El Araj Archaeological Excavations Season 7 - Week 2 Day 3 - The next three posts come after the fact. The flurry of activity and extra responsibilities at the end of the dig overwhelmed my ability to post daily. Apologies. Today was marked by important finds, continued teamwork in the various squares, and a lovely boat ride on the Sea Galilee at sunset. Area D continued to produce important finds with the rare discovery of an inkwell. What made this even more significant is that it was found in the home of what appears to have been a fisherman, indicated by the numerous fishing weights found there. Some biblical scholars have questioned whether Jesus’ disciples were literate because several were fishermen. This discovery challenges those assumptions. The team from Hong Kong continued to dig down through what appears to have been a Crusader pit to reach the Roman level. They have moved a mountain of rocks and dirt in the last ten days. Those excavating along the northern wall of the basilica have begun to find Roman remains including the handle to a Roman amphora. A small team shifted over to begin cleaning the mosaics in the northwest corner of the church. In the early morning we were visited by a small group led by a friend of the excavation, Fr. Eamon Kelly from Magdala. After lunch we were guided by Kaitlyn Hawn through Hippos/Sussita one of the Decapolis cities founded in the Hellenistic period, and possibly the city referred to by Jesus as "a city on a hill." Finally, in the evening we enjoyed a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee with the chance to see the sunset in the west and the moonrise over the Golan Heights in the east.
