Last Day in the Field: More Photos Drawing and Mapping

Another sunrise at Mudaybi

Greetings,

Today we had our last day in the field. Tomorrow a small crew will go to the site for some more pictures and to load our equipment on the truck. Then we will return to Karak to load our luggage and head to Amman.

We arrived at our usual time this morning and the first order of business was "cleaning the squares." We start the cleaning process the day before we take pictures. But just before photos we sweep any dirt blown in overnight and also sweep the dirt in the square to remove footprints. This morning we had a large crew sweeping in the gate area. Many times the early morning is the best for photographs because there is softer lighting and less harsh shadows.

Then it is time for our photographer Tim Snow to climb the ladder to get a better overview of the work.

Here is Tim with his "ladder crew" A.J. Fry and Jake Isbell. A.J. and Jake move the ladder and make sure it is safe for Tim to climb.

Once the gate area is cleaned we can get good photos to document our work and to help us illustrate what we have found. Here is a photo of the gate area this morning from ground level.


Here is a close up of the bench in the Iron Age gate. We know that it is possible that these walls, benches and other features may never be in this good of condition again. So we work hard to document them well with photos, measurements, and drawings.

After all this work of cleaning and brushing it seems a shame to back fill our work. But we do it to protect the features at the site. Especially the delicate areas like the theshold and benches in the gate. Here Jake Isabell carries two burlap sacks with soil to backfill the gate.

After we carried the sand bags to the gate area we cut them so the soil is released to protect the gate.

Here you see more of the back fill operation in the gate. Left to right A.J. Fry, Jerry Mattingly, Ted Carruth, and Melissia Spong.

Here Melissa Spong and Ted Carruth are cutting sand bags over the theshold of the gate.

Later in the day Tim Snow is called to do final photos in a single square, at times like this the shade cloth (or Joshua cloth) is essential to remove harsh lighting in the square. Like so many things during the excavation, it requires a team effort. This shading operation took four people to set up. This is so we get the best photographs possible.

Once the shade is set and the meter sticks are aligned then Tim can get a good shot of the square.

Today we also continued the drawing process, we draw every wall and balk. We also draw final top plans. Khalid Tarawneh measures in Area D, while Hadassah Penwell draws the wall.

Gerald Keown completed his drawing in Area D.

Here Paul Mabry our survey is still hard at work checking and double checking his reference points. He also has been mapping the area around the site as well the wall lines and gate area.

Here is Paul with his "mobile office" aka his utility vest.

Another major activity of the day is make an inventory of our tools. The tools were sorted and broken material was repaired or discard. Here is a stack of repaired and counted guffas.

Here is a basket full old tennis balls we use them to cover our rebar stakes so they are more visible and to make them less dangerous.

Here are crates of dustpans, small picks, ropes for the shifts, and rebar.


Here are hoes, sledge hammers and a a stack of buckets.

Here is our tool box with a yellow pad with an inventory of all epuipment.

Here is the inventory list made in the field this morning.

One of the final activities is to dismantle the outhouse (we call it the Harold). Here Wilbur Reid and Ralph Carnathan begin removing staples that hold up the burlap walls.



Then we can begin to dismantle the seat and frame.

We back fill the area and take out the frame for shipping to the warehouse in Amman.

We also had time to today to walk around the site and ponder the answers that we have found, and the new questions raised from our work this summer. This is one of the squares in Area D which has been prepared for final photos.

Here Jerry Mattingly and John Mark Wade look over a staircase near the exterior wall of the fortress near the north west corner of the site.

Here is one of the best preserved walls inside in the fortress, it is part of the inner structure which Nelson Glueck called an "acropolis" when he visited the site in 1933.

Emily Saunders looks over a tumbled archway of this inner structure of the site.

Fredrick Ninow is an avid photographer and he used today as an opportunity to take many photos.

Mike VanZant stood on the north tower of the gate to get an "Iron Age" view of the valley below the site called the Fajj.

As the end of the season approaches everyone has mixed feelings. We know that there is much more work to do but we also realize that it is now time to go home. It is hard work and we need a rest. Here Emily Dew takes a break in her square from this summer.

This is our last evening in the Karak Rest House, tomorrow night we will be in Amman. I will try to post from there tomorrow. Wednesday we will make a trip to see Jerash.

John Wineland
Karak, Jordan