Tectosages and the Mediterranean

Leaving

Toward the entrance of Port Vendres harbor

I have been translating, really carefully translating, a history of Carcassonne.  It has not been the speediest of processes,  but I am trying to be faithful and correct.  I have managed to work my way through pre-history and am now entering the period of Roman occupation and development of Carcaso... 

If only there were photos of Tectosages!!

Historical photos under glass on the light poles

I am learning so much in this process.  Obviously I am expanding my French skills, both in vocabulary and grammar.  The French still use complex sentences and I am appalled at how simplistic my reading material must have become, as I am having a bit of a slog with sentences with multiple clauses before the verb even appears.  Shame on me!  But I am getting back into the swing of things.  So, I am learning new vocabulary, much of which deals with archaeological terminology.  

Stone memorial to French WWII fliers

Leaving the harbor

Guiding light--modern days

More than that, I am learning more about history than I ever knew.  I stop and wonder how there can be so many gaps in my education and my knowledge base.  I came across the tribe of Volques Tectosages---a Celtic tribe that inhabited the Carcassonne region prior to the Romans coming in and putting things to right!!  Who ever heard of them?  Why haven't I ever heard of them.  I used to think tha, unlike science and modern history, ancient history and grammar textbooks did not need to be rewritten periodically.  Now I know how wrong I have been.  New discoveries are constantly revamping thinking about these ancient people.

Port of Call--Collioure  except for the modern sailboat, what era could it be?

Collioure by boat

I have spent hours wondering what these people looked like, how they dressed, what a day in a woman's life looked like, how they worked, what their homes were like.  Even though there is so much that I don't know (and what I don't know grows exponentially with every page of translation) I feel a connection to these ancients.  

Collioure chapel from the sea

Argeles new port is very different--more treess

I felt that same connection yesterday while I was out on the "open water" of the Mediterranean.  I thought of all the peoples who traveled these watery trade routes: Phoenicians, Etruscans, Romans and Greeks.  I was on the same waters as they traversed.  What did they look like?  What were their lives like?  Does the landscape look the same (minus the addition of modern buildings and power lines?)  Did they eat the same little fried fish that I tried at lunch?  Did they have aioli with their calamari as well?  

Spain is just there

I cannot imagine ever being bored, not while living here.  That is a blessing. There is so much to learn, so many gaps to fill.  And I am relishing every moment of it.  

Obelish in Port Vendres

Held up by sea turtles?