TREASURE HUNT

Last week I joined my daughter in an auditorium at Gonzaga University. We were there for a lecture by Kent Severson, an archaeologist who specializes in conserving ancient artifacts.

Severson showed slides of excavation sites in Turkey and Egypt. It was fascinating to look at photographs of beautiful columns, the bleached bones of ancient buildings, crumbling stone walls and rows of marble seats in a sunken arena. These tangible, sometimes fragile survivors of cities and lives from the past are starkly beautiful.

The work to preserve those sites is never-ending and requires constant vigilance.

Most of us, especially in this country, don’t have access to anything that old. Some of us restore old homes, bringing back to life 100 years or more of local history, or tinker around vintage cars, both excellent ways to forge a connection to the past.

Some of us live in newer houses, but we bring the past into our lives with architectural elements from older structures.

Architectural souvenirs like stained-glass windows, ornately carved doors, corbels, pieces of carved “gingerbread” porch trim, time-worn bricks and even building beams and old hardwood floors are all purchased or found, and used to accent homes and businesses.

They stand alone as art. Or they blend with the new and bring real substance to buildings that might lack that kind of gravitas.

Over the years I’ve picked up colorful old windows to hang in lieu of curtains in my own windows. I’ve used columns to divide rooms and sections of old fencing as garden art. I like the idea that they once belonged in homes much older than mine.

I enjoy learning about the work of archaeologists like Severson, imagining the work they do as they follow their passion for discovering and maintaining the world’s treasures. Something most of us will never get the chance to do.

But, when we look for ways to rescue old things, bits and pieces of buildings that have already seen a lifetime of use, and bring them into our own homes, we’re practicing a kind of conservation: the archaeology of home.