S9 — Week 2, Day 4: Today is the Next to Last Day
- Bethsaida-Julias Staff
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
Today is the next to last day of this session. As is typical, the number of visitors to the site increases towards the end of the dig. We love seeing them come, but it is a bit disruptive to the archaeological process (at least for those of us down in the squares). We had a number of finds today, which is indicative that we are getting down to the interesting layers. In the area east of the church, they are digging in a mix of Roman and Byzantine layers. Our half-square within the church continues to deepen and grow more interesting. Our pottery is first century with marble tiles, mud bricks, and box flue tiles (tubuli), and even a small piece of fresco. Together with the mosaic tesserae that we uncovered last week, we have the hints of a Roman bathhouse nearby. Also of importance we found two pieces from a large stone jar. This find is very important because stone chalk vessels are a marker for Jewish inhabitants. For those familiar with the New Testament, recall John 2:6: "Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons." A horned shaped leg for a grinding vessel also came out of our half-square. Two bells and an amulet were also found in the three squares where the Russian workers are excavating. Let's see what we find on the last day of the dig session.
