Day 7: No rest yet

Today started our real task, heading down into the dirt and into the past. Mainly we found rocks and stones. Big ones. I want to crouch down and brush dust from a fine vase, but I haul bucket and barrels of dirt. Or fill them. We did find the top of a wall running perpendicular to the street. So we'll be looking to see what we can find in the rubble on either side of it.

The temple sits on a hill and there is a paved road with columns (the collonaded way) leading up to it. About 50 feet off that street is sitting a large stone basin that looks like a fountain. So one group is digging around it and another (mine) is digging at the closest point next to the street. Next the intervening space will be dug. Maybe we'll discover what was going on...

Tonight begins Shabbat and the kibbutz always gets weekend visitors. Today as a group of us were sitting out on the grass, a retired Israeli colonel stopped by to talk. His daughter lives on a nearby kibbutz. And he doesn't like Netanyahu. Otherwise not much to report here.

Tomorrow we put in a half day (5:30 - 8:30!) and then are off to Banias, the source of the Jordan River.