The 2006 season started on 22 May with a good sized group of volunteers; 20 brought by Elizabeth McNamer from Rocky Mountain U. Prof. Rami Arav & Steve Reynolds of UNO arrived with a group and Prof. Aaron Gale of W. Virginia U. brought a group of his students. The addition of a few from other places including Israel brought the total up to about ~40 volunteers. Great work everyone!
Prof. Arav's objectives are to find more evidence of the 10th century (stratum 6) structures by excavating along the existing walls & ascertaining where the wall base is. The main city road leading from the north (Damascus) will be uncovered further in both the northern direction & a portion to the east in order to find the eastern perimeter of the road. The road should be about 4 meters (~13 feet) wide & as of today only the western & center portions have been excavated.
Work will continue on the Hellenistic - Roman (2nd century BCE to 1st century CE) area on upper level of the city to uncover more of the residential area. In addition we will explore the outer face of the city wall opposite (to the east of) the city gate to see if it reaches down to the 10th century level.
The work on the main city road is in preparation for changing how visitors & pilgrims will visit the site. It is planned that in the future the entrance will be from the north along this road, with visitors entering the city by way of the city gate. Visitors will then continue past the gate chambers & cross a ramp to the upper areas in order to see the Hellenistic & Roman structures.
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Webmaster - Shai Schwartz, Kibbutz Ginosar, Israel, contact - shai_14980@yahoo.com
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