NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS ON MOUNT ZION IN JERUSALEM

 Please join us as a Team Member in the excavation of one of the most exciting sites in Jerusalem today. Details on our operations in 2010 will be posted in January here and at our registration site http://www.edabroad.uncc.edu/mtzion/.

The area chosen for archaeological study is situated close to a number of important places in the history of the city, namely the Praetorium where Jesus was tried before Pontius Pilate, and the House of Caiaphas and the other priestly families in the Upper City of Jerusalem in the first century CE. In the Byzantine period, the area was situated at the southern end of the Cardo Maximus, which was a grand columned street and in its vicinity Justinian (mid 6th century) built a very large church. The crest of Mount Zion was a focus for the building of houses in the Early Islamic Period. The Crusaders and the Ayyubids built their fortifications across the crest of the hill, and in the early 13th century, the local Sultan destroyed the gate-tower, which was located in the area of our excavation.
In the 2009 season, remarkable architectural finds were made as well as unique small finds, such as a ten-line inscription on the side of a stone cup commonly used for ritual purity during the first century CE. Inscriptions of this kind are extremely rare and only a handful has been found in scientific excavations made within the city. This new inscription is presently being deciphered by epigraphic experts in an effort to determine the meaning of the text, which is clear but cryptic. The dig also produced a sequence of building remains dating from the history of Jerusalem, from the First and Second Temple periods through to Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.
Come join us in unearthing the exiting and well- preserved remains at this site. Previous excavations, which were undertaken here in 1978, really just "scratched the surface". There are all sorts of things to be excavated, including houses that were destroyed in the year 70 CE by Titus and the Roman legions. Surprisingly, some of the vaulted ceilings of these houses are still intact! Further up the hill, digs revealed wall paintings with floral designs showing buildings and birds, which would not have been different from those seen at Pompeii.

Your presence on this dig is important, and your contribution would be long-lasting.

Come to the site, dig with us, find something unique, and contribute to the history of Jerusalem. As previous Team Members have stated, there is a great amount of exhilaration when one unearths an object that has not seen the light of day since it was buried thousands of years ago...