Israel

Monday, July 10

John’s Fully Clothed Shower System (patent pending) worked again! If you’d like to experience the slightest glimmer of its effect, I urge you to enter your own shower with your socks on. It’s a bit jarring at first, but as you squish around, the logic of cleaning two things at once will overpower your initial revulsion. When I get back to the United States, I may never need to do laundry again if I continue to use John’s Fully Clothed Shower System (patent pending)!

Today was the same as yesterday. Michael and I sat for six hours in the ever-deepening hole. However, we struck bedrock! That means I get to move to the church tomorrow. Here's that excavation. It once had the best view in the whole city, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. 

It has mosaics inside with an archaeologist’s dream: written inscriptions describing what it was, when it was built, and who it was for. In this case, it was constructed for Theodoros. The team is exposing more artwork every day, and there are specialists on site to immediately conserve what’s found. 

Its nickname is the "Burnt Church" because of the destruction that occurred in the 600s CE. Currently, the theory is that the structure was abandoned before it was destroyed. However, we still have about three feet to uncover in a side chapel until we reach the original floor. The remaining debris can be hiding chalices, a reliquary, or even a sarcophagus. This is not without precedent. There is another church here that contained burials and a skeleton of a woman who was killed in the earthquake of 363 CE. She had a gold pendant around her neck. 

So, I move from the pit to mosaics. More tomorrow!

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