Simplifiedplan of the West Churchat Pella, built probablyaroundthe 6th century. is the first major archaeological excavationat the site. Sponsoredby The College of Wooster in Ohio, with the cooperationof the American Schools of Oriental Research, the expedition undertook its first season of excavationin 1967 under the directionof ProfessorRobert H. Smith of Wooster. As far back as October, 1966, the Jordanian Meteorological Department had installed, on behalf of the expedition, a weather station atop the central mound. The records of this station will contribute to the total ecological study of Pella. Excavation began on April 9, with a staff of some 24 persons. One of the two major objectivesof the first season was the West Church, a tri-apsidal building which architect Oliver Unwin's plan showed was some 117 feet wide- one of the largest churches in the Levant. The church has a colonnaded forecourt more than 100 feet long abutting the west façade. Other churches of this size in Syria and Transjordan are generally assumed to be cathedrals. Limestonesarcophaguswith a stylizedgrapevinemotif from beneath the floor of the north apse of the West Churchat Pella. On its edge was carveda Byzantinecross and inside was the skeletonof an unknownholyman.Length6V2feet. 135