tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69874724482318740052024-03-13T05:51:50.357-07:00Omrit 2008An unofficial blog of the archaeological excavation at Horbat Omrit, Israel, 17 May to 14 June 2008Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-9100111582995060092008-06-16T06:54:00.000-07:002008-06-16T08:15:42.791-07:00Day 31!Couldn't resist this last entry, both because I already miss the mad, random, improbable Omrit 2008 conglomeration and because d*** George made me 2 hours late taking off from Heathrow.<br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFZxQkE87BI/AAAAAAAAEUQ/MMFANejkBrQ/s1600-h/P1040129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFZxQkE87BI/AAAAAAAAEUQ/MMFANejkBrQ/s400/P1040129.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212478148104219666" /></a><br />Oh ya, when the US Customs Guy asked me if I had brought back any Israeli soil with me, I managed to say no with a straight face!Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-89655527457451832282008-06-14T20:02:00.001-07:002008-06-14T20:06:12.736-07:00Day 30 - Sunday morningCouldn't resist. Last dinner last night and sunrise at Ben Gurion Airport.<br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFSG67ht2vI/AAAAAAAAEUI/rp80kDZ9mcc/s1600-h/P1040101.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFSG67ht2vI/AAAAAAAAEUI/rp80kDZ9mcc/s400/P1040101.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211939015744150258" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFSGsQEUaII/AAAAAAAAEUA/HHvcMALpLTM/s1600-h/P1040117.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFSGsQEUaII/AAAAAAAAEUA/HHvcMALpLTM/s400/P1040117.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211938763559954562" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-22542295241315208662008-06-14T00:17:00.000-07:002008-06-14T00:41:24.915-07:00Day 29 - SaturdayThis will be my last post since sometime after midnight tonight our 2 van caravan will head off to the airport an hour away and this excellent adventure will come to an end. Though it will certainly be a good thing to return to 'Merica and home.<br /><br />I've taken the day off because the group is off to Masada and the Dead Sea and I've been there, done that. It's about 10:30am, I'm sitting in the hotel's breakfast area, drinking coffee and decompressing. It's also the only area to pick up wi-fi. Not a bad way to spend the day, especially with the nap I plan to take this afternoon.<br /><br />The hotel is on the Mount of Olives and has a great view. Here's a closeup of the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre>Church of the Holy Sepulchre</a> that I took early this morning from the hotel steps. The "site" of Jesus' burial was "discovered" by Constantine's mother in the 4th century CE. Who knows? She may have gotten it right...<br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFNzJ1gyn2I/AAAAAAAAETw/fCRkek8_6Dw/s1600-h/P1040100.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFNzJ1gyn2I/AAAAAAAAETw/fCRkek8_6Dw/s400/P1040100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211635806618427234" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFN0aunYW7I/AAAAAAAAET4/_eDehPbST8o/s1600-h/P1040098.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFN0aunYW7I/AAAAAAAAET4/_eDehPbST8o/s400/P1040098.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211637196336421810" /></a><br /><br />P.S. If you increase the zoom level level of your browser the pictures get bigger too!Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-91832700166056089362008-06-13T06:34:00.000-07:002008-06-13T06:56:51.999-07:00Day 28 - FridayLeft early for the 3 hour trip to Jerusalem - got a little lost, of course - but first stop was Yad Vashem: the Israeli Holocaust Memorial. A very modern museum with lots of large video, artifacts and information. The architecture is stark, concrete modern - hard to imagine it otherwise.<br /><br />The first exhibit I saw was ID cards and photos from the pockets of corpses in a mass grave in Estonia. Very affecting.<br /><br />It's post-ironic if not almost obscene that here we have a large museum devoted to the Nazi era. More info than anyone needs to know even if most of it is about their crimes. Too many swastikas are too many swastikas whatever the reason...<br /><br />Then off to <a href=http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293983-d308673-Reviews-The_7_Arches_Hotel-Jerusalem.html>our hotel</a> in East Jerusalem, the Arab section. We're skipping the tour of the Old City. John's friend, the Canadian Chargé d'Affaires for the West Bank is going to give us a talk tonight before dinner, and we are presently sitting in the lobby (for internet access) drinking a beer.<br /><br />P.S. Condoleezza Rice is in Jerusalem this weekend. She and GWB have bookended our visit.<br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFJ58qiV4JI/AAAAAAAAETo/qH_GYicl0y0/s1600-h/P1040093.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFJ58qiV4JI/AAAAAAAAETo/qH_GYicl0y0/s400/P1040093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211361801938526354" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-61194064160010061392008-06-12T08:23:00.000-07:002008-06-12T11:45:31.732-07:00Day 27The last day and a really early start: on the job at 4:45am! The pressure: to clean up our squares for the all important photographs.The target: eliminate all the dust from the rocks, remove all the grass that blew in overnight and get some good publishable photographs before the sun gets up too high and creates shadows. Well we did it - photos completed by soon after 7am. Then we worked on loading up the trucks to take all the equipment back to the kibbutz.<br /><br />A lazy day, then a drive out to Tel Hai College for a meeting with the staff and students of the centre for Peace and Democracy. This is an organization devoted to bringing together Jews and Arabs of the College with the aim of creating mutual understanding. Some twenty menbers of the Centre attended to meet with our contingent of around fifteen. To provide a base for discussion we all watched a movie entitled "The Women Next Door". This German film brought together a number of themes: Arab/Israeli relations, the place of women in Islam and finally the exploitation of women by men in general. Plenty of material for discussion! In the event I think most of the discussion focussed on Israeli/Arab relations while members of the Carthage group tried to understand some of the complexities of the situation. Altogether I felt we had a good meeting and during the excellent buffet dinner which followed people from both groups mixed freely and there was much spirited discussion. All in all a very worthwhile meeting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-78866208424600409452008-06-12T04:55:00.000-07:002008-06-12T05:07:49.890-07:00Day 27I wanted to include a map when I did the geography lesson but couldn't find a good one. So I took a picture of my own:<br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFEO_jNixSI/AAAAAAAAETY/NLdLOkJzsCQ/s1600-h/P1040079.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFEO_jNixSI/AAAAAAAAETY/NLdLOkJzsCQ/s400/P1040079.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210962728790967586" /></a><br />We are approximately 2 dots to the left of the numeral 2 in the upper right corner. And here's a must-be-photoshopped aerial shot of the kibbutz looking north, northwest. We are staying in the red-roofed buildings center right. The Golan is behind the picture taker and where the valley disappears in the upper right is Lebanon. The big building front-and-center is the air-conditioner factory that helps support the kibbutz. I just ate lunch for the last time in their cafeteria.<br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFEPz-iUsnI/AAAAAAAAETg/OjjvpqGX0NA/s1600-h/P1040077.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SFEPz-iUsnI/AAAAAAAAETg/OjjvpqGX0NA/s400/P1040077.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210963629479080562" /></a><br />The trip to the college last night was fascinating and John says he'll blog about that later.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-78086896431456260252008-06-11T01:52:00.001-07:002008-06-11T02:02:55.886-07:00Day 26Went out early for the last time today to get photographs before the sun cast too many shadows.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE-SyYijqeI/AAAAAAAAETI/vAnbsmDx1Ag/s1600-h/P1040067.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE-SyYijqeI/AAAAAAAAETI/vAnbsmDx1Ag/s400/P1040067.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210544688169462242" /></a><br /><br />Fortunately we came back early too. Tonight we're off to a local college for an Arab-Israeli Dialog and they're giving us a potluck supper.<br /><br />In Jerusalem one can look forward to the Elvis Express Cafe!<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE-Th5DK4cI/AAAAAAAAETQ/2sp9xgafN9U/s1600-h/P1030616.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE-Th5DK4cI/AAAAAAAAETQ/2sp9xgafN9U/s400/P1030616.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210545504350036418" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-85651943446359058362008-06-10T03:41:00.001-07:002008-06-11T01:52:07.408-07:00Day 25Well, we're closing things down now, the open squares are about ready to be photographed and equipment is being returned. Friday we go to Jerusalem so I hope I'll be able to add a few entries before I return on Sunday. The Ben Gurion airport does have free wi-fi so that should be the last entry as I savor a latte. <br /><br />Geographically we are in the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulah_Valley>Hula Valley</a>. It continues into Lebanon and becomes the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beqaa_Valley>Bekaa Valley</a> and provides access to Beruit. If we could. We have looking for the main Roman road that crosses our valley and which, after traveling east, then turns north to Damascus. <br /><br />The east side of our valley is the Golan Heights (otherwise known as Occupied Territory), which we are right up against. Hope the Syrians don't get to come back too close. <br /><br />The other side, a few miles away to the west, is the Naftali mountains which are part of Israel and form the border with Lebanon. Hezbollah made great sport, a few years ago, of lobbing rockets over. <br /><br />The valley itself is part of the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_Valley>Great Rift Valley</a> that extends down through the Dead Sea and the Red Sea into Africa. The Hula has had a number of earthquakes in historic times though we have been cautioned not to blame earthquakes for much of anything. Archaeologically, that is. <br /><br />Here we're looking west across the smog-filled valley: <br /><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE5litM1ygI/AAAAAAAAETA/No53InKrH_8/s1600-h/P1030651.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE5litM1ygI/AAAAAAAAETA/No53InKrH_8/s400/P1030651.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210213465837652482" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-20703402153413704512008-06-09T04:45:00.000-07:002008-06-09T06:12:13.125-07:00Day 24Things are starting to wind down a bit. No more digging down, just cleaning up. Cleaning our "loose", shaving the sides (the balk) and articulating structures. (Bill, see that dirt up against that wall? Clean it off. Yes sir.) Buff up the stones, draw a diagram and take a picture.<br /><br />At 4pm today, my little clock/thermometer read 104F in the shade. Fortunately we leave the site at 11:30 and our air conditioning is working fine!<br /><br />Udo is a kibbutz resident who BBQs our chicken wings on Saturday nights. We walked by his place on our tour of this gated community. There was a bit of "folk art", and the quotes are needed, around his place so John and I went back this afternoon to take a few pictures at his residence "Graceland". Here he is with a Syrian artillery shell:<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE0b1BQ7o_I/AAAAAAAAESw/4YFwNpDBzqg/s1600-h/P1040048.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE0b1BQ7o_I/AAAAAAAAESw/4YFwNpDBzqg/s400/P1040048.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209850941624001522" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE0brQ7O1RI/AAAAAAAAESo/Fwv0VIBPSKc/s1600-h/P1040043.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SE0brQ7O1RI/AAAAAAAAESo/Fwv0VIBPSKc/s400/P1040043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209850774029260050" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-68170557902208160582008-06-08T05:59:00.000-07:002008-06-08T06:10:34.039-07:00Day 23Today, an off-day, we were off to <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzippori>Sepphoris</a> - a large 1st century CE city in lower Galilee. It's only a few miles from Nazareth so Jesus undoubtedly knew it and probably worked there. The ruins are not as impressive as Beit Shean but it's impressive none the less. A great many fine mosaics have been found including the one below. This large mosaic from a 3rd century CE private house is now enclosed in its own modern building.<br /><br />The panels in the center depict a drinking contest between Hercules and Dionysus! You ain't seen nothing 'til you've seen Hercules puking (and losing).<br /><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEvZTXLCbdI/AAAAAAAAESg/tISsT8KptMs/s1600-h/P1030997.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEvZTXLCbdI/AAAAAAAAESg/tISsT8KptMs/s400/P1030997.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209496320645164498" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEvZCa21-lI/AAAAAAAAESY/5gc0v7azuSs/s1600-h/P1030994.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEvZCa21-lI/AAAAAAAAESY/5gc0v7azuSs/s400/P1030994.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209496029576428114" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-55607614378033399252008-06-07T02:21:00.000-07:002008-06-07T02:49:36.301-07:00Day 22A restful day today, no half-day of digging. We're doing pottery instead. We collect a lot of it and periodically an expert is supposed to appear to tell us for sure what we have. Unfortunately she just had a baby!<br /><br />So Gabi Mazor, who has helped excavate here (and who was the director at <a href=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0DB133FF93BA2575BC0A964958260>Beit Shean</a> - he gave us our tour!) is doing a prescreening. We sit around a table, each pottery bag gets dumped out and he does his magic. (There is a separate bag of pottery, which we've already cleaned, for each separate "locus" in each square.)<br /><br />He sorts the shards into different piles, looks it over, tell us what is, and then discards most of it. Sigh.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEpYKt_mRUI/AAAAAAAAESQ/eIyRZS3v9ZQ/s1600-h/P1030952.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEpYKt_mRUI/AAAAAAAAESQ/eIyRZS3v9ZQ/s400/P1030952.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209072860175680834" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-45952922322086121422008-06-06T23:07:00.000-07:002008-06-06T23:11:47.432-07:00Day 21What a slob I've been - no posts for over two weeks - apologies to all my fans!<br /><br />Life here has settled down to a steady routine which occupies most of my time: work at the site in the morning, lunch, then hide away from the heat in the afternoon (temperatures are regularly over 102F in the shade), drinks, then dinner followed generally by bed at around 9pm! We’ve also had a number of lectures after dinner several of these focussed on temple architecture and religious practices in Roman times. I found these extremely useful in understanding the work we are doing on site.<br /><br />Work at the site is hard but enjoyable, I've spent most of my time picking away at the dirt and levering out boulders - all this with the aim of revealing the original structures on the site <br /><br />Where I am working we think we have found part of a pavement of unknown date but likely post-Roman. In other places we’ve found an olive press, a wall with a decorated plaster finish and numerous other buildings of unknown function. The problem is that stones from many of the original Roman structures have been reused in Byzantine times creating a real jumble of partially collapsed structures. It takes real skill and imagination to work out what has gone on.<br /><br />Our current theory is that people would travel to the Temple and stay there for a day or two, requiring food and overnight accommodation for themselves and their animals, so there should be evidence of all this in the area.<br /><br />One of the most interesting projects we’ve started has been an attempt to survey on foot the whole area of the site looking for evidence of these other buildings. Apart from the difficulties arising from the undergrowth, it seems that many of the useful stones from early structures have been re-used much more recently to form what look like farm buildings, nevertheless there are still many cut pieces of limestone lying round likely where they fell centuries ago. It’s going to be really difficult but very worthwhile to sort out what’s going on. I think this is the start of a long term project.<br /><br />At weekends we’ve been on visits to other archaeological sites, but also during the week we’ve been to some nearby sites, one of the most impressive being at Kadesh up towards the Lebanese border. There we saw the remains of a vast administrative centre which had been in use since Phoenician times, perhaps acting to tax people travelling between Damascus and the coast. The building had some superb mosaic floors which had survived and walls built in a Persian style and designed to withstand earthquakes. Over the hillside were the remains of many other buildings and residences – hopefully the sort of complex remaining to be discovered at Omrit!<br /><br />It’s weekend today, so after some work on the pottery we’ve found, we’re off on visits both today and a full day visit tomorrow…..then it’s a few days of really intensive cleaning up at the site in preparation for photographs before we close up for the season.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-20605709770195872602008-06-05T04:20:00.000-07:002008-06-05T04:41:44.390-07:00Day 20(Drink lots of water.) Sure. (Take water breaks.) Always do. (Have enough water?) Leave off will you? Well actually, it's good advice. Because I had a dehydration episode today. So embarressing. A little nausea and inability to keep water down. All better now. Here's a picture from the Dome of the Rock to settle our stomachs.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEfOBoGXv4I/AAAAAAAAESI/dW1FQvdTIiU/s1600-h/P1030529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEfOBoGXv4I/AAAAAAAAESI/dW1FQvdTIiU/s400/P1030529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208358021416599426" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-46267299912368817172008-06-04T08:47:00.000-07:002008-06-05T04:42:30.299-07:00Day 19Here's a photo that gives you a little geography of the site. <br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEa6zoJlV6I/AAAAAAAAER4/0drgk0qoN_8/s1600-h/P1030862.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEa6zoJlV6I/AAAAAAAAER4/0drgk0qoN_8/s400/P1030862.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208055415214266274" /></a><br /><br />In the upper left, next to the "2nd breakfast" tree is the temple, or rather multiple temples. Down to where the tent is located ran the colonnaded way, with big pillars, that was the entrance. Down to where there is green is a slope to a dry creek bed, a wadi. Where I am standing is up the other side of the wadi. One assumes there was a small bridge across the wadi.<br /><br />Also it is assumed that I am standing where the main east-west road from the Mediterranean around to Damascus ran, it being perpendicular to the temple entrance road. There is a lot of digging going on trying to find that road. No definite success so far.<br /><br />Here's a reconstruction of the temple from the far side looking down towards the wadi. The main road would run parallel to, and near, the top of the picture.<br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEa8WxbJ6QI/AAAAAAAAESA/HAGBiaMdS5M/s1600-h/P1030866.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEa8WxbJ6QI/AAAAAAAAESA/HAGBiaMdS5M/s400/P1030866.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208057118510934274" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-27776089613909789312008-06-03T02:31:00.000-07:002008-06-03T02:34:00.159-07:00Day 18Where I'm not: Blue Ridge, Georgia<br /><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEUP1KHkzII/AAAAAAAAERw/xlb5fwONWtw/s1600-h/IMG_0026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEUP1KHkzII/AAAAAAAAERw/xlb5fwONWtw/s400/IMG_0026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207585950047456386" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEUPtyhir-I/AAAAAAAAERo/MAYGNNPLx8k/s1600-h/IMG_0024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEUPtyhir-I/AAAAAAAAERo/MAYGNNPLx8k/s400/IMG_0024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207585823454834658" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-67041805564361242732008-06-02T10:57:00.000-07:002008-06-04T08:47:20.836-07:00Day 17Here's a picture of the "Antony and Cleopatra" shrine ("Temple 0"). Note the foundation walls of Temple 1 that was built entirely over it. The floor of that temple, built by Herod for Augustus, was at the top of those walls. Sure looks like deliberate obliviation to me. (I got the date of Temple 2 wrong yesterday, it was built at the end of the 1st century CE, about 100 years after this shrine and 80 years after Herod's temple.)<br /><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQ2og3_URI/AAAAAAAAERg/0rfa-otn8SY/s1600-h/P1030942.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQ2og3_URI/AAAAAAAAERg/0rfa-otn8SY/s400/P1030942.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207347138794574098" /></a><br /><br />Went out on a "surface survey" this afternoon organized by one of the professional archaeologists. A group of people organized in straight line walk over an area, sometimes over a period of weeks, and look for evidence of human activity. We were fairly disorganized but it was still an interesting activity.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQ2cw3_UQI/AAAAAAAAERY/gQTLiPfMhgw/s1600-h/P1030934.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQ2cw3_UQI/AAAAAAAAERY/gQTLiPfMhgw/s400/P1030934.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207346936931111170" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-23293492488038984262008-06-02T09:13:00.000-07:002008-06-02T09:21:12.793-07:00Day 17 - Official ReportWeek two of the 2008 excavations at Omrit saw the completion of work in two areas, and the move across the valley to the north to open up two new squares. We believe that these will turn up evidence of structures that lined the road north of the temple that ran between the Hula Valley and Damascus. <br /><br />The completion of Amy Fisher’s square, yielded a massive foundation for the colonnade leading from the valley to the temple area. We also tore down balks from excavations in the area in 1999 and 2000, and opened up the end of the colonnaded way. It gives the appearance of a stoa with shops or offices leading up to the temple. The colonnade architecture was ionic in order. The team set up one of the capitals and found it to be beautifully preserved on one side. In fact, we used the image of an ionic column as the design for this year’s t-shirt. <br /><br />In Willis Jensen’s square, the team uncovered a clear view of the bedding for the road that ran along the colonnaded way. Below the road bed, the team isolated the remains of several terra cotta pipe lines that served as either drainage or water supply for the temple complex (see attached). <br /><br />Some pipelines are visible in the valley north of the colonnaded way, and we are now moving Amy’s group to a square just off of the valley where we might pick up the continuation of the road bed and the pipelines. This square might also provide insight on the bridge construction that must have joined the colonnaded way with the road to the north. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Nannette Goldman has started a square across the valley, and is starting to pick up some traces of architecture that might have lined the road. Further to the east, Willis Jensen’s group is starting work on what appears to be an industrial complex of some sort, featuring a fairly complex system of holding tanks or vats. <br /><br />All of the volunteers have been working very hard, and this has allowed us to investigate these additional areas. Their pictures attached show the satisfaction of completing work in a square. <br /><br />We are also anticipating interesting results from a pedestrian survey that Field Supervisor Greg Stoehr is planning to run with some of the volunteers during the afternoons this coming week. This process involves a careful examination of a 30 meter swath of the site running east from the altar in front of the temple. The volunteers make note of any features or architectural remains observed while they are walking, and these are recorded for later analysis. This survey will be useful in determining the extent of the site, and planning future areas of excavation. <br /><br />Dan Schowalter<br /><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQc0g3_UPI/AAAAAAAAERQ/ht2sUcNbXCU/s1600-h/o3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQc0g3_UPI/AAAAAAAAERQ/ht2sUcNbXCU/s400/o3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207318757650682098" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQctw3_UOI/AAAAAAAAERI/OeqFLEcp5HM/s1600-h/o2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQctw3_UOI/AAAAAAAAERI/OeqFLEcp5HM/s400/o2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207318641686565090" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQccw3_UNI/AAAAAAAAERA/lccjT9eFr3w/s1600-h/o1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SEQccw3_UNI/AAAAAAAAERA/lccjT9eFr3w/s400/o1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207318349628788946" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-50011429410334420782008-06-01T10:25:00.000-07:002008-06-01T10:36:44.063-07:00Day 16Well, I've missed a couple of days - combination of fatigue and keeping busy. I'll try not to bug out.<br /><br />So let's talk about what we're digging: At the lowest level, sitting on the ground is a small "shrine". Perhaps a cave underneath that made the area sacred in some way. This shrine, as our art historian said, could have been built by John and I in a year. Small stones on a small scale. Nevertheless impressive with a small wall surrounding its courtyard and lots of plaster and fresco.<br /><br />It was built around 40BCE. Why? To whom? Unknown. I suspect Antony and Cleopatra had something to do with it. He was helping her expand her influence into this area and together they were the top dogs.<br /><br />Another reason to think they had something to do with them was that it was totally destroyed about 20 BCE by Herod to honor his patron Augustus. The platform of his temple (the podium) was elevated and the foundation walls completely covered the shrine, many of whose stones were robbed for the new building. I'll show you a picture soon.<br /><br />He built a fancy temple with columns on the podium and it lasted almost 200 years. In the late 2nd century CE it was rebuilt and expanded. Hard to tell how long that one lasted until its stones were reused and the earth swallowed it up. Though a small christian church was discovered close by. The picture is looking at the podium level. The black fill was used to expand the first podium and make it larger. <br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SELcKg3_ULI/AAAAAAAAEQw/m97Y1C9XjVA/s1600-h/P1030623.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SELcKg3_ULI/AAAAAAAAEQw/m97Y1C9XjVA/s400/P1030623.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206966192375287986" /></a><br /><br />We went to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bet_Shean">Beit Shean</a> today, the ancient Greco-Roman city of Scythopolis. When someone walked into this city, they knew who was in charge.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SELcZw3_UMI/AAAAAAAAEQ4/MY4zvcmk7mA/s1600-h/P1030884.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SELcZw3_UMI/AAAAAAAAEQ4/MY4zvcmk7mA/s400/P1030884.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206966454368293058" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-60786586907438806972008-05-29T05:40:00.000-07:002008-05-29T05:48:57.607-07:00Day 13It's starting to get a little warm these days. 87F at 3:30pm in the shade. Seems a lot warmer. No clouds and no rain since we've been here. Lots of lawn and plant irrigation at the kibbutz keeps everything green.<br /><br />Well, our old square needed cleaning up for its final photograph so I did a lot of that today. Our water pipe (incoming/outgoing?) looks neat. It's about 4 feet down.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SD6lqg3_UKI/AAAAAAAAEQo/iwKewZDooYw/s1600-h/P1030859.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SD6lqg3_UKI/AAAAAAAAEQo/iwKewZDooYw/s400/P1030859.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205780369084731554" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-42247803484846494152008-05-28T11:12:00.000-07:002008-05-28T11:24:28.246-07:00Day 12Things are moving dig-wise. The ceramic drain- or waterpipes were more apparent but difficult to follow. We did find 2 pipes extending out of the side of the hill into the wadi near our square. Neat. But the square is now closed.<br /><br />Our team is moving across the wadi, up the hill, to a site that has a plastered wall barely sticking out of the ground. The site has a great view of the temple site and of the valley. A new square means loads of work to get it started. Pictures to follow.<br /><br />We went on a tour of Golan battle sites with an Israeli veteran this afternoon. Picturesque hills with great views of valleys make great sites for <a href=http://wordsandwar.com/2007/06/09/valley-of-tears/>tank battles</a>, but bright sun and haze don't make for great pictures so I'll leave you with this one:<br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SD2g_g3_UJI/AAAAAAAAEQg/AFmAIf0PRLQ/s1600-h/P1030850.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SD2g_g3_UJI/AAAAAAAAEQg/AFmAIf0PRLQ/s400/P1030850.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205493757327134866" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-23465991908639168492008-05-27T10:19:00.000-07:002008-05-27T10:23:44.687-07:00Day 11Down we go - moved 5 tons of earth today (4 cubic meters) - found drain pipes. Looking for the road foundation. Will never find it.<br /><br />John and I have had to move to a new room (don't ask) so we had a housewarming party. 'Twas a great success.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDxDSQ3_UII/AAAAAAAAEQY/2lwdbHkWHgs/s1600-h/P1030825-1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDxDSQ3_UII/AAAAAAAAEQY/2lwdbHkWHgs/s400/P1030825-1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205109250379960450" /></a><br /><br />It's now 8:30pm local time and we're off to a lecture on ancient Roman religion.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-55738662917317084162008-05-26T07:33:00.000-07:002008-05-26T07:36:02.512-07:00Day 10 - Official ReportHello Friends of Omrit,<br /><br />The first week of the 2008 excavation at Omrit has progressed very nicely. We opened two squares near the entrance to the colonnaded way leading to the temple complex. Square supervisors Amy Fisher and Willis Jensen are working with a great group of volunteers and Omrit super-veteran Greg Stoehr is supervising the field. Our hope is to clarify the nature of the entryway, and the road leading to the temple. In addition, we want to determine if there was only one colonnade, or two. Once we have finished in these squares, we hope to move across the valley to the north in order to search for the roadway and any associated structures. <br /><br />While we are not digging in the area of the temple this season, we did do some preservation work in the area west of the early shrine before the volunteers arrived. In March of this year, a visitor to the site found a fragmentary Aramaic inscription in this area. The inscription is now being analyzed and appears to date from the 4th century B.C.E. This would make it by far the earliest artifact we have cataloged. It’s relationship to other activity on the site requires further analysis. We will keep you posted as information becomes available on this interesting piece.<br /><br />Our week ended with a bang, when another visitor to the site reported finding a Greek inscription in the valley north of where we are digging. On Saturday morning (5/24), our whole crew helped to remove this large stone and move it up the hillside, and secure it in the truck for transport to the storage shed. This is definitely the heaviest stone we have moved by hand at Omrit, and as you can see in the attached picture, we used ancient lifting technology to do so. We are grateful to Gavri from Kibbutz Kfar Szold who loaned us the 4 meter beam to make this move possible. <br /><br />Dan Schowalter<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDrKdw3_UHI/AAAAAAAAEQQ/BzUXfQIRajo/s1600-h/DSC00709R.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDrKdw3_UHI/AAAAAAAAEQQ/BzUXfQIRajo/s400/DSC00709R.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204694932064784498" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-39234727041623794362008-05-26T06:29:00.000-07:002008-05-26T06:32:09.699-07:00Day 10Not much happening today, our square gets deeper and deeper...<br /><br />So here's: Moon over Omrit<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDq7hw3_UGI/AAAAAAAAEQI/PSMACnS90ZU/s1600-h/P1030704.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDq7hw3_UGI/AAAAAAAAEQI/PSMACnS90ZU/s400/P1030704.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204678508109844578" /></a>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-92125717095890396622008-05-26T02:37:00.000-07:002008-05-27T04:06:58.907-07:00Day 9Caesarea Maritima was super. A harbour built almost from scratch over the course of 12 years by Herod the Great to honour Augustus.<br /><br />We looked first at the temple to Augustus but this is in far worse condition than óur'temple at Omrit, and in fact I wasn't able to sort out the stones of the original structure from those of the later Byzantine building.<br /><br />After the temple, we walked out along the breakwater to look back at the town. This gave a magnificent view across the the harbour of white buildings, dark green grass and palm trees all set off by the yellow sand of the hippodrome. Classic Mediterranean!<br /><br />Later, we walked along through the hippodrome trying to imagine what it must have been like in Roman times to sit up in the stands and watch the chariot races against a background of the sea and its cooling breezes. Almost adjoining the hippodrome is Herod's palace with its swimming pool set into the rocks of the shore. Fantastic place.<br /><br />After Caesarea, looked at the aqueduct which brought fresh water from the mountains into the town and then drove on to Haifa. This is a city which has expanded very much since the 60s when I was last there. we drove in past offices of Microsoft, Intel and other American hight tech organizations.<br /><br />At the University visited the Hecht Museum and look at a set of exhibits relating to the Jewish Rebelliuon and its suppression by the Romans. Impressive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987472448231874005.post-88196921515609586392008-05-25T08:48:00.000-07:002008-05-25T09:14:51.120-07:00Day 9Well, Saturday continued yesterday after I blogged. We went off to Banias where a spring gushes forth from the Mount Hermon range with one of the three major tributaries of the Jordan. I'll not burden you with the Grotto of Pan but just show you a river picture. Sort of like north Georgia, only lusher. <div><div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204343792718532658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDmLGw3_UDI/AAAAAAAAEPw/dEeARq8ydLA/s400/P1030762.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>Later last night we had BBQ cooked by one of kibbutzniks. Right in front of our room, in fact, and a good time was had by all.</div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204343938747420738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDmLPQ3_UEI/AAAAAAAAEP4/52BqySx-Vjs/s400/P1030771.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div><br /><p>Today we started with a trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarea_Maritima">Caesarea Maritima</a>, the seaport that Herod built on the Mediterranean as an entry port for his Roman friends. A beautiful place. Here's John with our buddy Paul and a crusader castle (and restaurant) in the background:</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204344243690098770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_UWcUef7QsnI/SDmLhA3_UFI/AAAAAAAAEQA/Waq7NjGjQhA/s400/P1030806.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>After this we went up to a museum at Haifa University. We were (very much) treated to a tour of an exhibit by its curator. The <a href=http://mushecht.haifa.ac.il/hecht/archeology/Exhibition_eng.aspx>exhibit</a> featured the Galilean aspects of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_revolt">Jewish Revolt</a> of 67-73CE. Tonight back to blog, eat and sleep.</p>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712620162032505414noreply@blogger.com2