Half way through the season, we present our site plan for those of you following our work.
We have halted the work on the east room of the House of Tyche. More to follow in 2013.
But work will continue for the next two weeks on the Beta Building, especially in squares DI39 and DJ40
With the conclusion of the second week, we say “farewell” to the Canadian contingent as we welcome returning volunteers.
With the second week, portions of the Beta Building are coming into focus. The southeast portion of the building is an enclosed courtyard with a simple staircase of limestone.
The paved courtyard proceeds north from the staircase. Sitting on the courtyard were two basalt bowls and two grinding stones of varying design.
To the north of the paved courtyard is a room with a packed earth floor.
Probes in the northerly room revealed an early floor at the base of three courses of an earlier floor.
Part of our work in week 2 involved repair to the Alpha Building, the northwest corner of which collapsed. To date we have reset the foundation course and the first major course of stones.
Week two saw the end of the work on the east room of the House of Tyche. Mysteries remain in the northern part of the room, to be revealed in a future season.
After two weeks in the heat, we ended the day with popsicles in the field. Delicious!
While uncovering the southern section of the east room of the House of Tyche, excavators retrieved fragments of an ancient fresco decorating the room. The fragments were no longer attached to the walls of the room, but a reconstruction of a portion of the fresco is possible.
Dr. Stephen Chambers was the primary excavator involved.
We are currently looking for similar Byzantine frescoes from other sites.
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.
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.
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.
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.
During the first week, the team was at its largest size, so we concluded the week with a picture of the team.
