While excavating a probable entrance into the garden of the peristyle house, team members discovered a lintel in situ. Typically the destruction at a site like Hippos would have long ago deprived excavators of complete doorways. The entrance to the garden at Hippos is intact and being revealed.
In 2009, the Concordia Team discovered an inscription honoring Tarius Titianus, a governor of Syria Palestinae. On the third day of the 2011 season, a sharp-eyed volunteer, Concordia student Meghan O’Neill, spotted a stone with Greek writing on it in the area she was excavating. The find turned out to be another portion of the same inscription, providing the motive for so honoring Tarius Titianus … he was considered the “patron and builder of the fatherland.” Meghan’s discovery brings together the original inscription, an inscribed block found by the Haifa team in 2008, and this new piece to place Hippos well within the practice of Roman government and action in the Greek east which was honored by local citizens with such inscriptions.
Congratulations, Meghan!
In just a week, the Concordia Team will arrive in Israel, ready to begin its tenth season of work on the Northeast Insula Project. Our plan is for guest bloggers to post updates each day we are in the field. Volunteer blogs may be seen at http://virtualdig.org. The first public discussion of the season’s results will take place on KFUO AM radio on Thursday 28 July at 4:00pm CDT.
Our team for 2011 is now set. Twenty students and adult volunteers will accompany Dr. Schuler to Israel for the season. The first two weeks will be the busiest, with teams working on Building Complex Alpha and on the garden of the peristyle house. Info on the team and personal blogs will be linked to our Virtual Dig site. Regular updates from the field will be posted there and here. Follow us this summer!
In 2011, the Concordia team will work in two very different areas of the Northeast Insula. In the northeast corner, work will continue on Cardo 4 North and the entrance to the garden. In the southwest corner, Building Alpha and the plaza to its north will be the focus. Click here for more details.