Introductory Lecture

General Archeology in the Imperial Valley
Professor James E. Deacon, Triun Archeological University
Introductory Lecture

Good morning class. I do hope everyone has settled in. If you haven't seen Nurse Marianne about your inoculations, I highly recommend you do so at your earliest convenience.  One experience of what we lovingly call the "swampwater purge" will make you wish you had.

If you are here at this university, in this class, I expect it is out of a need to learn the facts about the history of the Imperial Valley.  If, in fact, you are here in hopes of finding treasure and adventure, you will be disappointed.  We do not follow maps to buried treasures and X does not mark the spot.  Archeology is patient, methodical work.  It involves a lot of digging, cleaning, labeling, and organizing.

I can guarantee you will be utterly sick of the sight of potsherds in four years, and if you aren't, well, Dr. Danera will be happy to have you on his team.

You likely have noticed the military presence on campus.  From here, the border with Nystand is barely one hundred miles away.  The entirety of the Imperial Valley is considered disputed territory, including the city of Triun. The latest war over this area happened only a decade ago. I'm sure you remember hearing about it. The military is here to protect us, but we must also learn to protect ourselves, especially out in the field.  Sergeant John Benton teaches classes on gun use and self defense.  It is a sad but necessary fact of the work we do here.

It is not only Nystander guerrillas you need to worry about.  Ever since the fall of the old Imperial kingdom, the valley has been wild and dangerous.  First it was a wasteland, now a swampy marsh after that bloody fool Sir George d'Taneria dynamited the Waterwall that once dammed the river. As a result the valley is choked with swamps and the creatures that reside within, including wolves, alligators, swarms of ticks, and the most vicious species of poison ivy known to man.

That is why our work here is so important. Every day the vegetation grows thicker; every day the old cities sink deeper into the mud.  It is our duty as scholars to learn about the past and record it for posterity.  We've only scratched the surface of the wonders secreted away in the valley.

At the back of the room are the books required for this class.  Of these, O'Connell's Guide to Dig Protocol is the more important.  You will need to live and breathe this book as you study and eventually join archeologists at the digs.  Tomorrow I will begin the history of the Imperial kingdom, so read the first five chapters of Midorian History, Part One. Thank you, that is all for today.