May 7, 2017
Haaretz features the churches at Hippos and the tomb of the revered woman. Dr. Schuler offers his theory of emerging Chalcedonian Christianity influencing architectural changes in the 6th century.
Read more at http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.787712
January 15, 2017
With increased computing power, we are now able to present two larger models that document the final status of the excavation at the end of the 2016 season.
The first shows the North Building, likely a support building and perhaps living quarters for the community maintaining the Northeast Church:
The second shows the entire House of Tyche. It is a very large file and may require several attempts to load it over the internet.
December 30, 2016
A preliminary report accompanied by twenty nine 3D models is now available here or on the Excavation Reports menu of the website. A final report will include additional models, a report on the coins found during the season (several at floor level), further analysis of mosaic fragments, comparanda, and soil analysis from the north water feature.
October 15, 2016
Desiree represented the 2016 season at Sussita by the Concordia Team at the International Archaeology Day sponsored by the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology at Macalester College. Her poster was one of ten from area students. She answered questions about our methods, finds, and models. #WeAreCSP
September 29, 2016
A poster proposal by Desiree Reding and Ben Meyer has been accepted for the annual Archaeology Day event sponsored by the MN Society of The Archaeological Institute of America. In celebration of International Archaeology Day and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Minnesota chapter has invited graduate and undergraduate students to present posters about their recent archaeological fieldwork or research projects related to archaeology and cultural heritage preservation. Dez and Ben will present a poster titled, “Systems, Finds, and Models: the 2016 Northeast Insula Project at Hippos of the Decapolis, Jordan Valley, Israel.”
The poster session will be held in conjunction with a lecture by Sudharshan Seneviratne, recipient of the 2013 AIA Award for Best Practice in Conservation and Heritage Management, about “Cultural Heritage Preservation in Sri Lanka.” The lecture will be at 11am, followed by a poster presentation and reception from 12-2 pm. Please, join us in room 102, Fine Arts Common, at Macalester College on Saturday, 15 October.
September 11, 2016
Photogrammetry holds much promise for the documenting of archaeological work, as we have demonstrated over the last two years.
I have been experimenting recently with additional techniques.
As you may recall, one student recovered a small Byzantine storage jar that was intact.
But when I tried to make a 3D model of the jar, the result failed.
The software could not find points on the jar to construct the bottom.
I have also attempted to make models of larger sections of the site. My first attempt at the south half of the House of Tyche came out rather well, except for a hole in the west wall next to Cardo 3N.
More attempts to follow.
August 24, 2016
15 years
182 individual diggers
281 trips to Israel
6300 cubic meters or roughly 22250 cubic feet of excavated soil/rock (very rough approximation)
66750 buckets of soil and rock moved
862 individually documented artifacts
965 pottery analysis baskets
331 loci (walls, floors and distinct layers of soil in identifiable locales)
$1,000,000 plus in total expenses including airfare
August 10, 2016
Walking down for the last time…
Now that the field work is over, people often ask what I will do now.
Work on the Northeast Insula Project is far from over! The project is shifting from the field work phase to the publication phase. So, I expect to be involved in the Northeast Insula Project for a number of years.
First of all, I will be writing a report on the 2016 season. That report will be submitted to my colleagues at Haifa, along with supporting documentation. I will also post that complete report here under the menu item “Excavation Reports.”
Secondly, I will be reorganizing all the data from the dig over fifteen years and publishing much of that data on this site. I want anyone interested to be able to see as much detail about the field work as possible. I will also include in this phase copies of all papers I have presented on the excavation (along with the supporting slides).
Lastly, there is the Final Report. I am not sure at this early stage about the format or the publisher. But it is so very important for future scholarship to provide a comprehensive discussion of the work of the last decade and a half. And that will happen.
Even though I am no longer in the field, the Northeast Insula Project will be a going concern for a number of years. And I will also follow closely the work of my colleagues from Haifa and elsewhere on this beautiful mountain overlooking the Sea.
August 4, 2016
For fifteen years, Concordia University has been most pleased to partner with the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa on the Hippos Excavations. I am most thankful for the colleagues from Haifa, during the first eleven years with Prof. Arthur Segal and his associate, Michael Eisenberg, and more recently with Dr. Eisenberg and his team, including Arleta and Nofar.
These folks from Haifa have been most gracious and supportive, and demonstrate what is possible when institutions cooperate internationally.
I am proud to be part of this project and will miss very much interactions in the field with these colleagues.
Some photos from last Friday. Good progress, we got to the bottom of some things (literally). Thanks to everyone who joined!
הצטרפו אלינו ליום חפירות, נמשיך לחפור באוכפה של סוסיתא. נפגש בחנייה העליונה ונלך ביחד לשטח החפירה שנמצא בערך 100 מטרים לכוון העיר ממערב לשביל. אנא, הירשמו מבעוד מועד כדי שמטעמי ארוחת הבוקר יהיו לרוחכם. לעוד פרטים ניתן לפנות לארלטה פה בפייסבוק או דרך אי-מייל:arleta.kow@gmail.com . נתראה בחפירה
Join us for the dig day! We will continue working by the ditch on the way up the mountain. We will meet on the upper parking lot, and from there go together to the excavation area, located around 100m towards the city, west of the path. Please, sign up to the event, so we can expect you and prepare a satisfying breakfast. For more details, please contact Arleta here on FB or by e-mail: arleta.kow@gmail.com See you at the dig
A dig day in Hippos יום חפירות בסוסיתא
June 23, 2017, 8:00am - June 23, 2017, 6:00am
הצטרפו אלינו ליום חפירות, נמשיך לחפור באוכפה של סוסיתא. נפגש בחנייה העליונה ונלך ביחד לשטח החפירה שנמצא בערך 10...
If we had any doubts concerning the new dump, the 8 baskets of pottery we collected are enough. Excited we are. A tricky and dangerous area due to the slope and rolling stones (Photos by A. Pazout).
June 14, 2017
Gallery updates . . .
by Mark Schuler (administrator) • Research Phase • Tags: Galleries
We are pleased to announce that we have fully updated the photo gallery collection in the Galleries link on our main menu. You can now see photos from each day of the dig for the last fifteen years. Also there are lots of ceramics, metals, coins, plasters, etc. These raw records are critical as we get started on the final report.