Figure 4. 3 November, 2015, 110 years later, and 60 years after re plastering of the masonry and bedrock. The bosses of the draughted masonry remain visible as bumps in the thick layer of cement, but the “coping” has been removed. 3-11-2015.
Figure 28. While stones were being removed, another part of the team began removing the soil using buckets and ropes. The strategy was to remove the thinner layers from the edges where bedrock was higher to isolate the deeper and thicker layer in the middle. This and the following 20 photographs show the soil ‘melt’ away until the final remnant is removed from the deeper center. 20-10-2015
Figure 47. Three days later, the last pocket of soil on the last day of scheduled team work. Photo by Muaffaq Hazza. 13-11-2015
Figure 60. Sediment from reservoir supplies municipal street side landscaping soil. 8-11-2015
Figure 35. Attacking the middle 2: four hours later, 12:02 pm, 2-11-2015.
Figure 21. Smaller stones were carried up the steps in a grand 15 minute ‘parade’ in which the 20 members of the Commodus Gate Preservation team participated. 21-10-2015.
Figure 29. Soil removal – bucket by bucket, after the first rain, 26-10-2014
