The University of South Florida Excavations at Sepphoris, Israel Report of the Excavations: May 11 - July 14, 1998 by James F. Strange, Dennis E. Groh, Thomas R. W. Longstaff and C. Thomas McCollough Hypertext version prepared by Thomas R. W. Longstaff [© 1999] [Last modified on February 12, 1999] Note: The University of Florida began excavations at Sepphoris, Israel in the summer of 1983. Beginning in 1985 excavations at this site were also conducted by Duke University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For a complete overview of the excavation of this site, the interested reader should consult the reports of each excavation project. In the report below, you may click on most square numbers to display the final top plan drawing in a new window. Most users will find it beneficial to close these secondary windows once they have viewed the drawings. You may view an overall drawing of this field, with the squares mentioned in this report highlighted, by clicking here. The University of South Florida Excavations at Sepphoris undertook the 1998 season of excavations from May 5--July 14, 1998. The project is directed by Professor James F. Strange of the University of South Florida. Associate Directors are Professor Dennis H. Groh of Illinois Wesleyan University and Professor Thomas R.W. Longstaff of Colby College. Professor. Longstaff also served as dig photographer. Assistant Director and Field Archaeologist is Professor C. Thomas McCollough of Centre College. Other staff are Professor Diane Treacy-Cole of Bristol University, Bristol, UK, Numismatist, Professor Arlene Fradkin of Florida Atlantic University, Zooarcheologist, Mary Lynn Jones of Houston, TX, Registrar, Joan Keller, M.A., of Safety Harbor, FL, Glass Historian and Glass Registrar, Ron Levy of Tampa, FL, Surveyor, and Carolyn Strange of Tampa, FL, Administrator. Area Supervisors were Meredith Dickens of Charlottesville, VA, Heidi Erickson of the University of Arizona, Connie Groh of Northwestern University, Dr. Evelyn Mangie of the University of South Florida, Barbara Pilcher of Tampa, FL, Joyce Regnvall of the University of South Florida, Sharon Sammons of the University of South Florida, and Randi Wolfe of Colby College. Excavations within the building just west of the façade wall in Square V.47 revealed destruction debris containing painted plaster fragments directly under the modern surface and on top of a fourth century CE white mosaic floor. A surprise was a cross wall east of this floor and scarcely one meter west of and parallel to the façade. The cross wall was founded in the Early Roman period. Its north end butted against the back of a pool excavated in previous seasons. Excavations across the eastern, closing wall of the basilical space in Square V.116 revealed evidence of a post-destruction hypocaust brick-making industry (Byzantine I and II) amid 60 centimeters of black ash. The ash lay upon a plastered floor and bench built up against the east façade of the building. Under the floor of the NE corner of the basilical space lay a cistern (Square V.78), likely of the first century CE. This cistern was part of the gray water complex which conducted water off the roof generally to the SE to the city sewers. This particular cistern opened into a second cistern to the NW. Square V.78 also disclosed the continuation of the facade wall to the NE, as did Square V.38. The excavations east of the façade disclosed in general massive destructions of the Byzantine and Arab I bath in Squares V.38, V.63, and V.118. A gold dinar of Abd al-Malik (685-705 CE) found in the ash in Square V.118 with Umayyad pottery suggests that this destruction was the terminus of the Arab use of the bath. The destruction debris was very rich in artifactual material such as glass, pottery, and bronze fragments. The excavations across the wall south of the north street in Square V.118 revealed more of the Byzantine hypocaust excavated in previous seasons, which accounts for some of the ash. Excavations inside the area south of the street showed that the ER constructions had been badly pillaged by Byzantine builders of the bath. Nevertheless it was possible to show that there had been an ER pool in Sqaure V.63 built on bedrock and against the north wall of the complex. The north wall disclosed in Square V.118 was founded in the ER period. Between the pool in Square V.63 and the cistern in Square V.78, namely, in Square V.38, are rectangular cuttings in the bedrock with terra rosa and scraps of Herodian pottery . This may suggest a pre-Herod Antipas presence. Fragments of a Roman iron cuirass, perhaps of the type known as Lorica Segmentata, began to emerge on the last day of excavation in the terra rosa with the pottery of the first century BCE and CE. The iron cuirass was in very poor condition, but may have been deposited intact. Excavations in Squares V.64 and V.70 near the intersection of the Cardo and the east-west street which marked the north side of the building revealed remnants of the Byzantine bath and street of the 5th and 6th centuries CE. The two northern corners of the deep pool excavated in previous years also emerged. The west side of the deep pool in Square V.64 proved to have been constructed on the remains of first century CE walls. The western-most wall in this square still stood five courses high. It butted and formed a corner with a wall of similar construction to the south. The cornering wall was cut by a later, but still ER wall. This wall was dismantled in antiquity, but its foundation was used as the foundation of the deep Byzantine pool. This complex history forms the object of further research. The history of the bath is now better known, but the relation of the bath to the ruined basilical building is unclear. Submitted by James F. Strange, Dennis E. Groh, Thomas R.W. Longstaff, and C. Thomas McCollough. Return to the Archaeology Web Page