Today, on the Sabbath, we welcome new volunteers for the beginning of session 2 of the El Araj Excavation Project. The final two weeks of the dig will be met with an expanded group, a total of almost 40 volunteers, to continue lowering the newly opened squares down to the Byzantine level and try and answer questions about the Roman level. Today, as with Session 1, volunteers took a jeep trek through the Golan and Buteiha (Bethsaida) Valley. They were given a general orientation to the Beth Haccerrem guest house, which overlooks the lake, as well as a survey of the historical and archaeological questions surrounding the identification of Bethsaida-Julias.
Tomorrow, we begin digging. Stay tuned!
