Monthly Archives: July 2011

Until the next season

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Tim Frank

Excavations at Khirbet Summeily have wrapped up for this year. The first season was promising. From what we discovered this year, we concluded that there are three phases of occupation at the site. The village here seems to have been … Continue reading →

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The daily grind of the dig

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Tim Frank

An archaeological excavation is an interesting experience. It’s fascinating to dig up something that someone else has last touched thousands of years ago. It makes it all worthwhile. But archaeology is careful, methodical excavation. That means a lot of measurements … Continue reading →

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Perfume juglet

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Tim Frank

We finally came upon floors at Khirbet Summeily and found a few interesting objects lying on them. Amongst them was this nearly complete juglet. We are not sure what it contained, but perfume might be a good guess, or some … Continue reading →

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A wall puzzle

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Tim Frank

We have come upon a veritable puzzle of different walls at Khirbet Summeily. They are parallel to each other, on top of each, cut each other, intersect. What’s going on? It’s clear that there were several building phases, that some … Continue reading →

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Loomweights

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Tim Frank

Yesterday we found a row of loomweights at Khirbet Summeily. They are round, unfired clay balls with a hole in the center. Loomweights were used to stretch the warp during the process of weaving and easily allow the threads to … Continue reading →

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A figurine from Khirbet Summeily

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Tim Frank

Burried in ash we found this wee thing at Khirbet Summeily. Only problem is that the upper torso and head are missing. Still, it’s a nice stone figurine. It’s different, though, the figurine. We’ve never seen any like it before … Continue reading →

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Archaeology is destruction

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Tim Frank

When archaeologists excavate they destroy. The evidence of past human lives is taken out of the soil and recorded, but the evidence is lost, is no longer there. It cannot be put back. It now only exists in records and … Continue reading →

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Mudbrick walls

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Tim Frank

Mudbrick was one of the main building materials in Ancient Israel and much of the Middle East. Walls often had stone foundations, but the upper courses were constructed of mudbrick. These were not the little bricks that we know from … Continue reading →

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Khirbet Summeily after two weeks

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Tim Frank

The first two (short) weeks of excavations at Khirbet Summeily have ended. So what have we found so far? Pottery, more pottery and walls. But little of the pottery was in its original context. Generally, the pottery we found was … Continue reading →

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