Today's guest post comes from Taylor.
Collecting a flotation sample
As a student at Troy University, I enrolled in the Harvard Field School and
Education Program for Ashkelon Excavations due to my interest in Near
Eastern Archaeology. My experience has been beyond comparison
as I've fully participated in all site activities alongside fellow volunteers and
professional archaeological staff. In Grid 25, our overarching goal pertained to
determining the occupational sequence in the area. Correspondingly, we
endeavored to establish a correlation between the occupational sequence
and the Roman Cardo. Our excavation of Grid 25 was abandoned prematurely
when we exposed bedrock beneath early Islamic architecture (9th-10th
century Abassid) Our team then relocated 20 meters south of the Odeon to
Grid 47. Our objective in Grid 47 was to establish the orientation of the Roman
urban core of the city. Investigation of the expansion of the city during the
Roman Period suggests that the exposed architecture in Grid 47 is closely
aligned to the Persian-Hellenistic Period as can be seen on the South Tell.
This contrasts the shift in orientation demonstrated in the Odeon. I look
forward to preparing for advanced studies in archaeology, knowing that I've
had the most extensive field experience and access to qualified professors
and archaeologists who've guided me as we've attended to our research
goals.
Cleaning in preparation for excavation in Grid 47