Hershel Shanks

BEST FOOT FORWARD. Gibson’s team uncovered the rock shown here with two curious depressions. Noting that the larger depression fits a right foot perfectly, Gibson believes it was used in the early Roman period (37 B.C.-132 A.D.) for foot annointing. The smaller depression, he argues, might have been used as a base for a one-handled oil jug similar to the broken jugs found in great number in the cave.