Mark's Pottery Collection

All of us on the dig collected a few pieces of junk pottery that would have been reburied in the refuse heap.
But my room mate Mark out did us all.

Mark's bed filled with part of his pottery collection

Mark is a teacher and a preacher who wanted to give samples of pottery to his students and tell them all about his dig experience. He filled a huge duffel bag and somehow shipped it home.

I wonder if Mark has any of the pottery left for himself.

Water Water Water in Petra

The rains come to Petra in February and seldom any other time.

To deal with that the ancients learned to collect water in many cisterns through out Petra and this is one of them. A modern Protective covering is what you see here. Inside the cave was the cistern that had been plastered and sealed to hold lots of water. Channels cut into the hill side directed rain water into it. These can be found all over Petra.

Our group had just been inside and I caught them coming out.

On the Steps of the Treasurery

It is a long walk through the Siq into Petra ---

After that long walk a few members of our dig team take a break and sit on the steps of the famous treasurery.

The Heart Temple

What do archaeologist do with a week off from the dig?

Some went sight seeing and relaxing by the Dead Sea but my friend Eudora and I went visiting other dig sites where the Nabataeans built temples.

Heart Shaped Column Stones

One was a temple that we called the Heart Temple because of the shape of the column stones.

In this picture Eudora is taking GPS readings for various places in the temple.

This is the alter area.

More Neolithic Village Pictures

The people who built and live in this village were a lread civilized and organized.

My friend Eudora Struble examines a dwelling on the site.

In this picture Kim Smith is checking out a circular structure.

Neolithic Village near Little Petra

A favorite thing to do on our days off was to visit other archaeological sites in the area. Here is an excavation of a Neolithic Village near Petra.

Neolithic village from 7200 B.C.

Thought to be one of the first settled villages in human history in Jordan, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic village of Al Beidha is an impressive testament to just how ancient the civilizations inhabiting Jordan were. 

At this site — which is open to all to visit for free — prehistoric houses and the village’s retaining wall are, astonishingly, still upright and visible. 

Artifacts found in and around the village suggest that the ancient inhabitants were goat herders, hunter-gatherers, as well as cultivators of barley and emmer wheat.

Working Hard In Petra

I only have a few pictures of my self on the Petra dig and this is one of them.

I have a goofa full of dirt

As I was not the boss on this dig in 2002 I hauled a lot of dirt in goofas to the wheelbarrow. We moved a lot of dirt that  year and I did my share of that.

I love Petra and long to go back to that dig and see it finished. At the moment no one is digging there.