Guest Post #3

Today's guest post comes from Matt.  Enjoy.

Cleaning the Snake Tower 

Hey there, Matt here! If you've been following the blog so far, I'm sure you have learned a lot about the different tools and archaeological methods used at Tel Ashkelon, and even about the lives of the archaeologists and volunteers themselves, some of whom are my own peers in the Harvard Summer School Program. I'm a rising junior at Boston College studying Linguistics and Economics. I became involved in this program because my Biblical Hebrew professor suggested I try out archaeology. Although I do not plan to work in the field of archaeology, this trip has been extremely informative. I have been able to situate my modest knowledge of the Ancient Near East in a historical and geographic context. For example, yesterday many of the volunteers here left on a field trip to two other archaeological sites in the Biblical Shephelah, otherwise known as the low lands. One of these sites was Azekah. This tell borders the Valley of Elah, which is mentioned in 1 Samuel 17 as the place where the Israelites met the Philistines in battle and presumably where David fought Goliath. This process has been extremely intriguing to me.

Archaeological finds are especially interesting to me because I mainly focus in texts in my linguistic studies. Therefore, since I have mainly learned about the Ancient Near East through texts, I had not previously had the experience of digging through ancient people's garbage to discover how they REALLY lived, not just how they said they lived. This has given me a different perspective on ancient life and on the nuances between idealized and realized life in both ancient and modern contexts.

I hope to continue finding out more about digging and Ashkelon as I work on the so-called “Snake Tower” in Grid 20. It has been an absolute privilege to work there, and I know that it will be an experience that will change my work ethic moving forwards. I can guarantee that I have never moved this many buckets (well, guffas) before in my life! As we discover more about the free-standing walls, the towers, and the newly uncovered walls, I hope to understand the relationship between people and architecture, and how those relationships span through different periods of occupation. This has been a more than thrilling experience so far and I can't wait for what comes next. I'll leave off with a quote that has reassured and motivated me throughout the dig: “The answers lie beneath.”

Week Three and Done

Well, it's time to say good-bye to the half-season volunteers who signed up for the first three weeks of our 2014 field season without having any idea what they were getting themselves into this summer.  Safe travels to everyone leaving later today.

Excavating a sunken jar

This weekend we will also welcome a new group of volunteers.  If the next three weeks are anything like the first three, it should be a great experience for everyone.

One last picture today courtesy of Melissa our dig photographer.

Week Three Almost Over

It's hard to believe we've almost reached the end of Week 3.  One more day for our first group of half-season volunteers and then they head off for their next summer adventure.

It was another busy day of digging.  Work did end a little early so that volunteers could go on a tell tour during which they had an opportunity to see all the areas currently under excavation.  Before the tour, however, there was lots of work to do.

In Grid 51 they continued dismantling walls. 

The walls are coming down

And really, after all that hard work, who wouldn't want to take a bow?

Taking a bow

Archaeobotany

Today we have a special guest post from our archaeobotanist Kathleen Forste.  Her post follows.

Hi there! I'm Kathleen, a member of the archaeobotany team, giving a brief report on flotation this season. We are processing the soil samples that each grid produces as they continue to reveal more and more about Ashkelon's occupants. 

What is flotation? In essence it is washing away the dirt in soil samples taken from specific archaeological contexts in order to recover carbonized botanical remains -- predominantly burned seeds and wood charcoal -- as well as smaller artifacts that might be overlooked during excavation -- fish bones and other small bones, bits of colored glass, small pieces of ceramic vessels, beads, etc. To process the samples we use a machine called a Flote-Tech, a fantastic piece of moveable equipment that pumps water from a holding tank into a flotation tank through a series of jets that help to wash away the dirt and separate the light fraction (the material that floats, like carbonized plant matter) and heavy fraction (the material that sinks, like ceramics and large bone). I am training a handful of our volunteers to use the Flote-Tech to continue the flotation process for the duration of the season.

Fotation

So far, we've recovered a lot of fish bone and carbonized plant remains from Grid 51. 

Fish bone in HF of Grid 51

Carbonized wheat grains and wood charcoal from Grid 51

We have also recovered some cool colored glass from Grid 16 that is hundreds of years old.

Colored glass from Grid 16

What can all this material tell us? We use the archaeobotanical data to learn about what the inhabitants were consuming and growing in fields and gardens, and what types of wood they were using as construction materials and as fuel for their fires, among other things. The class of smaller bones can tell us more about fishing practices and fish consumption. These two data sets would be underrepresented if the material were recovered in excavation alone, and thus give us a more complete look into the economies and lives of Ashkelon's inhabitants throughout it's history. 

As Promised

As promised, here is a shot of the Hellenistic wall uncovered during the excavation of the Snake Tower.  What am I talking about, you ask?  The wall is right in the middle of the picture and is easily distinguished by the white mortar laid down between courses.  

Photographing Grid 32

Everyone stepped in to help this morning when Melissa had to climb the ladder to take pictures of Grid 32.  It was worth the effort as the photographs look spectacular.

Tomorrow is Community Day when a group of 30 middle school students come dig with us for the day.  This program is now in its fourth year and it offers young residents of Ashkelon an opportunity to learn about archaeology and the history of their city.  It's usually a great time for everyone and tomorrow should be no different.

Walls are Moving

Didn't make it to the Snake Tower today unfortunately.  I'll definitely have to get over there tomorrow as I hear they have found even more of the earlier Hellenistic fortifications on which subsequent fortifications, dating to the Byzantine, Fatimid and Crusader periods, were founded.

I did make it over to Grid 51, however, where the wall removal is in full swing. 

The mudbricks were flying this morning!

In Grid 16 they are digging through a Byzantine pottery dump, amongst other material, that is so dense with pottery they are putting the sherds in crates.  Buckets simply aren't big enough.

Finally, on a "we work in a great place" note, today ancient Ashkelon is a national park filled with wildlife.  This week there have been sightings of mongoose, a kestrel, ibex, goat herds and desert foxes.  

Sunday of Week Three

Grid 16 keeps getting deeper and deeper.  In the process, they are finding some interesting objects.  The ceramics are quite varied and notable pieces have included a glazed oil lamp, a Roman bowl stamped with the image of an urn shaped vessel and a porcelain bowl (imported from China in the Islamic period).  The faunal material is equally intriguing and includes equid remains.

Grid 51 at work

Grid 51 had a productive day today removing floors as they continue to prepare for the removal of the remaining insula walls.  They had a number of interesting discoveries today including part of a calf's head, an Eye of Horus, a sunken store jar (painted), and much, much more.

Tomorrow I'll check on the Snake Tower and see what's happening there.

Saturday Guest Post

Today's guest post comes to us from Sami, another Harvard summer school student.

***

Hi, I’m Sami.  I wish I could introduce myself as a bona fide archaeologist, but I have only just finished my first undergraduate year at Johns Hopkins, so I have a long way to go.  I joined the Harvard Summer School program in Ashkelon to fulfill my fieldwork requirement for an archaeology major.  This is my second year to work at Ashkelon, I just had to come back for more.  

I have been fascinated with ancient history since I was a kid.  I have always loved, and continue to love, to hear stories about ancient peoples and their lives.  Now, I get the stories first hand, straight from the ground that ancient people walked on, ground that has not been seen by humans in centuries.  This realization gives me chills.  

Besides the work I get to do, Ashkelon has already yielded a wealth of artifacts and architecture, which have given new insights into Israel’s history, that are strewn through out the site.  Around the park there are remnants of churches, theaters, walls and gates ranging from the Caananite Period to the Crusaders.  

Despite early mornings and hard work, fieldwork has been very rewarding.  I have found many pottery sherds and had the opportunity to tear down two walls (with the intention of seeing what is below them) and trace a floor.  I am very excited to dig further and further down as I hope we will stumble upon Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of 604 BCE, which remains in the layers below, soon.  

I have also gotten the chance to meet people who are enthusiastic about discovery and are willing to suffer the physical weariness with me.  As this is my second year at Ashkelon, I have noticed that I feel more experienced and knowledgeable about what I am doing and what I am good at.  For example, I find that I am pretty good at articulating small spaces and tracing surfaces, although I may do so slowly sometimes.  Although I mostly use smaller tools like a patiche, trowel and brush for these jobs, I occasionally like to use the bigger tools like a pickax to tear down walls and the like.  Before I ever did fieldwork, I never knew archaeology could be so destructive.  Because of my past experience, this year I have been given opportunities to work with the computer system OCHRE and work more directly with my supervisors, who are helping me develop better skills of observation and interpretation of what is found.  I have learned a lot so far and hope to build on that learning the rest of my time here.

***

TGIF

The walls are coming down in Grid 51.

Grid 51

It's not only the walls that are coming down.  Today Grid 51 got a little help from Grid 32 dismantling their Persian period sidewalk.

Dismantling the sidewalk in Grid 51 with a little help from Grid 32

After a morning in the field, everyone moved into the pottery compound after breakfast for some pottery washing and marking, botanical processing and other assorted tasks.  Popsicles for fruit break made it a great day.

Now everyone is enjoying a much deserved weekend before we head into Week Three.

It's Thursday!

Grid 16 doesn't just have a sewer, they have a sewer that is forcing us to rethink some of our theories.  Oddly enough it flows roughly northwest down to the southeast -- in other words, away from the sea.  More importantly, it is forcing us to reassess some of our theories about what we believed to be a Crusader cut through bedrock on the North Tell to create a moat for a 13th century fortress.  Questions, questions, and more questions.  It's a good thing we have four more weeks to find some answers.

Wednesday Already?

Made it over to the Snake Tower today to see what's going on.  As promised, they have a wall where they didn't expect to find one.  It will be interesting to see what emerges as works continue.

Grid 51 has started removing walls.  Can't wait to see what it looks like over there.  

Didn't get a chance to visit Grid 16.  I'll to check on them tomorrow.

It's Tuesday and It's Hot

Volunteers and staff in the field aren't the only ones at work during the dig week.  The pottery compound is actually quite busy during the day.  The registrars run things making sure everyone has the supplies they need, welcoming expected visitors, and processing all the objects that we find during the dig day.

The bright light visible in the corner behind the registrars is the light from the microarchaeologist's work area.  Bridget has some very interesting equipment about which I might be able to get her to tell us more in the future.

A member of the archaeobotany team at work.

In addition to the registrars and the microarchaeologist, other specialists and scholars work on their projects in the compound.  Here, for instance, is one of our archaeobotanists working on processing and storing botanical samples.  Today, we also had some scholars come look at Persian period figurines.  

And finally, the big news of the week is that Grid 16 has some architecture and the verdict is in -- it's a sewer!  Congratulations to Grid 16.

Grid 16 volunteer excavating sewer

I spoke withe Denys about the Snake Tower today and he tells me they have a new wall where they didn't expect to find one.  I'll try to get up there tomorrow to check it out.

Happy Monday!

Grid 16 has some new architecture -- a sewer -- to go with it's oil lamps.  They are also seeing some signs of mudbricks, which are used in the construction of everything from houses to the MB ramparts ringing Ashkelon.  What exactly the mudbrick might be is yet to be determined.

Visited Grid 51 today and have a couple of fun shots to show everyone.

Grid 51 at work

Supervisors staring at walls

Kate tells me there is one less wall in this picture then in previous ones -- not that you can tell.  I expect, however, the absence of walls to be much more noticeable in the next week or so.

Good Sunday Morning

Grid 51 started the day with a pick party.  Everyone was in the street dropping it down.  Nothing like getting dirty to start the week off right.

Work in the Snake Tower continues to reveal more of the tower which looks more and more impressive.

Grid 16 is in the hunt and continues to dig deeper into the North Tell as they work to give us a view of Ashkelon's settlement sequence from the Bronze Age through the Crusader period.

Today we started work in Grid 32, our salvage excavation next to the park offices and our pottery compound, and were rewarded with some walls, a few more walls, and, unsurprisingly, even a few more walls.  In all seriousness, Grid 32 seems to be displaying, architecturally, patterns we've already seen in other areas -- meaning, residential buildings constructed over earlier monumental buildings.  Of course, we've just started uncovering the walls so we could, in time, find we have something all together different but there is little doubt we have a lot of excavating to do in the next five weeks.

Guest Post

Today we have a special guest post.

***

Hello!  I am Laryssa Shipley, a Baylor University student participating in the Harvard Summer School Program in Ashkelon, Israel.  I joined this program to learn more about archaeology, and I can truthfully say I am acquiring more knowledge in the field in one week than I would have ever acquired in the classroom.  The wealth of ancient history here completely astounds me- I would love to be a local and just go about my daily life with the ruins of Ashkelon's ramparts in the background.  In a way, though, I feel like I've been here my whole life.  It's hard to believe that just a few days ago, I didn't know what a patiche was or how to trace the floor of a courtyard.  Already I have found dozens of pottery shards and several pieces of bone.  Every day my connection with the people of the past grows stronger, and as I walk along Grid 51's ancient street, I feel my own pathway of life couldn't have led me in a more positive and enriching direction.

It's Friday

Well, after a rushed breakfast the volunteers are off to Jerusalem.  We'll get an update and possibly a picture or two from Josh later today.  Meanwhile, the staff, after a more leisurely morning, is hard at work entering data into OCHRE, working on individual research projects or enjoying a day at the beach.

The wall removal in Grid 51 has already started.  Below, Mackenzie works on removing a Phase 6 (Persian) mudbrick wall.  

"The Bandit" takes down a wall

The Snake Tower continues to look more and more impressive.  Denys, Hannah and their crew have made substantial progress on clearing off the front of the tower which now looks quite impressive from the road.  Below, you can see a view from the top.

Clearing off the Snake Tower

End of Week One

We made it!  Our first week of excavation -- and everyone is excavating -- is done.  It was a great first week.  Grid 20, the Snake Tower, is already starting to clarify, slowly but surely, the constructional sequence of the tower and related features.  The most interesting development? Perhaps the fact it was a round tower.

In Grid 16, the steps are cut and the volunteers are making progress cutting into the side of the North Tell as they look to uncover and identify the occupational sequence from Bronze Age Ashkelon to the last Crusader period occupation.  So far, they've more fully exposed a fallen piece of masonry and they are excited to see what the dirt reveals next.

Standing at the bottom of the Grid 16 step trench looking north

In Grid 51 they continue to finish the excavation of the insula and its earliest phase of occupation, during the Persian period, in preparation for removing this remarkable building.  It has dominated the landscape of the grid for years and it will be very interesting to see what lies underneath it.  

View fullsize

Work in Grid 51

The volunteers are off to Jerusalem tomorrow on their first dig sponsored field trip.  Much of the staff will also be off to relax while the remainder will stay here and do ever popular things like bookwork.  We'll be back at it on Sunday including our salvage excavation where a morning of cleaning by the staff revealed the corner of a large building.

Seminar Day

A good day all around.  The staff was up bright and early for work in Grid 32, the location of our salvage excavation on behalf of the Parks Authority, followed by a morning of working on various individual research projects.  

The volunteers enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in until 6:30 at which time they were able to enjoy a hotel breakfast -- a nice treat I must say.  They then walked out to the site, just a mile away, and attended a series of seminars on various aspects of the excavation. 

Volunteers learn about animal bones

A volunteer attends an archaeobotany session

Volunteers listen to Denys Pringle on the Late Periods (Roman - Crusader) Site Tour

Tomorrow we are back in the field digging.  I'll try to get a picture of all the excavation areas so everyone can see what a difference a week makes.

Day Three -- the Step Trench

Well, everyone has survived three days of work. More importantly, all three of the excavation areas have finished cleaning and are now excavating.  Best of all, no digging tomorrow for volunteers -- just a fun project for staff.

Tomorrow is Seminar Day when volunteers will attend five sessions of their choice on various aspects of the expedition.  Sessions include walking tours of site, introductions to GIS, XRF, microarchaeology, botanicals and zooarchaeology not to mention some free time to relax and soak up the warm Mediterranean sun.

Thursday we are back at work before a two day weekend that includes a one day tour of Jerusalem for volunteers. 

And now for the picture of the day:

Grid 16 looking like a step trench

Supervisors at Work

Supervisors at Work

Cleaning continues and what a difference a day makes!  Each of the excavation areas look completely different just a short 24 - 36 hours into the season.  A couple of fun pictures today:

Kate Birney explaining things to her volunteers

Sarah Vander Vorst hard at work on the computer

Denys Pringle explaining the construction of the Snake Tower

And finally, the picture of the day

Looking up at the Snake Tower from near its base

And now we are off for an afternoon of work at the pottery compound.  Have a great day.