoddard, the visiting prof lady, left in a huff as well.  I think she is from the University of Birmingham and I overheard that she has been asking Dr Weber about procedural questions?  Like maybe he hasn't been in doing things by the book here.
                Tiffany, or anyone have you heard anything about Dr Weber?  I know you aren't there anymore Tiffany (sorry, once I get done with my post-doc project and get a real job, I want to help out with tuition).  It makes us all wonder where in the heck all this funding is coming from?  Apparently not the U or a grant.  JJ is going to confront Dr Weber about it soon.  I was going to call you guys but it is eight hours difference and is tough to get access to the sat. phone. 
10/31/12   
                   Anne and I moved to this new site today.  The camp site is pretty good, nice and sheltered and we really think we found some of the landmarks mentioned in the map.  We stopped at a nice pub, the Plough Inn and had lunch.  Prof Weber told us to stock up as we wouldn't be leaving for awhile.  I guess he expects to find something good there-with as much prep work that has been done, if there is anything there, we will find it soon!
  On a side note, I have to give a shout out to my Giants!!!  On Sunday (28th) they won the World Series!!!! :)  Can't believe I missed it:(  Hopefully this doesn't mean the team will ask me to fly out of country if they make the world series again:)
 "Cheers" as they say here, Hunter

Camp, is well, camp!  The tents and sleeping bags are adequate.  We have a small kitchen tent and we do have wireless internet through T Mobile with a USB stick so I can do some updates.  Dr. Weber wouldn’t let me or Anne go to the dig site again today.  No, he didn't give an explanation.  He just seems really frazzled.  I was hoping to catch up with JJ and the gang.  We did get a chance to walk around a bit.  Anne took the picture below.  The weather here is really quite chilly, but not too bad.  The only good news is the Giants beat the Cards a couple of days ago 5-0 I heard!  This is our year!!!  Well, I hope.

Well, after a lot of resting and a bit of “kip” or sleep, we have arrived!  We took a car (with all of our stuff in the “boot” aka trunk)!    It has been quite fascinating learning about the similarities and differences in our “common” language!  

Just getting to the bathroom can be interesting.  When going to the toilet you: go to the loo, or "to spend a penny," or go “off for a Jimmy,” or head for the "khazi/kazi"?  I might be off on the spelling of those, not sure!  I don't really understand most of them.

Anyway, when the car to take us to the dig site arrived Professor Weber was upset with the driver for being late.  The driver, who looked rather tough said, “Don’t get shirty with me!”  I guess it means don’t get mad? :)  It was kind of funny.  Although, Dr Weber didn’t seem to think so, he is really stressed out.

We ended up taking the M40 or motorway 40 out of London towards Birmingham.  It was nice, three lanes (of course driving on the left side of the road).  I guess we took it instead of the M1 because the 40 runs south of Birmingham.  I was constantly confused about their junctions and some “A” roads, but I was trying to enjoy the view.  We drove close to Oxford, but Dr Weber wouldn’t let us stop.  Eventually we hit M42 for a bit before ending up on A446 or A448? and then A456.  This might not be interesting to you, but I find it fascinating!

We stopped for lunch at the Waggon & Horses in Bewdley (I think we were in Bewdley, but someone else said we were in Halesowen town?).  It was soooo cool!  I had a Waggons Ploughman’s Melt which has shropshire blue (a cheese), cheddar, ham and onions and some sort of mustard sauce (there was something else, but I forget.  Of course no “toasties” aka sandwich, at a pub would be complete without a beer titled “The Rat Dirty Rat!”  Another post-doc, Anne, and I ate our lunch together inside.  Dr W took his outside and was ranting on the phone outside the pub?  See picture below!

I have no idea what roads we were on after that, but we ended up at a small farm house.  I know we passed Horsepool Coppice.  Coppice is apparently a wooded area that was cut down at some point?  Not 100% sure.

We are going to hike to the dig site through Longdon Wood.  The rest of the team should be there and I can’t wait to get started.  Dr W finally clued us in a little bit today.  From the pot sherd they found it appears we will be excavating an old Roman Camp!!!  I thought it probably would be, but it is nice to get the details.  From the details he gave with the rectangular with rounded edges shape, I am guessing it is from the first century.  More later!