2010
Let’s dance . . .
It was a stunning day for small finds as Brennan unearthed a hoard of finds outside the doorway of W1904. Brennan is shown here holding a metal pouring pot (tea anyone?)
Probably the most significant find was a dancing maenad carved in bone. In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus, the most significant members of the Thiasus, the retinue of Dionysus. Their name literally translates as “raving ones”. Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken intoxication.
Two flasks, a scarab in metal, a ring, and at least one large broken pot comprise the finds for the day . . . just from this spot.
Ask us sometime about the marble cornices, the dagger, the vats, . . .
Two-faced
In a fragment of a small glass flask (?), we see two faces staring at us. It is the Roman god Janus. Janus is the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings. His most prominent remnant in modern culture is his namesake, the month of January, which begins the new year. He is most often depicted as having two faces or heads, facing in opposite directions. These heads were rumored to look both into the future and the past.
Our Janus is somewhat hard to see in this photo. One face is looking to the left:
Here is a complete Janus head flask:
Here is a second example:
What is it?
In the corner NE of ZZ99 it sits. We can see it from the side, but most of it is in the baulk. It is a large above-ground plastered basin . . . some sort of water feature. But exactly what is uncertain. Ideas?
Hard at work
The Concordia Team is hard at work at Hippos of the Decapolis. Take a look at our excavation area: