The 1994 Season of Excavations of the University of South Florida Excavations at Sepphoris took place from June 14 to July 15, 1994. Director was James F. Strange of the University of South Florida. Other staff included Thomas R. W. Longstaff of Colby College, Associate Director, Tom McCollough of Centre College, Field Director, Lucille Roussin, Mosaicist, Arlene Fradkin, Zooarchaeologist, Diane Treacy-Cole, Numismatist, Richard Kramer, Architect, Alysia Fischer, Glass Technologist, and Joan Keller, Glass Historian. Expedition Administrator was Carolyn Strange, and Mary Lynn Jones was Registrar.
Excavations were confined to the "Peristyle Building" of previous seasons. The objective this season was to connect the stratigraphy and architecture of the east part of the building with the west.
Square 55 (Barbara Pilcher, Area Supervisor): The west wall of the building was found, as well as the founding of the last phase of the sidewalk exterior to the building. The sidewalk was 5th and 6th century CE in date, while the interior of the wall produced Early Roman ceramics. The floor of the building was a white mosaic with a black meander pattern. Two stones against the west wall of the Peristyle matched projections of two stylobates found in previous seasons. In the 5th century, debris accumulated inside the building there was found a rolled, bronze and silver amulet.
Square 56 (Lynn Penley, Area Supervisor): Here the continuation of the mosaic floor and the meander pattern of square 55 was found. The mosaic floor in the south side of the square was about 30 cm. higher in elevation than the rest of the mosaic, which matched the finds in 1993 to the south. The stylobates had been robbed out, but the notched base of a column was found high in the fill and suggests that space here was "erased" with a screen between the columns.
Square 88 (Gary Lindstrom, then John Serrage, Area Supervisors): A house destroyed sometime subsequent to 1948 dominated the area. It was found that the house had been founded directly upon the white mosaic of the building in the west of the square, but the mosaic was destroyed more deeply in the east. The mosaic appears to have been built in two phases.
Square 5 (Gary Lindstrom, then Mary Keith, Area Supervisors): The modern house also intruded deeply into ancient layers in this area, but it was determined that the Early Roman founding of the Peristyle was to be found, including a Byzantine robbing of a cross wall built up against the exterior wall of the Peristyle. A square, plaster-lined pit and a wall survive from the pre-peristyle period, perhaps late Hellenistic or the earliest phase of Roman I.
Square 42 (Lora Sorkin, Area Supervisor): The modern house intruded everywhere, but beneath the house were found two drains from the period of use of the Peristyle building with quantities of Roman I, II, and III pottery. A lime kiln cut the two drains. The kiln probably dates to the Arab I or II periods. A fragment of white mosaic with black bands was found in the west and south of the square where it had been cut by the builders of the house.
Square 89 (Mary Huggins, Area Supervisor): Major finds include simple work spaces of the Arab I period, then beneath these a clearly defined Byzantine II (6th century CE) industrial area which was well cobbled. Space for one standing worker was found in the middle of the square upon cobbles. A hard floor roughly defined with re-used cut stones standing on edge was found in the northeast corner. Quantities of glass cullet and raw glass suggest that the industry was glass cullet preparation. This space was burned about mid-sixth century, and charred, wooden beams 9 cm. in diameter were found upon the cobbled floor.
Square 90 (Alysia Fischer, Area Supervisor): The continuation of the work space in Area 89 extended into Square 90. A circular, stone installation dominated the square, presumably a work area. The hard floor defined by re- used cut stones in Area 89 extended into the northwest corner of Square 90. Quantities of glass cullet and raw glass found here also suggest that the industry was glass cullet preparation. The burn in Square 89 was also found here, with charred beams more than 2 m. long, lying upon the cobbled floor and upon accumulation upon the cobbles. In the burn layer and scarcely one centimenter from a charred beam was found a gold headdress and two pairs of earrings of the sixth century. The headdress featured chains of gold leaves fastened to a central medallion about 2 cm. in diameter. The medallion showed a woman's face with modius head covering, a cornucopia to the right and a sheaf of grain to the left. It is inscribed XAPIC or "Grace." One pair of earrings was badly damaged, but the second pair was intact. The circlets for the ears had three gold chains attached. Each chain ends in a seed pearl. The pearls were damaged in the fire, but the metal survived more or less intact.
Square 91 (James R. Strange, Area Supervisor): A series of work spaces from the Arab I down to Byzantine I periods were found. A robber trench of the Arab period cut into a previous robber trench of the Byzantine period. Fragments of a cross wall of a yet unknown date remain in the bottom of the robber trenches. The remnant of a wall is likely of the Peristyle building.
Square 94 (Matthew Griffin, Area Supervisor): A series of work spaces from the Arab I to Byzantine I periods were also found. A robber trench of the Byzantine I period in the southeast of the square showed that major architecture had once stood here. Beneath the work spaces of the Arab period other Byzantine I robber trenches were found that outlined the exterior wall of the Peristyle and at least one cross wall. Hard floors made up to the shadows of walls contained Early Roman materials.
Square 92 (Sharon Sammons, Area Supervisor): More architecture of the Arab I, Byzantine II, and Byzantine I periods was found to indicate continuity of work space through several centuries. Quantities of glass cullet and raw glass suggest that the industry was glass, and connects this area with the squares to the east excavated in 1993 as well as those to the west excavated in 1994.
Square 93 (Michel Michado, Area Supervisor): A fine set of Arab I and Byzantine II work surfaces were the main features found. Quantities of raw glass fragments and burned olive pits were found in all strata. A vaulted cistern with two original access holes was last used with the Byzantine II work surfaces. A small drain conducted water down into the cistern from the northeast into a hole cut later than the two original holes. The depth of the cistern is currently unknown, but it measures 3.74 m. long and 2.75 m. wide. It may be one of a series of vaulted cisterns that went with the original Peristyle building.
Square 95 (Matthew Kales, Area Supervisor): This square revealed the continuity of work spaces from the Arab I to Byzantine II periods in the east end of the Peristyle building, but long after the building went out of use. The south half of the square shared quantities of raw glass and cullet fragments with Square 92. Quantities of debris from the destruction of the Byzantine II bath excavated in 1993 appeared in the north half of the square: ceramic flue fragments, ceramic water pipe fragments, and pieces of hypocaust from the caldarium.
From this season's work it is clear that the space at the eastern end of the building next to the Cardo underwent further development during the 5th and 6th centuries. It seems that the west end of the building 60 m. away was mined for building stones during this same period.
(Submitted by James F. Strange, Thomas R. W. Longstaff, and Tom McCollough).
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