Meticulous Recovery
(a bead necklace in A15)
VC17

Some artifacts stand as testimony to the skill of those who excavate.

In this case, Yustephat found a tiny clay bead (about 1 cm in diameter) in a darkened soil matrix that appeared to be a burnt layer in a complex unit just south of the Royal Storehouse. As he worked, other matching beads came to light. He proceeded ever more slowly, until an entire necklace of beads was recovered. Among them, golden beads of similar size and a larger bead in lapus lazuli, with a carved surface.

Senior staff member Mary Stancavage explains the find to other members of this year's excavation team. She tells them that a small model cart in terracotta was also recovered from the area and indicates the bare outlines of structures in A15.

That very afternoon a remarkable tablet was uncovered. It bore an engraved outline that matched the contours of the area - something of a blueprint used by a foreman (presumably) to guide the construction of the building itself.