Sunrise and Birthdays

Hello,

We have two more full days in the field with our local workers. Today it was cooler than normal and we actually saw some clouds out that site. Above is the sunrise this morning.



Here are the clouds approaching from the west. It is a nice change to see the clouds and have the cooler temperatures.



Last night some of our team visited the home of Khaled Tarawneh, Wilbur Reid provided me with three pictures from last nights dinner. Here from left to right is Emily Saunders, Hadassah Penwell, Miriam Perkins, Linda Perkins, Emily Dew, Melissa Spong, and Mike VanZant.


Here Jerry Mattingly and Hadassah Penwell sample from the large buffet.

This is the group in the reception room waiting for the dinner.

Here two of our workers pose for a photo while seating on one of the large lintels that once spanned the space between the pier walls of the gate.



Our work is hard on our clothes, Emily Saunders repaired her shoes with duct tape.


The pier walls of the gate are clearly defined here in the morning sun.


This is photo from inside the chamber of the Iron Gate, this view gives a sense of large size of the gate.

Here is another view of gate area. The large theshold is covered by sand bags, you can see the bench on the left side of the photo.

Here a crew is working hard on a new square in the gate area. From left to right, Emily Dew, Don Garner, and Megan Love.

Also in Area B Melissa Spong and Ted Carruth work just inside the gate.

Here several of our crew pose with Dr. Miriam Perkins, Miriam and Linda Perkins left for Amman today and they fly home tomorrow. Left to right Melissa Spong, Miriam Perkins, Hadassah Penwell, Emily Dew, and kneeling Emily Saunders.


In Area A they are working hard in a deep square. The wall on the right is the exterior wall of the fortress and the wall in the center is probably part of a casemate wall. From left to right Mike VanZant, Emily Saunders, Jerry Mattingly, and Randy Cloud.

In Area D they exposed a nice doorway in the wall with a bench adjacent to the wall. Here from left to right is Khalid Tarawneh, Byran Love, and Jacob Isbell.


In this square in Area D they are now reaching bedrock, they have exposed a large theshold of a door. The doorway is at the edge of their square so we will have to wait until the next season to find out what is in that room. From left to right, Gerald Keown, Miriam Perkins, and Crystalyn Oswald.


Here Gerald Keown is working to clear a niche just inside the doorway.


This evening at dinner we celebrated two birthdays, Jim Pace andEmily Saunders.

Here the honored guests go first through the buffet line. Left to right Jim Pace, Emily Saunders, and our chef.

The entire group sang the happy birthday song to them.

Then they opened their gifts, here Jimmy receives a box of Snickers.

Emily received a scarf.


Our chef prepared a beautiful cake for us to enjoy.

One of bus drivers Salah danced to celebrate the occasion.



Even our mascot, Kitler looked on with intense excitement (many of us think that he looks like a certain mid-20th century dicator.)


As the day ended we had a wonderful view of the Jordan river valley, in the center of the photo if you look carefully you can see the Dead Sea.

John Wineland
Karak, Jordan

Another Day of Excavation

Greetings

We are in our last week of excavation. We have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week for regular excavation and then two days off (Friday and Saturday). Some of the group will travel to Petra on Thursday and return Friday. I decided to go back again to Petra and see somethings I did not see last time. Then next Sunday and Monday we do wrap up at the site, that will be drawings, final photos etc. Then a week from tomorrow we take all of the material and tools to Amman.

So we are all working hard to make the most of the time we have left here at the site. The time is going quickly.


Dr. Ted Carruth from Lipscomb University is now removing the balk of square that he first started in 1997. Here he is on the outside of the gate.


Here is a view from inside the gate complex looking east towards the Fajj. In this photo you can see Linda Perkins in the foreground removing the balk with assistance from A. J. Fry. In the distance you can see Melissa Spong working on her balk.


In Area B (gate area) we opened a new square today. Dr. Don Garner, Carson-Newman College and his crew moved over from Area A to work on this special project. Here we see in the foreground Jihad Haroun, Department of Antiquities of Jordan, Don Garner, Megan Love Mid America Nazarene University, and Emily Dew from UNC-Chapel Hill working hard to get this square going. We hope that this square will help us understand the dimensions of the gate and perhaps shed some light concerning the blocking walls.



Here Linda Perkins and A. J. Fry Mid America Nazarene University are excavating the in front of one of the pier walls and a blocking wall.

Here is a video which shows some of the work in Area B. It is a 360 degree view taken from one of the gate towers.

Over in Area A you can see the exterior wall of the fortress and a parallel casemate wall. Note the massive tumble of stones.



Here is the crew in Area A, from left to right, Dr. Michael VanZant, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Emily Saunders, Carson-Newman College, and Dr. Randall Cloud, Mid-America Nazarene University.


It was hot today and very little wind until after our "second breakfast". Here is part of the crew in Area D, from left to right, Crystalyn Oswald, Mid-America Nazarene University, Dr. Gerald Keown, Gardner-Webb University, and Dr. Miriam Perkins, Emmanuel School of Religion.


Here is another view of their square. You can see a large limestone block on the left, and not visible is a theshold just past the sandbags in the foreground. From left to right is Miriam Perkins, Crystalyn Oswald, and Gerald Keown.

Over near the northwest corner of the fortress, John Mark Wade, Emmanuel School of right supervises the progress of the work in Hadassah Penwell's square.

Here Hadassah Penwell, Johnson Bible College, breaks one of the many rocks in her square.

In archaeology often we work with a small pick and trowel but sometimes we need to use a bigger pick to work through a hard packed surface. In this video clip, Emily Dew releases some frustration by using a big pick.

Tonight I close with a photo of Jacob Isbell a student at Mid-America Nazarene University. Yesterday I did not get a good photo him so I asked him to pose for this one. Here he is taking a break from the work in Area D.

Everyone is doing well, some of group traveled to the home of one of the Department of Antiquities to eat dinner. I decided to stay here to finish the blog.

Remember to see earlier posts you can check the blog at http://krp2009.blogspot.com

If you need to contact me my email address is wineland@kcu.edu

John Wineland
Karak, Jordan

Last Week of Excavation

Greetings,

Above is a view of Don Garner enjoying a slice of watermelon during our second breakfast.

Here are four of the "Kansas City 6", students from Mid-America Nazarene University from left to right, Megan Love, in the back Crystalyn Oswald, in the front Byran Love, and in the hat A. J. Fry.


Gerald Keown is also enjoying our typical second breakfast treat.

Here is an overview of Area B this morning.


Today was the first day at the site for the "Kansas City 6". Here is Linda Perkins with A. J. Fry, a student at Mid-America Nazarene University, in Area B, the gate area. A. J. helped to uncover part of the Iron Age gate.


Also working in Area B is Bryan Love another student at Mid-America Nazarene University. He is working to clear one of the gate chambers of the debris which has blown in over the eight years since we worked the site.

All over the site we have many large stones that are too big to move so we must break them up. Everyone gets involved with the work, here Melissa Spong uses the sledge hammer on a a big 'hajar" (rock). Linda Perkins an A. J. Fry look on.

Linda Perkins takes her turn at the big rock, while A. J. Fry and Melissa Spong look on in Area B.

Here in Area D, Crystalyn Oswald from Mid American Nazarene University (center) joins the work with Gerald Keown and Miriam Perkins.

Also in Area D here is Jacob Isbell a student at Mid America Nazarene University working with Hadassah Penwell.

In Area A Megan Love a student from Mid American Nazarene Univerity (left) joins Don Garner and Emily Dew.

Also in Area here is the crew, left to right Emily Saunders, Dr. Randall Cloud, professor at Mid America Nazarene University who joins the work of Mike VanZant.

Here is a photo of our off-site survey crew. Dr. Karen Borstad and Jihad Haroun. Dr. Borstad is searching for evidence of roads in the Karak area.

Here is our surveyor still hard at work at the site with his total station.

This is Dr. Miriam Perkins of Emmanuel School of Religion who is holding an Iron Age amulet that she found in her square in Area D.

Here is a closer view of the amulet which has a hole drilled through it so it could be carried on a string.

Again it is late and I must get up at 3:45 AM.

Remember you can always view all of the posts at this address http://krp2009.blogspot.com
You can contact me at wineland@kcu.edu

John Wineland
Karak, Jordan