We are entering the last few weeks of the "Because It's Cool!" I want to Excavate the Sewer Contest but there is still time to enter.
Here, you see a Grid 47 volunteer giving a VIP tour of the shaft that led down to the sewer. While built in the Roman period, the sewer continued to be used well into the Islamic period before silting up and going out of use.
The finds in the shaft were rich, as is usually the case in sewers, and included nearly complete ceramic vessels, beads, glass vessel fragments and ceramics imported from China.
What might we find if we go further inside? Maybe it will help us map the city center of Roman, Byzantine and Islamic period Ashkelon. Maybe it will reveal more about the diet and health of the city's residents. Maybe it will tell us more about trade and ceramic chronologies. All of that is possible and more if we can just find a safe way to excavate it.
There is still time to help us find a way. Enter today! In 1,000 words or less, tell me how you would do it, what equipment is necessary and the approximate cost for implementing your plan. I also want to know WHY you think we should do it, why we should excavate the sewer. One lucky winner will win fame and glory and a non-alcoholic beverage of your choice in the Dan Gardens Hotel. I can't think of anything better!
Remember, the deadline is March 31st!