{"id":5261,"date":"2014-08-27T11:12:48","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T18:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/wilkinson\/2014\/08\/27\/my-work-at-ancient-castulo-continued\/"},"modified":"2014-08-27T11:12:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T18:12:48","slug":"my-work-at-ancient-castulo-continued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/wilkinson\/2014\/08\/27\/my-work-at-ancient-castulo-continued\/","title":{"rendered":"My Work at Ancient C\u00e1stulo … Continued"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this post, I thought it would be nice to discuss some of the special experiences I’ve had since arriving in Spain. They mostly connect in clear ways to my archaeological research or teaching in the art department, but occasionally they just happened to be unusual or extraordinary…<\/em>
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Plane flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n


\nEarly in my time here, FORVM MMX site director Paco Arias mentioned the possibility of taking a flight over the site in a single-engine plane. A group of us drove on a Saturday morning to the Aeroclub Jaén, about 10 miles away, where amateur pilots keep their planes and can take off from a tiny strip in the middle of wheat fields and olive orchards. I took the first ride after Paco (who had done this before) and the pilot made me “take off” (I am sure that I was not actually in real control of the plane, but who knows?). He asked where I wanted to go, and we set off to the northeast towards Cástulo, following the route of the Guadalquivir and Guadalimar Rivers. This was a terrific way to learn the landscape better, with its rolling hills and olive groves (the province of Jaén produces more olive oil than anywhere else in the world). It was particularly useful to see from a different perspective how Cástulo’s plateau rises up over the river and plain below, and how this position allowed the city to control the surrounding region.
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