Dr. Mazar is currently leading another excavation on the Ophel. As is now custom, Eilat is supported by Armstrong students and alumni: 11, to be exact. I visited Dr. Mazar and the students in Jerusalem last weekend. During the visit, we broke out the microphone and I sat down with Dr. Mazar to discuss the Ophel dig, as well as some of our fondest memories from the past 50 years.The "Ophel" is an elevated area in Jerusalem between the City of David and the Temple Mount. The 2018 season will be fairly short and will focus on excavating a cave (date not specified), the "medallion house," and a Byzantine-era building. Dr. Mazar hopes to return to the Iron Age remains in a future season.
PaleoJudaica has noted other finds from the Ophel excavation, including a cuneiform fragment, a tenth-century BCE inscribed ostracon, and an inscribed bulla of King Hezekiah.
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