Hi everyone! After a rather lengthy hiatus I'm back. The end of the season came and went in a flash. Staff week was, as always, a heady mixture of stress, relief, giddiness, shenanigans and, dare I say it, productivity. The fun and excitement included final photos, all of the grids looked spectacular for which our hard working volunteers deserve heaps of praise, the prize find in Grid 38 was removed safely and the Pottery Compound never looked better. Of course, there is always more work to be done and those of us crazy enough (put me at the top of the list) have already turned our thoughts to next season and what awaits.
Just a brief comment today starting with a big thank you to the volunteers and staff alike who joined us in the 2010 summer season which was a great success. I would like to thank the hardy souls who toiled away in Grid 47 meeting every challenge with enthusiasm and, perhaps, no small amount of insanity (kidding! mostly). Ryan, Robyn, Elise and Mark were fabulous supervising their squares and a real pleasure to work with (I expect to see all of you next year!). And our volunteers who went above and beyond what I could have hoped for: Alter (who came back for his third season in 47), John Charles, Travis, Krista, Mr. Goble (thanks for putting up with us), Ryan Goble (who made it through another season working for me), Amy (season number two and still going strong), Aaron, John, Emily, Wynn (season number two and didn't lose any of his enthusiasm), Heather, Christopher and last but definitely not least my nephew Bennet who managed to put up with his aunt the whole summer. They worked tirelessly the whole season which culminated in four excruciating days of cleaning with no shade cloths after the first day. And after those four days of cleaning the grid looked fabulous. I really hated to tromp all over the place when the photos were done but I did!
The other grids also looked great too (you should have seen the supervisors racing with brushes in hand trying to keep one step ahead of the photographer) and be sure to keep an eye out for the field report which will be posted when all the bits and pieces are gathered. Some final photos may make an appearance there.
So, next up ASOR to which I know a great number of Ashkelon people will be making their way. Atlanta anyone?
Now, I believe I have a long languishing "What? Where? When?" to answer or in this case a "Who?"
Unless I am mistaken the answer is Lady Hester Stanhope who is most well known, perhaps erroneously, for smashing a larger than life statue to get at the treasure inside during her excavation of Ashkelon in the early 1800s. We aren't really sure where she excavated and, between you and me, aren't really sure of exactly what she found but she did dig in Ashkelon and plenty of people have plenty of things to say about her.
Time for a new one. Quite famous in its own right, the object in this "What? Where? When?" is proving to be even more interesting than previously realized.