With the start of the excavation work, Liang En and his team quickly realized that the task was more challenging than anticipated. The surface was clearly a hardened crust formed from layers of volcanic ash.
This crust looked like cement, making it impossible to dig with ordinary tools. Finding what lay beneath would require several times more effort.
The reason for this was the massive scale of the volcanic eruption years ago. The volcano had blown the central part of the island into the sky, leaving only an irregular ring around the edges.
The ring had two gaps where tons of water from the Aegean Sea had poured in after the eruption, filling the crater and likely causing a tsunami that affected the entire region.
According to locals, the volcano remains in a low-intensity active state. People who have ventured onto the small islands near the volcano reported feeling the heat through their shoes and a pervasive sulfuric stench.
Compared to those conditions, Liang En's excavation site was much better. There was no suffocating toxic gas or scorching ground.
Moreover, the volcanic ash might have preserved the ancient human settlement beneath it. Though it posed a challenge to the excavation, it ensured that most of the artifacts were likely well-preserved.
Indeed, volcanic eruptions can devastate, but they can also freeze human settlements in time. The most famous example of this is Pompeii in Italy.
Liang En was recommended as the site commander due to his previous discoveries, which earned him the respect of even the more experienced team members. Naturally, he was responsible for assigning excavation tasks.
Given the hard ground and high excavation costs, he used all his legendary points and a [Detection (N)] card to activate [Daedalus' Eye (SR)].
Instantly, everything within a 190-meter radius appeared before him, revealing underground structures and valuable artifacts.
The city was much smaller than expected. One use of the card covered almost the entire site, indicating it was a significant ancient city considering the production capabilities of that era.
Analyzing the light points and the distribution of building remnants, Liang En quickly mapped the underground ruins in his mind. He then assigned specific excavation areas to everyone based on this map.
The rationale for his assignments was simple: ancient city construction followed certain rules, and by analyzing the Minoan palace structures and the local terrain, he could deduce the layout of this city.
Of course, this explanation was a cover for the card's existence. No one questioned it since Liang En was indeed the most experienced among them.
Due to a shortage of manpower, they decided not to conduct a large-scale excavation. Instead, they focused on the three-story buildings around a triangular square in the city center.
Unlike other civilizations, the palaces of the Cretan civilization were built around a central square, forming a complex of buildings.
Liang En believed that the area they found was likely the residence of the rulers of ancient Thira.
Once assignments were made, the excavation began. They hoped to find valuable artifacts soon to request additional manpower from the Greek authorities.
According to their prior agreement, upon discovering valuable ruins, they were to immediately notify the Greek authorities, who would then send an archaeological team.
If the Greek authorities were short-staffed, they had the right to recommend foreign archaeological teams to join the excavation upon approval.
After all, their excavation project was under the banner of an international joint exploration, so bringing in foreign teams later would be logical.
A few minutes later, Liang En had assigned specific excavation spots. He chose a small-scale metal workshop as his target, as identified by his card.
In the era when this site thrived, such workshops were as crucial as today's large coal and steel conglomerates, promising many valuable historical artifacts.
Moreover, the frescoes discovered in Minoan ruins made Liang En realize that Cretan ruins in this area might contain various frescoes, a type of artifact he wasn't skilled at excavating or handling.
Thus, he chose the metal workshop, where there was less risk of encountering frescoes. Being in the core area, it likely held many important secrets.
However, extracting his target from the thick volcanic ash was no easy task. On the first day, they only managed to plan and identify specific excavation targets.
They also estimated the amount of soil they would need to excavate and planned to hire enough workers to help with the archaeological work.
Archaeological excavation is indeed complex, but not all tasks require specialists. Clearing the surface layer, for instance, is purely physical labor that ordinary workers can handle.
Hiring workers was no easy feat, especially in tourist areas where finding laborers for purely physical tasks required a hefty budget.
Although they had prepared sufficient funds, it was always best to save where possible. Thus, they planned to hire a precise number of workers based on actual needs.
"Let's hire 20 people first, so we can at least clear one excavation site," Liang En said to the Irish museum team leader on their way back.
"Given the area we need to dig, if we have too few people, it will take too long. Too many people would waste resources on small sites."
"You're right, 20 is a good number," the leader nodded. "With the core area identified through drilling samples, we should be able to clear a significant section within a week with enough manpower."
"That's why I settled on this number—" Liang En began to say, but Jeanne, sitting by the window, interrupted, pointing at her makeup mirror.
"Liang En, I think there's a car following us."
"What!" Liang En immediately focused on the vehicle behind them. After a few minutes of careful observation, he confirmed there was indeed a black car trailing them at a distance.
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