Week 3 was kind of quiet as we were in between groups & only a handful of volunteers were available for digging. Work continued at the south end entrance of chamber 3 then moved to the northern end (back) of the chamber. A large quantity of burned grain was found at the back of the chamber & samples will be taken for analysis.
A quite interesting find cropped up in Carl's "A" west area. Digging into a Roman age residential area a window appeared in the eastern wall of a small building. It's unique for Bethsaida, as the whole basalt frame of a window; ~40 cm. (16 in.) wide, ~30 cm. (12 in.) high; top, bottom & sides are in place. See the picture at the bottom left of the window frame. The approximate spot of the window to the west of the city gate chambers can be seen in the photo gallery. It's hoped that next week we'll get a better understanding of this interesting structure. In this same area a bead, a folded lead fishing weight & a small iron knife blade were found.
The highlight of the week occurred on Friday when 34 children, aged 6 to 12, from Kibbutz Ginosar came to the site. Rami had spoken to them the previous day at the kibbutz when he explained to them about archaeology, what & when Bethsaida is from etc. The children were so entranced by Rami's explanation that they quietly sat & absorbed his explanation & then asked many pertinent questions. They arrived at the site in tow by their teacher Iris & a group of their parents at which time Rami took them for a short tour & explanation of the site.
The children were dispersed into 3 groups & were assigned to work in areas "A" & "C". Much enthusiastic digging was accomplished by the children with the help of Rami, the volunteers & the parents. They dug out dirt, rocks & found many pottery sherds & a number of pieces of glass. In addition, they sifted each & every bucket of dirt & certainly added to the enjoyment of the dig. It's hoped that they'll come back & join us every year. See the pictures below & in the photo gallery.
Pictures can be enlarged by going to the photo gallery & double clicking the desired picture.