It was a second day, a hot second day, for pulling weeds and cutting brush. Not much exciting there. But while resting briefly I noticed something I had not seen before. It has to do with the lintel of the doorway we will probe later in the season.
Lintel of a blocked doorway to the House of Tyche
This decorative lintel on the House of Tyche was an entrance from a small street. To the left of the lintel stone is another decorative stone. Today for the first time I noticed a notch in the upper left of that stone.
The notch up close.
What was the purpose of the notch. Did it perhaps hold a torch lighting the entrance at night. I set a trowel in the notch to suggest that a torch might have been placed there to light the entrance at night.
A trowel hangs in the notch
I will have to find comparanda for this interesting feature. It is certainly more interesting than all the weeds we pulled today.
July 1, 2019
Day 2: An Interesting Feature
by Dr. Mark Schuler • 2019, Research Phase
It was a second day, a hot second day, for pulling weeds and cutting brush. Not much exciting there. But while resting briefly I noticed something I had not seen before. It has to do with the lintel of the doorway we will probe later in the season.
This decorative lintel on the House of Tyche was an entrance from a small street. To the left of the lintel stone is another decorative stone. Today for the first time I noticed a notch in the upper left of that stone.
What was the purpose of the notch. Did it perhaps hold a torch lighting the entrance at night. I set a trowel in the notch to suggest that a torch might have been placed there to light the entrance at night.
I will have to find comparanda for this interesting feature. It is certainly more interesting than all the weeds we pulled today.