S9 — Week 1, Day 3: Another Productive Day

Another productive day in spite of the hot temperatures (only 99° today). We were joined this morning by our team of local workers. So, we are now about 30 in all. The two teams of volunteers continued in their squares. One team continued to clear the remnants of Byzantine construction east of the basilica (likely a basin to supply the nearby Byzantine bathhouse), while the other team worked within the church penetrating slowly through the floor. The hope is that we will be able to pick up the pace and reach Roman period walls below. In a new development, we were able to witness something that those of us who have dug at el Araj for years have waited hopefully for. A tractor arrived and spent the morning clearing the area in front of the Ottoman house (Ehud's front lawn). This is the area where the electromagnetic scan indicated that there was a large structure underground. The tractor was able to remove about a meter's depth of soil over a large area. If this had been attempted by hand, it would have taken a month of manual labor. The soil removed lacked any evidence of pottery and was probably the result of silting. At the end of the morning the tractor finally reached the level where a wall was identified. The current thought is that the wall is part of the atrium of the basilica. Although the wall and atrium are not our current interest, knowing where it is allows us to excavate outside of the church in our search for first century (Roman) walls and structures. Two more days of excavation this week with considerable greater hope than when we began the week.

Excavator working in front of Ottoman Period home