S9: Week 1, Day 4 — Small Signs of Progress

Zachary Wong of HaDavar Yeshiva with a Ceramic Tubulus

We are beginning to see small signs of progress. Archaelogy is often a slow, tedious process that requires a lot of effort before you can begin to realize results. The summer heat continues (98° today), but sometimes there is a small breeze that brings some momentary relief. Still the unrelenting heat wears on you, and you must remember to drink and take occasional breaks. Those excavating to the east of the church are penetrating below the crusader walls and beginning to unearth evidence of Byzantine construction. One of the interesting finds was a tubuli (ceramic heat vent) for the nearby Byzantine bathhouse. In the square within the church we first cleared and articulated the stone base for the Byzanatine church floor. Then after photographing the floor, we dug down through it encountering large very stones that we removed. Tomorrow we expect to pick up the pace and hope to identify Roman walls. In the previous two seasons, probes under the church floor found Roman walls. There is no reason to think that this will be otherwise. Thus far our pottery finds range from Hellenistic to Roman to Byzantine. Tomorrow will be the last excavation day this week and we remain hopefull for positive results.