At the end of week three, the destruction of the earthquake that destroyed our building is even more apparent. The middle section of our window wall seems to be blown apart.

However, at the bottom of the fill a column appears in the plaster floor. It is the first hint indicating how the area was roofed (and explains a number of broken pieces in the fill that may have come from simple arch).

You can see the column appearing next to the upright of the frame for our shade. By the way, we also found an olive pit near the column.  We will sift for more when we go back to work on Sunday.

At the end of week 3 . . .

DQ40 on 6 Aug
by Dr. Mark Schuler
on Sketchfab

It has been very hot on the mountain this week.  Three times we had to shorten our work day to avoid dangerous conditions. And after a day in the heat, a shower doesn’t seem enough.  Just ask Zach and Dr. Schuler.

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…