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Like in an old ritual, Kelen
Wilson discovered "the find" of the week and one of the most important
finds of the season. While digging the floor south of the Roman temple,
dedicated to Julia-Livia, she discovered a nail (see bottom left) that
once adorned a decorative door, most probably the door of the temple.
Amanda (one of the young photographers from Hartford is holding up the
nail after cleaning). Nails like this were fixed in groups of five on the outer face of
monumental doors. Monumental decorative doors of wood and nails were not
preserved to our day, but in ancient cemeteries where doors to catacombs
were made "for eternity" they were carved in stone and reflected the
mundane wood and nails doors. The stone doors of the cemetery (see pics
below) of Beth She'arim serve as a good example of such decorations and
helps us to understand how the monumental doors looked. If this nail
comes indeed from the door of the temple, it indicates how decorated the
door of the Bethsaida temple must have have been. Week 5 was the conclusion of the 2004 season. After "popsicle break", the volunteers assisted Rami in shutting down the site. All the poles were taken down & the nettings were cleaned & folded. The tools were locked in the tool box or in the neatly arranged store room. A fond adieu was said to all, with the hope that we would meet again in the future. |
This site was last updated 07/29/04
