Note: Although I wrote this on Thursday night, I was unable to post it then as there were problems with the site...just pretend like it's still Thursday!
Today was my last day at Hippos-Sussita. It was a good day, but also sad. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. Our team worked as usual on our square hauling rocks and buckets. We found three buckets of pottery today...so much to wash! But the exciting thing about it is that many of the shards were huge and perhaps they might be put back together to make a whole item. Many of them were found all together in a clump. I also may have found a couple more pieces of the lamp which I found yesterday, but that remains to be seen. Our hole was pretty deep by the time we finished working this morning and work on it is nearly complete. It is exciting to know that we took the square as far as it would go and that we discovered much of what it had to share with us while we were there. It would be harder to leave wondering what else might be found there. As an update on our old square, another team spent a little time in E6 today, trying to locate the other side of the walls. Apparently they did find them, but were forced to stop excavating because the walls were in such bad shape that there was concern they might collapse. It's nice to know that we weren't totally out to lunch while digging over there.
After breakfast today, the ten of us that are leaving on Monday were treated to a special preview of Hippos-Sussita yet to come. There is another church in what is thought to be the domestic quarter of the city which has yet to be excavated. It was really interesting to see what a site looks like before any excavations have been done and compare it to our site (which has been under excavation for several years.) If the dig contract is extended beyond next year, then this will be the next project for Dr. Schuler and his team. The site will need to be cleared of all weeds, trees and loose rocks (of which there are many!) and then work can begin. Just by looking with a critical eye (or by going with someone who knows what to look for...) you can already see where there are apses and paved floors from the rock formations and lack of trees in certain areas. Aside from the archaeology of this part of the city, the location of this church gives an amazing view of the southern end of the Sea of Galilee. All of this makes me want to save my pennies so that I can come back and dig again in a few years. It would be especially exciting to me to work on something at its beginning. We will just have to wait and see what God has in store for me and for this dig.
The group quit early today to take some group shots and admire the amazingly clear view of Tiberias across the lake. So often it is obscured by a white humid haze that hangs in the air. Today it was clear. What a treat. A few of us Canadians took time to built a small inukshuk on the mountain to commemorate our departure and to remind our new American friends to think of us when we are gone.
After the dig it was a laundry free-for-all to get all of our things out of the huge piles. I think I found everything. I guess I'll know if something is missing when I go looking for it and realize it's gone! After laundry and lunch it was cleaning and packing. Tomorrow morning our group leaves for a three day tour of Jordan and then the day after we return from that, the Canadians and two Americans leave for home. I have managed to give away a couple of my dig shirts and I plan to leave my knee pads behind along with any leftover granola bars and fruit leathers. I don't think I'll want to eat another granola bar for a good long while. I think I'm averaging 2-3 per day. I like them, but not that much! This means my suitcases will be substantially lighter when I leave than when I came, and I won't have to be quite so carful packing to ensure that everything will fit. The afternoon flew by and soon it was time to wash pottery for the last time.
After scrubbing a mountain of pottery, we had devotions and a special service of celebration for the 25th anniversary of Dr. Schuler's ordination. Each dig team was invited to share something about the dig and Dr. Schuler's work with it. Our team opted to re-write the words to "Old MacDonald had a Farm." We changed them to "Old Doc Schuler had a Dig." In it we remembered the teams, the buckets, the trowels, the turreahs, the pick axes, the water breaks and the elusive searches for those crazy walls. We had fun writing it and I think the others had fun listening to us try to get through it after no rehearsal time. Many others shared about their experiences with Dr. Schuler and it was interesting to hear what the others had to say. I've only known him for 13 days, but I have really enjoyed the things he has shared with us and I have learned much from him.
Now it is once again time for bed. Tomorrow I get to sleep in! The bus doesn't leave until 7:30. What bliss. I don't think I'll get up until 6am or so. While in Jordan I won't have a computer, so I won't be able to blog. Hopefully you'll hear from me on Sunday night when we get back.
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