500 years from now, an archaeologist accidentally stumbles on the ruins of your home, long buried underground. What will she learn about early-21st-century humans by going through (what remains of) your stuff?

Next to my house there is a building from the XIII Century and 800 years after is still standing, and in use, not buried in ruins. No need for the archeologists to dig in search of artifacts over there. What is preserved is at hand. What have been lost is gone forever. In the square around my house there are “newer” baroque buildings and palaces, now containing apartments and hotels, adapted to the modern life. There are a few old families who keep historic records and ancient paintings, furniture and valuable stuff. All the rest is gone.

I don’t know how many centuries will survive my home, but I’m sure my stuff will disappear soon. I have nothing of value for next generations to keep. So to find my stuff intact it would be necessary some kind of catastrofe as the one of Pompeii.

What would they find next to me? A computer, an iPhone, lots of books, a camera, watercolors, and a rosary. My loved ones would be out in a safe place.

Digging Up Your Digs.