Season 7- Week 1, Day 3

El Araj Excavations Project Season 7 – Week 1 Day 3 - Today was a day of small finds but good progress in the various squares. Area D is finding lots of pottery and coins as they clear the Roman period houses in their squares. The team from Hong Kong is making steady headway lowering their squares next to the Roman bath. They are also finding coins, pottery and other artifacts from the Byzantine period. There is little doubt that Roman remains await them in the coming days. Those working along the northern wall of the basilica are finding primarily pottery from the Crusader period with some occasional Byzantine finds. The team excavating the apse was making significant process with Byzantine and Roman remains, but we encountered an obstacle. We reached the water table which means that deeper excavation will need to wait until October and our fall dig session. Nevertheless, we hope to dismantle portions of the higher apse floor tomorrow where no mosaics exist. Again, it was a good day today with small steps forward. In the late afternoon we gathered to watch Motti Aviam “read pottery,” which means he analyzes the finds to see if they are useful or not. Afterwards we enjoyed a fine lecture by Achia Kohn-Tavor on his excavation work at Chorazin.