After a rigorous first week, the team took off Thursday afternoon for a two-day trip to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We visited the Mt. of Olives, Gethsemane, archaeological sites around the Herodian temple platform, the ancient water system of Jerusalem and Hezekiah’s tunnel, the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church of the Nativity (now a world heritage site), and the Herodion. The Holy Land is more than rocks and stone. It inspires wonder and challenges a faith to grow in understanding.
Sitting on the steps of the temple are President Ries, Jackie Wiebold, Laura Combrink, Erin Rudolph, and Dr. Schuler from Concordia Saint Paul.
The first week at Hippos in 2012 was a typical opening week . . . getting set up, organizing squares, removing the top layers of destruction fill, and yes, beginning to learn more about our site.
In the east room of the House of Tyche, a window wall separates two portions of the room. The wall is so called, because of the columns of stone that make windows possible between sections of a house, rather than solid walls.
A window wall
In the Beta Building by the end of the week we began to reach the floor, exposing some basalt pavers next to a column base.
A column base and a bit of the floor in the Beta Building.
In the northeast corner of the Beta Building, we began to exposed a floor of packed earth. But of greater interest is the north wall, the lower courses of which are constructed much more finely than the upper courses, indicating that the final building was built upon some walls of an earlier building.
The northeast interior corner of the Beta Building
During the first week, the team was at its largest size, so we concluded the week with a picture of the team.
The first day on a dig is a bit chaotic . . . getting tools, setting up screens, training, organizing squares, and clearing the “junk” from the surface. Our work as begun. Watch in the days ahead for our first discoveries, or follow the volunteer blogs at http://virtualdig.org.
As a reward for their hard work, Laura, Erin, and Jackie traveled with Dr. Schuler to ancient Bet Shean, Caesarea Maritima, and finally to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. Archaeology, the ocean, and the mystery of the incarnation . . . all in one day.
Laura, Jackie and Erin at Tel Bet Shean with the ruins of Byzantine Nyssa-Scythopolis behind them.
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