Recovered from the barrage of buckets thrown at his person earlier in the week, Josh looks on as one of his volunteers works through some Iron Age dirt.
It was a work day today and the grids worked on a variety of projects.
In Grid 51 it was waffle breakfast day. The grid and its guests enjoyed waffles and coffee in the field. A rare and delightful treat to be sure.
In Grid 47, supervisors set the pace early as they worked to knock down the cement bedding of a mosaic floor. Stratified Roman period material -- some of the best on site -- was the other main focus and a lot of progress was made.
Volunteers throw sand in Sqaure 74
In Grid 38 today, they worked to backfill one of the previously excavated areas. The Israel Antiquities Authority requires expedition such as ours to lay down a layer of sterile sand, sometimes with modern coins included, before "backfilling" an excavation area. Backfilling occurs in areas where exavation has been completed and no more work will be done. The sand is put down so that in the future, if someone decides to come back to Ashkelon and excavate, they will know they are in an area that has already been excavated. Complicated, yes but the sand, with or without coins, is a great way to tell future archaeologists they should work somewhere else.
How many different ways can you enjoy waffles in the Grid? Today was a great day to find out. Kate Birney, grid supervisor of Grid 51, has long dreamed of having waffles in the field. One of the advantages of using computers in the field is that the excavation areas all have electricity. Grid 51 in fact uses a generator. They long ago mastered the art of coffee brewing in the field and this year with the help of Sam and Marie Kate's dream was realized.
So, how do you enjoy your waffles? Dr. Master, co-director of the excavation likes them plain.
Pascal likes them with nutella.
And what about Dr. Kate Birney? Stay tuned...