What's on your floor?

Hi friends! Today in Grid 51 we found a super cool floor. Archaeologist Dana wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy!

Junior Archaeologist Assignment

Dana wants to know what is on the floor at your house. Is it the same or different from the floor we found? What room in your house has the most interesting stuff on the floor? 

Question of the Day

What room of the condo do you think this floor is? Why do you think that?

Update

on 2012-07-05 14:22 by Nichole Moos

Great ideas for where the floor is in the condo. We are still collecting materials from the floor, but it looks like it was for sure a space where people walked and lived.  The white bottle on the floor likes a modern milk bottle, but I think you will be surprised when you hear what it is. Check out geologist Dave's video on it today! (Hint: Geologist Dave is a rock expert so it has to have something to do with rocks...)

Important Pieces from Pottery

Last week for a Junior Archaeology Assignment, you all looked at important parts of cups, bowls, and pots in your home. Today I have a super cool video from archaeologist Kate (she is the boss of where I work each day!). She is going to tell you all about how we know what pieces of pottery we find are important and how she can use those pieces to decide if it was from a bowl, cup, or pot.

Junior Archaeology Assignment

Okay friends! Kate wants to know if you can find things in your house with handles, bases, rims that curl out, and bumps on the side. Can you find things in your house that are painted?

Question of day

Were you able to choose the important pieces of pottery from the video? How did you know they were important?

Ashkelon Volunteers

Tomorrow is the last day for the volunteers who are at Ashkelon for 3 weeks of digging. One of the families that volunteered to come to Ashkelon this season is the Felker family. Here is a video about why they came to Ashkelon.

Junior Archaeologist Activity

If your family were to come on a trip to Ashkelon what sorts of things do you think you would have to pack? Make a list and share it with me in the comments section.

Question of the Day

Do you think your family would like to come to Ashkelon? What would like most about coming to the excavation?

Post your wonders, questions, and answers in the comments section!

Update

on 2012-07-06 13:17 by Nichole Moos

Great list Claire! I brought all of those things...heart Ms. Nichole!

Hi Brandon!  We do lots of exploring and finding things and we get REALLY dirty!  I think your list is right on. When we are digging we drink almost a gallon of water a day.  It's a lot!

I have been to the beach Oliver! I will make sure to do a video the next time we go. It is really close to where we dig:)

Jewelry

In my first post I asked you all what you thought we might find in Ashkelon, and Nina said jewelry! Her idea made me curious if jewelry had been found at Ashkelon.  I went to the metal expert on the dig, archaeologist Adam.  He was able to find lots of things to show you! Check out this video to learn about some of the jewelry here at Ashkelon.

Junior Archaeologist Activity

Archaeologist Adam wants to know about the jewelry you find at your house. Ask your parents if you can look at some of their jewelry. Can you sort the things you find by color? shape? type? Does any of the jewelry look like the what Adam had in the video? Take a picture of your favorite piece or a piece that looks like what was in the video and tell me why you love it. I will post your replies to the blog on Saturday!

Question of the Day

Adam showed 2 pieces of jewelry that he said were silver, but they are very dark. Why do you think the silver jewelry wasn't shiny?

Post your wonders, questions, and thoughts for Adam or me in the comments section. If you want us to make a video about something here in Ashkelon for you just let me know; these archaeologists love making videos!

Update

on 2012-06-29 09:36 by Nichole Moos

Hi Friends!

Thanks for watching Adam's video. You are right about the jewelry, it is dirty! The science word for it is tarnished. Silver that gets dirty like that is called tarnished. Can you find any tarnished jewelry in your parents jewelry box?

Charlie! It's tricky to find someone to hold the video camera so I have to hold it and video all of the archaeologist. Holding the camera also makes it so I can show you all the special stuff.  I would love for you to visit me! :) Have fun digging in your new yard!!

Nathan, we loved the picture and we will be posting it on Saturday!

Smart Class-

We have found lots of jewelry like the pieces that you saw. The ones in the video were Adam's favorites. We find lots and lots of beads in all different colors and shapes.  My favorite piece was the gold ring, I even got to put it on the end of my finger. It was very fancy. I like the gold ring because it had me wondering about what use to be on the top of it.

Oliver! I think you have to wait a few years to get those ears pierced:) We are all LOVING being outside in the summer. It is really hot here and very sunny so we have to all wear lots of sunscreen. We are outside 10 hours a day every day and have to drink lots of water and wear hats so we don't get sick.

Bones

Today as an archaeologist was digging he found bones! Check out the video to see the type of bones he found.

Junior Archaeologist Assignment

Alright friends, archaeologists Dana and Alethia want you to find bones in the food you eat at home.  Ask your mom/dad to make you a meal (or even better, help them make a meal!) that has food with bones.  As you are eating see if you can feel the bone? Can you see the bone as you eat?  What part of the animal's body does the bone support? Can you find the same bone on your body?  Send a picture of your bones to me at nmoos@cps.edu and I will pass them on to Dana and Alethia so they can take a close look at them for you.

Question of the Day

What other sorts of bones do you think we will find in Ashkelon? Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Is there a part of the dig you want me to explore? Do you want me to make a video about something in Ashkelon for you? Do you want me to ask an archaeologist a question for you? Remember to post your questions in the comments section! I love making videos for you all!

Update

on 2012-06-26 13:45 by Nichole Moos

Hi Henry and Annabel!

Thanks for watching the bone video and for thinking about the bones in your food. Henry, yes we will make a video of chicken bones if we find any, and I bet I can get one of the bone archaeolgists to make a bone video for you of all the different bones we find. Did you know that we have the bones of over 1500 dogs at Ashkelon!? 

Annabel, I will let Robyn and Jon know that you want a video on more Roman stuff. Robyn is the Roman pottery expert, and I know they would both love to make you a video.  

Update

on 2012-06-29 09:25 by Nichole Moos

Hi Nathan!

My name is Alethia. I am the bone expert here at Ashkelon. Ms. Nichole showed me your bone picture. Wow, what a great find! I have to look at one of my bone books to decide what type of bone it is. I will have Ms. Nichole e-mail you when I do. Thanks for the great question on storing bones. Keeping bones safely is a tricky task.  The bones need to be totally dry so they don't grow mold. If you want to keep the bone, I suggest leaving it in the sun but be careful another animal doesn't come steal it.  When the bone is totally dry you will be able to see that it is white and feels really dry.  After that the bone can be played with.  Remember, don't put the bone in your mouth because you can get sick! 

Bone is 80% mineral (like calcium) and 20% living material.  The inside of the bone has lots of nutrients when it is alive. When the bone is dead you will see lots of lines and cracks.  That is because the living stuff in the bone dries out and leaves the mineral parts of the bone. 

I will work on a seashore video. I went to the seashore last weekend and found sea glass!! I will make sure to show it to you when I get back. Aaron and I collected sea glass too!

Hi Smart Class!

You are right on with the sorts of bones we are finding. The only ones we have not found are dinosaur, bear, ducks, and deer bones. We find LOTS of donkey, sheep, pig, and goat bones, though!

Taking Down Walls

Today we were back at Grid 51, but instead of finding pots, cups, and other special things, we took down several walls!  Something interesting about where we are digging is that sometime people built things on top of other things. I said earlier that we were digging up a condo building, but after people moved out of the condo building other people came and built a new building using the walls of the condo building.  We get to take those walls down because we just want to see the condo build walls.  Here is a video of geologist (a rock expert!) Dave taking the wall down.

Junior Archaeologist Assignment"

Today I want you to practice putting new walls on top of old walls. Here's what you can do: build a building with blocks.  Then, without taking the building apart, use one of the walls from that building and make another building! When you are done you should have 2 buildings and they both should have 1 wall that is the same. Tricky assignment, I know, but you can do it! Make sure to send geologist Dave a picture.

Question of the day:

Why do you think it was so easy for Dave to move the big stones off of the wall? Have you ever tried to move big stones from a wall? Was it easy or difficult?

Post your answer, thoughts, questions, or wonders in the comments section and I will be sure to read them and write you back.  

Update

on 2012-06-26 13:43 by Nichole Moos

Hi Friends! It's archaeologist Dave. Thank you so much for all of your comments. You are all right, I am a lot stronger with the pickaxe.  In fact, I took down another wall today with it! I really enjoyed making the video for you and wanted to know if there was anything else you wanted to know about the dig, in particular rocks.  I saw that Ms. Nichole told you I am a geologist (a rock expert), and I love sharing rocks with you all. Did you know that I started collecting and looking at rocks when I was in preschool!  I even dug a moat (what you see water in around a castle) around the sandbox at my preschool when I was 5.  I really love rocks and digging!  Ms. Nichole didn't tell you, but she found and broke open a geode (a rock with pretty crystals inside) yesterday. I was very excited for her, and it was really neat to look at.  I would love to answer any of your rock questions and help you figure out the names of the rocks you find. You can post your questions in the comments section on the website and e-mail pictures to Ms. Nichole at nmoos@cps.edu.  Rocks rock

DSCN3248.JPG

Ms. Nichole's geode! It's super cool...

Junior Archaeology Assignments!

***This was yesterday's post, but internet at the hotel was a little spotty, and I couldn't get the photos to load.  So today you get 2 posts! Woot!***

Saturday is our day off here in Ashkelon.  Today I bought some goggles and spent some time swimming in the Mediterranean Sea looking at old Roman columns and walls underwater!  It was super cool.  

I've decided that on Saturday's I will post the photos of your junior archaeology (JA) assignments.  Here are the one's I received this week. If you did a JA Assignment this week and didn't send me a photo please do so I can share your awesome work!

Annabel Water Park.JPG

A stair case, slide, and pool built by one of our Junior Archaeologists! 

Oil Lamp.JPG

After seeing the Roman oil lamp video, Annabel sent us this picture of her Roman oil lamp. Looks great Annabel!

Sorting and sorting and sorting!

Today was an interesting day in Ashkelon. Instead of going to Grid 51 to dig, everyone here went to a place called the pottery compound. This is where everything that is found in the grids (pottery, beads, bones) comes. We wash it and then sort it. Today was a big sorting day. Most of the pottery we find here is broken. So we have lots of little pottery pieces, kind of like a puzzle.  I sort important parts of pottery from less important parts. An important part of pottery is a piece that can be used to tell what the object was before it was broken. I'm not going to tell you what I sorted right now, but I will tomorrow!

Several days ago I posted a video about a lamp we found in Grid 51. Annabel wrote back to me wondering if it was a Roman lamp.  It wasn't, but we do have Roman lamps here in Ashkelon!  So, just for you Annabel (but all my other friends enjoy it too!), a video on Roman oil lamps!

Junior Archaeologist Assignment:

Okay friends, archaeologists Robyn and Jon want to know what you would put on an oil lamp. Remember, designs can be about the place you live, a favorite story, or something that is pretty to look at.  Once you are finished you can take a picture and send it to me at nmoos@cps.edu. I will post it on the blog!

Question of the day:

Look at a 3 different bowls and pots in your house. What do you think the important parts of the bowls and pots are? If the bowls and pots were to break, what about the bowl or pot would help you to know that they were bowls and not cups? 

I look forward to reading your all you have to say.  Remember to post any questions or wonders in the comments section and I can make a video just for you, too!

Update

on 2012-06-26 14:15 by Nichole Moos

Hi Annabel, Iris, Nina and Ms. Kerrie!

Thanks for watching the Roman Lamp video. Jon and Robyn had a great time making it for you. You are all right we look at handles, rims or tops of the bowl/cup, bottoms of pottery, and color/painting on the pottery to determine what kind of object it is.  What you looked for and the differences you noticed were just what archaeologists look for.  Great thinking! We have found lots of pieces of bowls, cups, and pots. 2 of the archaeologists, Kate and Mark, are working on finding bowls, pots, and cups to make a video for you tomorrow about how they can look at pieces of the pottery and know what it is.  

Ms. Kerrie the archaeologists are mostly 23-42. Most are studying archaeology, biblical history, or geology.  All the archaeologists are either working on their master's degrees of PhDs.  They are a super smart bunch! 

And the floor is...

Yesterday I asked you all what you thought the floor I found was made of.  

To answer this question we had to give small pieces of the floor to the microarchaeologists.  A microarchaeologist looks at teeny, tiny pieces of history like dirt and flecks of paint. They work in a laboratory and use microscopes and special machines and computers to tell them what small pieces of things are.  Here Michael and Bridget, the microarchaeologists on this dig, tell us what the floor I found is made of. 

Most of you said that it was stone or dirt and you are right too!  There is stone and dirt under and around the floor, but the white stuff was plaster.

Yesterday the Smart Class asked me several questions.  Here are some answers!

What does it look like there?, Did you find the wall?, What did it look like?

Great questions! Here is a video that shows what it looks like in and around the area I am digging. At the end of the video I show you the wall we were looking for and the spot where I found the floor.

When are you coming back?

I will leave Israel in 5 weeks, how many days is that? It is so far away that it will take me 12 hours of flying to get back to Chicago from Israel!

Junior Archaeologist Assignment:

 In the video you saw the volunteers taking the old stairs down so that we could build a new set of stairs to climb in and out of the place where we dig. I had never built a set of stairs before today. Can you build a set of stairs out of something you have in your home? It could be lego stairs or stairs made out of sand in a sandbox, really whatever you can find at home. Make sure that mom and dad say is okay to use whatever you choose to build your small set of stairs. Take a photo and send it to me at nmoos@cps.edu, and I will post it on the blog.

Question of the day:

What other sorts of things do you think a microarchaeologist might need to look at?

Post of your answers, questions, and thoughts in the comments section. I am loving all of the wonders, questions, and responses. You sure are making my trip very meaningful.  

Update

on 2012-06-22 13:20 by Nichole Moos

Hi Friends!

Thanks for your great ideas about what microarchaeologists look at. I am working on making another video of them in their lab to show you how they do their job with the microscope and the computer.  I will also check with them on the beads. Smart Class, I had not thought about them looking at fabric, I think you may be on to something. Annabel, we are doing a video on toys children play with for next week. I will check and see on the cars.

Smart Class:

There is not a rough on the building we are working on. We do have shade clothes over our heads though. It is REALLY hot here and the shade clothes make it so the area we work in does not get as hot.  While you did see trees in the video I made, there are not a lot of big shade making trees by Grid 51 so we have to make our own shade.

Miss Kerrie:

I will do a day in the life of Dr. Hoffman video for you. I think you will be surprised as to what she does each day! (Hint: She and I don't do the same things all the time!)

Thanks for all your great thoughts! Have a super weekend:)

Tracing Floor

Check out what happened while I was digging today! 

 

 Junior Archaeologist Assignment:

When we are tracing the floor we look for clues, like the white rocks going in a certain direction, to decide what direction we should go.  It's like doing a puzzle. It's important for us to know when the floor stops or bumps into a wall because that is how we know how big a room is.   Your assignment is to take a close look at the floor in your bedroom, is there a pattern on the floor? Can you tell when the floor in your room stops and new floor or a wall begins?  Is the floor in your room the same/different as the floor in the hallway?

Question of the Day:

What do you think the floor I found is made of? wood? carpet? 

At the end of the day today the archaeologist who look at what floors are made of took pieces of the floor to look at to decide what the floor is made of.  I wonder if your answer will be the same as theirs?!

Remember to post what you find about your floors at home and your answer to the question in the comments section.  Also, if you have any other questions or want me to explore something special post that in the comments section, too!

Then there was light!

Today we found an oil lamp in Grid 51. My archaeologist friends, Alethia and Dana, want to tell you about it.

Junior Archaeologist Assignment:

Okay friends, archaeologist Dana wants to know what sorts of things make light in your house.  He also wants to know if you have any things that use oil or have wicks in your house.  (HINT: a wick is the white part that sticks out of a candle).

Question of the Day:

Why don't we use oil lamps to heat and light our homes any more?

Post your responses in the comments section. Archaeologist Dana is looking forward to hearing what you have found!

Update

on 2012-06-26 14:33 by Nichole Moos

Annabel!  Dana and Alethia loved your thinking and question. This is not a Roman lamp, but we have found Roman lamps here. I will post a video of them for you tomorrow! Your question regarding how the burned during the day has inspired the archaeologists to do an exeperiment on how they would have burned. They are all VERY excited to perform the experiment next week.  I will be sure to share with you what we find.  Thank you so much for all of your wonderful questions and smart thinking. I am glad I will have you in my class next year:).

Day 1!

Today was my first day digging with the archaeologists here in Ashkelon. I am in GRID 51 for the first few days.  At this dig there are 3 grids (areas where people are digging up different things).  When the original archaeologists decided to excavate (science word for dig up) Ashkelon 20 years ago, they divided the area into 100 squares (grids).  So, I am in the 51st of these squares.  The grid leader is Kate.  Here is a photo of the area I am excavating. This photo was taken from up high so that all the different layers of the site can be seen.  

Junior Archaeologist Assignment:

Can you build/create something at home and then take a picture of it from up high. Does the object you built/created look the same from that angle or different?  Send me your photos and your thoughts about how your object looked different at nmoos@cps.edu, and I will post them on the blog!

Question of the Day:

Grid 51 pic.pdf

Look at the photo- what do you think we are excavating? Remember, archaeologists study human life. Put your predictions in the comments section.  I cannot wait to hear what you think!

Update

on 2012-06-19 13:35 by Nichole Moos

Hi  Annabel, Oliver and Miss Kerrie!  

Annabel you are on the right track with what we are excavating.  It is a place where people may have lived. Think about it like a condominium building, like the ones on Lincoln Ave. They think there were shops down on the floor by the street and people lived in little rooms above the shops. Maybe on your next walk in your neighborhood you can look for a building like this.  Nice job seeing all of the little rooms and using that smart brain of yours Annabel! 

Oliver, I talked with archaeologist Paula about the toys. She is going to try and find some of the toys for you, and we will be posting a video about it later this week. Super question!

Miss Kerrie they vary in size depending upon what we are finding in the ground.  The biggest grid we are working on is 45x35 meters.  The smallest grid is 15x10 meters. Grid 51, the grid I am in, is 25x15 meters.The length of time depends on what want to find there. One grid has been being excavated since 1985, another grid has only be worked on for 5 years and will be closing this year.  Thanks for the question!

Update

on 2012-06-20 12:55 by Nichole Moos

Hi Brandon and Ms. Busch- You are right, it is where someone lives! It isn't one house though, it is actually a condo building where lots of people lived.  The building had shops for people to visit on the bottom floors and on the top families lived in little rooms.  We are finding all kinds of things in here.  Today I found the floor to one part of the condo- super cool! Yesterday, someone found an oil lamp. Check out the video of it in yesterday's post and let me know what you think.  Thanks for following me while I am here; I'm excited to see what other questions you have for me. I hope you both are having a great summer!