Half way through the Season

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Grid 92 Square 97!
What a week this has been! On Monday we had just begun our 5x5 probe, and at the end of today we had made some fantastic progress, and have finally moved out of the modern phase! (Check out the Tel Shimron Instagram to see a roman oil lamp we discovered in my square today).
Today was the last day for our three-week volunteers, it was sad to say farewell to three of the people working in my area. The other Grid 92 Square supervisors and I made a cake fashioned to look like our squares, which we brought out into the field for a brief farewell party.  I've grown fond of my team, and will be sad to see three of them go! In excavation it is important to keep the "sections," the earthen sides of the square clean and vertical, so that any stratigraphy can be seen, and so the square stays neat and the right size. I've been told several times the sections in my square are fantastic, probably the best on the Tel! This was due to two of my volunteers who I had do almost all the section cleaning...we will have to try and keep their good work going! I was glad those leaving got to see some ancient material coming up before leaving though.
The Grid Cake
I am glad it is the weekend, I'm looking forward to some time catching up on lots of dig notes, some time at the pool, and perhaps enjoying a cup of coffee at Nahalal's coffee stand. Our volunteer coordinator is taking the weekend off, so I'll be responsible for checking people out and making sure the incoming volunteers will make it here and get settled in alright. It shouldn't be a huge task, but still may take some coordinating and communication.
Peter
Also, here is a picture of "Peter," our square mascot! Emily found him, and at first we wondered if he was a figuring...but it turns out he's just a rock :) so we kept him as a friend!
Shabbat Shalom!



Check out the official Dig Blog for more posts about how the dig works and what we've been up to!  Tel Shimron Excavation Blog
Drone photos this morning

My hard workers :)
Morning visitors
Scarab (Dung) Beetle

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