Beta Building

2013

2013 Season Details

Dr. Mark Schuler Beta Building, Hippos Excavations, House of Tyche, plans for season0 Comments September 24, 2012

Excavation in the summer of 2013 begins on Sunday 30 June. The Concordia team will leave one week earlier (on Sunday 23 June) and arrive in Israel on 24 June. We will travel first to Jerusalem where we will stay for three nights on the Old City. We will tour Christian and archaeological sites there, visit the Israeli Museum (new home of the Tyche fresco), and travel both to Ein Kerem (home of John the Baptist) and Bethlehem.

On Thursday 27 June we will drive north to our base at Kibbutz En Gev. During the day on Friday, we will prepare the archaeological site for our season’s work and set up the lab. On Saturday 29 June, we will tour sacred and archaeological sites around the Sea of Galilee (Kursi, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Tabgha, and Chorazin).

After our first two weeks of digging, we will take an overnight trip on July 12 and 13 to the Dead Sea, visiting Qumran, Ein Gedi, and Masada. We return to the states on 26 July.

Our excavation work will begin in the Beta Building on the western side of the site. We will complete work on the assembly hall and the domestic space. During the second half of the season, I expect the team will be smaller, and we will carry out a number of small study projects (mapping two cisterns, opening the entrance to the House of Tyche near the church apse, finishing the eastern room begun last year, etc.)

Watch for more info.

2012

Site Plan update

Dr. Mark Schuler Beta Building, Hippos Excavations, NIP0 Comments July 21, 2012

Below is the latest site plan for the Beta Building complex.

18Julyplan — Beta Building site plan as of 18 July

2012

Week 2

Dr. Mark Schuler baslts bowls, Beta Building, grinding stones, Hippos, House of Tyche0 Comments July 13, 2012

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.

stairs — Courtyard and staircase of Beta Building

The paved courtyard proceeds north from the staircase. Sitting on the courtyard were two basalt bowls and two grinding stones of varying design.

stone features — Stone bowls and grinding stones

To the north of the paved courtyard is a room with a packed earth floor.

north room — Northerly interior room of the Beta Building

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.

stone repair — Repair to the northeast corner of the Alpha Building

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!