Greetings From Oxford 2

C.S. Lewis

Hello

I have been very busy here in Oxford and I have had a hard time getting access to email/internet.

Things are going well here. It is chilling and rainy most days here in Oxford. Both Connie and I had to buy umbellas.

The conference went well. I think my paper was well received. I will revise it and submit it in September and it should be published in the Spring. Connie and I were able to tour some of the colleges here in Oxford and also go on a special C. S. Lewis Tour and a Literary walking tour of Oxford. We also visited Blemheim Palace where Churchhill was born and a van tour of the Cotswalds. Tomorrow we head up to the Lake District and the town of Keswich. We hopw to visit the home of Wadsworth and Beatrix Potter etc. It is also home to the Keswich Conference.

The on Tuesday we travel back to Oxford and drop the car off and then take a bus to London. We fly home a week from today.

We are doing well and seeing some great things. The change in weather is nice after the heat and dryness of Jordan.

More later if I have a chance

John Wineland
Oxford, England

Greetings From Oxford

A view of an Oxford Street

Hello

I arrived safety at Heathrow today and then travelled by coach to Oxford. The weather is quite a change about 60 - 65 degrees and rainy here. I ate some fish and chips and attended Evenesong services this evening at a local church. The conference begins tomorrow morning at 9AM. Connie should arrive about noon at Oxford. I will go to the bus station to greet her and help her get to the guest house where we are staying.

I am quite tired since I got up this morning at 3AM Amman time which would be 1AM Oxford time. (5 hour time difference from here to the US).

Connie and I will be in Oxford until Friday or Saturday and then on to the Lake district and later spend a few nights in London.

John Wineland
Oxford, England

Greetings From Harta

A lifesize statue of Artemis in a similar pose as this was found in Area A during the Summer of 1994.

Hello

This is my last night in camp in Harta. Today we excavated two important probes. One beneath Gerald's mosaic floor and another in John's square under a fine limestone pavement. After checking the pottery from the square we can say that we have Byzantine mosaic floor and a Roman pavement at a lower level. This pavement probably served as the floor for the temenos of a Roman temple probably dedicated to Artemis.

Tomorrow we must draw finish up and draw top plans of the squares and also draw the balks. Then we must take final photos. There is still much work to do at the site but I think that we have answered some questions this season.

Tim and I will leave for Amman and ACOR tomorrow afternoon. I hope to revise my paper for the ARAM conference. Also I hope to visit the Department of Antiquities to check on their library and perhaps see Dr. Fawzi Zayadine. Then I will say good bye to Adnan and I fly out early Sunday morning for England.

John Wineland
Harta, Jordan

Greetings From Abila

Hello,

It is Wednesday evening here in Harta. I am doing well my toe is much better. We have 2 more days left to finish my work in Area A on the Tell. I will be traveling to Amman on Friday and I will spend 2 nights at ACOR before I fly to London on Sunday morning.

We are digging probes adjancent to the wall of the church on the north and south sides. We are hoping to test the dating of the construction of the building. We also are probing beneath the mosaic floor that Gerald found in his square. This is to help us date the construction of the floor.
We have also found a lower floor in a near by square we are going to try and probe beneath it.

We have to make some decisions because since I am leaving there is not much time to continue the work in the area.

I think we will answer some questions but also raise more questions in the process.

Gerald had to break through his mosaic floor so we could pottery beneath the floor in order to date it. It is painful to break through an ancient floor that has been in place since the late 6th century but archaeology is destruction. In order to find out more information we some times have to remove the later material. He place a small probe beneath the floor, 1 meter by about 1/2 meter.

More later,

John Wineland
Harta, Jordan