Kosovo fieldwork: Museum of Kosovo; Gracanica Monastery

Kosova/Kosovo fieldwork notes extracts

At 1.35pm on the 13th of July 2005, I bemoaned the fact that there was: "no water - either hot or cold - again." Then, I explained that alongside other problems, it was particularly frustrating because "I should be going around the Museum of Kosovo with archaeologists right now".

As it is, having been accidentally locked out by my hosts - [I] definitely need my own place - I spent the night out of the drizzle and chill wind in an internet cafe - the only place it's possible to spend a noticeable sum of money - and then only over hours.

Wonderfully, I have now been accidentally not-locked-in by my hosts, as they have gone out, taking the keys with them, but not locking the door! I have to wait until they return to leave myself. The network's busy, so I can't even contact them to apologise for not having rung (or turned up unannounced - again) before; as I can't leave the house either, I can't get to an internet cafe to e-mail them an apology!

I was planning to go to Gracanica Monastery, but now I have to decide between that and going to the museum - and I ought to contact some other archaeologists. I am, at least, making contacts. I ought to have gone to Kukri/Phoenix before.

On my first visit yesterday, I had a good laugh with some firefighters who're... working towards and establishing multiethnic fire crews and cross-ethnic firefighting, so, unlike at present, where in Mostar, 'there's a fire on one side of the river, but instead of crossing the bridge and putting it out, this fire crew's just standing on the other side of the river watching and laughing at it', the fires'll actually get put out.

Those firefighters are going to put me in contact with the head of the KPC - Kosovo Protection Corps - the old KLA [Kosovo Liberation Army]! I can see what he thinks of my project and its aims; if I can't get his support, I can't imagine I can do it.

In the end, they didn't put me in contact with him, but it was sufficiently impressed upon me, in some friendly and some unfriendly moments, which will be detailed later, that indeed I couldn't do my research in Kosovo.

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