This morning Iddo invited me to grab some tools and descend into a locus in Alla's area that had been opened to find some evidence of Ramat Rachel's water system. Many other loci had also been opened for this purpose this year but this one had hit on a curved plaster wall that volunteers had followed down approximately 3 meters. They hoped to find a plastered bottom but had first come upon 2 graves from a later era (probably Roman) cut through the fill and the floor the water reservoir.
Before I got there, the remains of one grave had been removed (there is a careful process for this) but the other they chose to leave alone, intact. My task was to help remove remaining fill to reveal the floor. The floor is a smooth gray plaster continuous with the walls and it was great fun exploring this ancient reservoir. At least 3 other areas spread a good 20-30 meters apart have revealed this same structure and is a testament to the large quantities of rain water the ancients were able to accumulate to use for the gardens and baths and other ordinary uses in evidence at this site.