Registration Opens
Registration is now open for the 2013 season on the Northeast Insula Project. Click the “Dig Registration” link on the menu bar above. The “Volunteer Info” menu item has all the details.
Dr. Mark Schuler
About Dr. Mark Schuler
Posts by Dr. Mark Schuler:
Poster Presentation
On October 20th I had the opportunity to present a poster summarizing our 2012 excavation season on the Northeast Insula. I, along with 9 other Minnesota students from archaeological excavations all around the world, gathered to share what we had learned in the field with those who stopped by. It was great to be able to share my own experience, as well as learn about what is being discovered at other excavation sites.
Post-Excavation Progress
Over the past month, we have slowly but surely been making progress in the post-excavation work. The majority of the preliminary tasks have been completed, including daily logs, top plans, and most of the background research – I am still in the process of investigating ancient wall paintings. The past week or so, I have been working on a poster summarizing our 2012 season on the Northeast Insula for a poster presentation organized by the Archaeological Institute of America. I will be presenting the poster at the University of St. Thomas this Saturday, National Archaeology Day. This will be a great opportunity to share what I have learned from my experience in the field, and also to hear about the discoveries of other Minnesota students.
Coming updates
Hi, my name is Laura. I am a senior at Concordia University – St. Paul, currently working toward a degree in Archaeology of the Levant. I had the opportunity to excavate Hippos-Sussita -more specifically, the Northeast Insula- during the 2012 excavation season. Although the dig season ended in July, the work is far from complete. We are now in the process of sorting through thousands of pictures, logging small finds and ceramic analyses, and conducting research on some of the season’s findings. Over the next few months I will be using this blog to update you on the latest news from the Northeast Insula Project.
2013 Season Details
Excavation in the summer of 2013 begins on Sunday 30 June. The Concordia team will leave one week earlier (on Sunday 23 June) and arrive in Israel on 24 June. We will travel first to Jerusalem where we will stay for three nights on the Old City. We will tour Christian and archaeological sites there, visit the Israeli Museum (new home of the Tyche fresco), and travel both to Ein Kerem (home of John the Baptist) and Bethlehem.
On Thursday 27 June we will drive north to our base at Kibbutz En Gev. During the day on Friday, we will prepare the archaeological site for our season’s work and set up the lab. On Saturday 29 June, we will tour sacred and archaeological sites around the Sea of Galilee (Kursi, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Tabgha, and Chorazin).
After our first two weeks of digging, we will take an overnight trip on July 12 and 13 to the Dead Sea, visiting Qumran, Ein Gedi, and Masada. We return to the states on 26 July.
Our excavation work will begin in the Beta Building on the western side of the site. We will complete work on the assembly hall and the domestic space. During the second half of the season, I expect the team will be smaller, and we will carry out a number of small study projects (mapping two cisterns, opening the entrance to the House of Tyche near the church apse, finishing the eastern room begun last year, etc.)
Watch for more info.