Update for Thursday, July 20, 2017

We had a very successful day at the dig today, with some very interesting finds. In addition, we had quite a few visitors, including Ami Mazar, David Ussishkin, Lily Singer-Avitz, and Assaf and Sabine Kleiman.

This evening we will be having the end of the 3rd week party – and a lot of the team will be leaving (we will “only” be 75 next week…). So we will have an opportunity to thank all of those that are leaving for all their hard and dedicated work!

Area A: Louise’s team is deep in the Iron I in both squares, and a lot of Philistine pottery is coming out.

Area D: Various elements in the gate area are being exposed and are more and more impressive. A lot of Iron I vessels are coming up, including from very nice Philistine 1 and 2 vessel types.

Area E: A very nice zoormorphic figurine (a sheep according to Haskel) was found in today, right next to where the bullae were found yesterday! In addition, an impressive floor with a large amount of phytoliths was excavated. And, when taking down a balk, a circular installation, possibly a silo, was discovered.

Area F: Jeff’s team is excavating in a lot of periods, but perhaps what is most exciting is the possible wall from the EB, built up against the inside of the EB city wall.

Area J: The city wall is more than 3 meters thick! Looks like we can say that we have found the EB wall in this area!

Area K: Various finds, floors and installations, but the nicest find for the day, without a doubt was a nice scarab (see picture below).

Area K2: Final straightening and cleaning in the area, as Brent is leaving tomorrow…

And here are some pictures: