No, this picture is not directly related to our excavation in Ashkelon. It is, however, indicative of the sights and sounds of summer back home as the last of us to return from Israel settle back into life stateside.
In no time at all, believe it or not, one of our staff members will be returning to Israel with the help of an NEH grant. Dr. Birney will be stationed at the Albright Institute as she continues to work on the publication of Hellenistic Ashkelon.
An additional team of staff members will return in October to complete the excavation of Grid 32, the salvage project which in just two weeks of excavation added greatly to our understanding of the post-Roman period city plan. I can't wait to see what two more weeks of work will reveal.
With luck, and cooperation from the involved parties, we'll update everyone on the progress of these two projects.
Finally, another picture from our study tour of the north. This is from the site of Gamla.
Staff member Mark Lester at the site of Gamla