Playing some catch up here while in Jerusalem...been a very exciting time here at the dig...could be some huge historic developments that sweat and time will determine. Last post I mentioned this discovery in Area D...the lower city. Here is the news from the official blog:
Breaking news: The Gigantic Gate of Gath?JULY 8, 2015 / ARENMAEIR / 4 COMMENTS
Breaking news:
The absolutely unbelievable, fantastic, astounding, and in general, quite special news coming from the dig today is that just to the east of the new fortification wall which I noted yesterday (in Area D), it appears that we may have located a monumental city gate of the lower city of Gath! We still have to do a lot of cleaning, defining, digging and measuring to do (to really make sure about this), but it appears that there are really good chances we have truly landed on quite an astounding find!
Woohoo!
Why is so important you might be thinking...proof that what scripture says is true. In 1 Samuel 21 we read this:
"That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances: "'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard." (1 Samuel 21:10-13, NIV)
Those in charge are looking at this as being the single biggest find in decades and may become the focal point for the Tel Es-Safi dig for years to come. I've seen the sight twice now and you can see the tops of the wall structure sticking out of the ground...this next week there will be some initial digging during the afternoon...I hope to be a part of that group at least for one afternoon.
As for Area F things are also very exciting as Dr Maeir wrote: In Area F, the pre-fortification phases are being exposed in two areas – and things are looking very interesting. Two LB rooms are being excavated – and both have some really nice finds!
One of those areas is section 26...my area...as we continued to dig toward the Late Bronze 1550-1200--BCE we found some really nice pottery pieces...all on the same level. On that level we found several areas....in the section of our square that I'm working on I uncovered a stone "donut" about 5 inches in diameter near some pots and lamp parts (which hopefully will be restored). Only a few of these "donuts" have been found in the area, they are not sure exactly how they were used, perhaps as a weight for weaving? These items, the "donut" and pottery are on top of a paving stone, which is very interesting. Next, my section partner David and Jonathan also uncovered exciting stuff. David uncovered a bronze tipped arrow head...and very rare. Jonathan uncovered the jaw bone of a goat and either a rounded stone about the size of a baseball that was either a pounder (used to smash as a hammer) or a sling stone...again very exciting to find all this on one level on the section. For me this is a continuation of last year...Dr. Mark Jenkins and I cut down some 6-8 feet to this level...we may not have found anything remarkable last year, but treasures are being uncovered.
I am so glad to be here and to be apart of all the excitement that is going on..last year it was rockets...this year some really exiting archaeology is taking place.
Breaking news: The Gigantic Gate of Gath?JULY 8, 2015 / ARENMAEIR / 4 COMMENTS
Breaking news:
The absolutely unbelievable, fantastic, astounding, and in general, quite special news coming from the dig today is that just to the east of the new fortification wall which I noted yesterday (in Area D), it appears that we may have located a monumental city gate of the lower city of Gath! We still have to do a lot of cleaning, defining, digging and measuring to do (to really make sure about this), but it appears that there are really good chances we have truly landed on quite an astounding find!
Woohoo!
Why is so important you might be thinking...proof that what scripture says is true. In 1 Samuel 21 we read this:
"That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances: "'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard." (1 Samuel 21:10-13, NIV)
Those in charge are looking at this as being the single biggest find in decades and may become the focal point for the Tel Es-Safi dig for years to come. I've seen the sight twice now and you can see the tops of the wall structure sticking out of the ground...this next week there will be some initial digging during the afternoon...I hope to be a part of that group at least for one afternoon.
As for Area F things are also very exciting as Dr Maeir wrote: In Area F, the pre-fortification phases are being exposed in two areas – and things are looking very interesting. Two LB rooms are being excavated – and both have some really nice finds!
One of those areas is section 26...my area...as we continued to dig toward the Late Bronze 1550-1200--BCE we found some really nice pottery pieces...all on the same level. On that level we found several areas....in the section of our square that I'm working on I uncovered a stone "donut" about 5 inches in diameter near some pots and lamp parts (which hopefully will be restored). Only a few of these "donuts" have been found in the area, they are not sure exactly how they were used, perhaps as a weight for weaving? These items, the "donut" and pottery are on top of a paving stone, which is very interesting. Next, my section partner David and Jonathan also uncovered exciting stuff. David uncovered a bronze tipped arrow head...and very rare. Jonathan uncovered the jaw bone of a goat and either a rounded stone about the size of a baseball that was either a pounder (used to smash as a hammer) or a sling stone...again very exciting to find all this on one level on the section. For me this is a continuation of last year...Dr. Mark Jenkins and I cut down some 6-8 feet to this level...we may not have found anything remarkable last year, but treasures are being uncovered.
I am so glad to be here and to be apart of all the excitement that is going on..last year it was rockets...this year some really exiting archaeology is taking place.
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