Digging

Digging tells a story if you wait long enough. The crew comes back from the field with more and more finds as they get closer to the floor. Camel skeletons appear, then human bones,coins, more pots, glass shards, and the story.

A child is crushed under a wall, apparently, coins scattered around her. There is a metal ring on the back of the head that could be a ponytail holder. She is face down. Was the 363AD earthquake the culprit? Only the pottery will tell.

Pottery is how you date most things and one can get a decently accurate picture of a site by aging the little sherds that they are bringing home. The newest pottery on site suggests the last date of occupation. They are meticulous with their paperwork and measurements, graphing everything. Labeling everything. It's tedious, but paperwork is king. Otherwise, we're just looters.

And looting they do. One site was compromised this weekend as some locals came in and starting digging. They took at least one complete pot that we know about. It's being passed around the back streets right now, like so many other antiquities, hopefully bringing in a bit of money for a Bedouin and ending up in a nice private collection. More likely, though, is they'll drop it.