This week a team excavating the ancient water system at Gezer discovered a natural cavern that measures 26 by 30 feet with a height of up to 7 feet. The date of the system is still under discussion, but it may belong to the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC). From Baptist Press:
The team, under the direction of the NOBTS Center for Archaeological Research, located a large open section in the cave at the eastern end of the ancient water system at Tel Gezer in Israel…. The team still plans to locate the water source for the system and explore the entire cave, seeking a possible rear exit and pottery evidence to help date its construction in future digs. […] "We’re able to see a part of the cave that Macalister never saw," Parker said. "This leaves the possibility that there is another entrance [to the cave] from another location off the tel…." "We did some sound tests to see if we could hear inside the cavern from outside on the tel," Parker said. "The sound was very clear, which leads us to believe that it leads to some sort of opening or fissure in the rock that in ancient days the water may have traveled outside the tel." At the start of this dig season the team intended to open the entire mouth of the cave. However, the left side of the mouth was blocked with boulders and the rest of the cave was filled with silt and dirt. So the team continued a probe along the southern wall that they began in 2011. About 26 feet into the probe, Warner and Parker made a crucial decision. With time running out on this year’s dig, Warner and Parker wanted to expose more of the interior of the cave.
The full story is here. The team has posted a five-minute video with the archaeologists chatting in the cave. Gezer breakthrough from Baptist Press on Vimeo. HT: Joseph Lauer
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From Joseph Lauer:
In addition to the five-minute video about the discovery ("Gezer Cavern Explored"), which can also be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hGEJSfXlAM, the excavation team has posted four earlier YouTube videos concerning the 2012 dig at Tel Gezer:
"Gezer 2012 Week One Update" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPFnb5iSSXY [4:06-minutes]
"Gezer Water System Update Week Two, Part One" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVRQ4V7IYPA [3:32-minutes]
"Gezer Water System Update Week Two, Part Two" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvfnzfDby40 [1:50-minutes]
"Gezer Water System Update Week Two, Part Three" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjY7FbSj46w [2:28-minutes]