When Darryl began to unearth this object from a collection of crushed pottery, we were excited that the item was essentially intact (and thus restorable). Initially, we thought it was the cover for a casserole.
But when we taped the pieces together and showed it to our ceramic expert, he identified it as a Byzantine funnel (like this Roman kitchen funnel).
We have one more hint about the usage of the space!
Oil lamps were part of the daily life of ancients. One lamp could give light to a whole room. Even more, could two.
While exposing the remains of the plaster floor on DQ41, David Kluth uncovered two oils lamps together in a crevice just to the right of the north doorway to the room.
When cleaned and identified, these lamps may be helpful in dating the space we are excavating. David is rightly pleased with his find; so are we…
After completing two weeks of work, Anna and Alex now leave us to take up their new positions as Directors of Christian Education in the Lutheran Church. Alex will serve in Wisconsin and Anna in Michigan. We will miss their energy and joy of discovery. Wish we could save some shards for them to wash 😉
