Welcome back to my blog everybody! The last several weeks have been quite busy. I thought I'd update you all on what I've been up to. Classes have ended, and the summer "vacation" has begun. Contrary to the label, this summer is anything but a vacation. After the end of the year I spent the first few week or so writing all the papers I had to finish recently. I finished them all with plenty of time to spare, but that's not all I've been up to.
In the beginning of July I spent a week participating in the excavations at Megiddo. It was very nice to be excavating again, and I was excited to be covered in dirt where I belong. I am participating in both the Megiddo Excavation and the Azekah Excavation this summer in order to get first-hand experience with which to write a comparison and side-by-side review of the two excavations for the TAU International Archaeology MA Program blog. In about a month that blog post should come out on the International Program website, so keep a look-out for it! My work for the program blog was also recently featured on the Jerusalem Post website. They are running a featured page where they focus on student life in Israel, and three of my blog posts (as well as one by another student) were shared by them. Check out their website at http://www.jpost.com/Blogs/Student-Life for more.
My time at Megiddo was short, but I learned a lot. I try to take every opportunity I can to go out and do some excavations, and this was just such an opportunity. I will go into more detail in my official post for the program in August, so I won't talk too much about it now. I worked hard, met some nice people, ate some decent food, and had fun. In the end, learning and having fun is what's important, so it was a success. I participated in the 3rd week of the Megiddo excavations, and the following week I returned to Tel Aviv to finish my papers. The excavation continued for one more week, and from the pictures online it looked like everyone had a lot of fun.
After a one-week hiatus it was time for another excavation. I am participating in the Lautenschlager Azekah Expedition for one week, which started this past Saturday night. Today ended the first week, and what a busy week it was! We woke up every day at 4am, excavated for eight hours, then did office work, classes and lectures in the afternoon before going to sleep around 9:30. I just got home a few hours ago, and I'm ready to sleep for days. The work is hard and tiresome, but very fulfilling. Even after only five days we have already made great progress. It makes all the bruises, cuts, blisters and sores worth it. On the weekends I'm back in Tel Aviv to rest up, do laundry, and maybe hit the beach for a few hours. I'll discuss the specifics and details in my post in August, so for now I'll say stay tuned, and good night!
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
End of the School Year
Wow it feels like a while since I last wrote a blog. I hope you haven't missed me too much! The semester is officially over. All that is left are a few final essays and papers, then the summer excavations. This summer I'll be spending one week participating on the Megiddo Expedition with esteemed professor Israel Finkelstein. Starting mid-July I will then be one month at Tel Azekah with Professor Oded Lipschits's excavations. I am greatly looking forward to these two exciting experiences. But enough about the future, what have I done over the past several weeks?
My last blog post previewed our departmental trip to Masada with Professor Guy Stiebel. I wrote a detailed blog post for the program, so I won't go into too much detail here. You can read all about it at http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/internationalMA/?p=4234. It was a wonderful experience to learn the academic side of the site without all the Zionistic, Jewish view and propaganda that accompanies the site. Don't get me wrong, that side of the discussion is important, but it isn't the whole story. This tour tried to distance itself from the extravagant and the sensational, talking about the facts and discussing the debates.
We had one other tour in the last month, to the City of David in Jerusalem and to the ancient site at Ramat Rahel. Over the course of the year we had discussed a lot of different topics pertaining to the excavations at the City of David and the excavations at Ramat Rahel. The site at RR was famous in the early years of Israel's statehood, but after the 6-Day War it waned in popularity. Only now with new excavations and new discoveries is it reappearing in importance in the archaeological world. The City of David is also extremely important, and being able to actually visit these sites and see the features and structures that we read about in articles every day is very exciting.
The end of the school year brings with it a lot of papers, and I have spent most of my days either in classes or in the library doing research. The classes were for the most part all very informative, interesting, and fun. I have learned a lot about biblical history and archaeology that is valuable for my future as an academic. Some of the topics of my courses this semester were administration in the Iron Age kingdom of Judah, scientific techniques and methods useful for archaeological investigations, and using pottery typology as a means for discussing bigger debates about issues of chronology and identity in the southern Levant.
Now that the year is ended, and the papers are slowly being completed, it is time for me to think about next year. It is my hope and my goal to return for a second year to work on a Master's Thesis. As of right now this is not a 100% sure thing, but as long as everything falls into place on the administrative side, it will happen. This is probably my last post until the end of the excavations, so look forward to an interesting and full post in the end of summer. It was a great benefit to have participated in this program this year, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!
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| Exploring Masada |
We had one other tour in the last month, to the City of David in Jerusalem and to the ancient site at Ramat Rahel. Over the course of the year we had discussed a lot of different topics pertaining to the excavations at the City of David and the excavations at Ramat Rahel. The site at RR was famous in the early years of Israel's statehood, but after the 6-Day War it waned in popularity. Only now with new excavations and new discoveries is it reappearing in importance in the archaeological world. The City of David is also extremely important, and being able to actually visit these sites and see the features and structures that we read about in articles every day is very exciting.
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| Excavations in Jerusalem |
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| Learning about the Ramat Rahel gardens |
The end of the school year brings with it a lot of papers, and I have spent most of my days either in classes or in the library doing research. The classes were for the most part all very informative, interesting, and fun. I have learned a lot about biblical history and archaeology that is valuable for my future as an academic. Some of the topics of my courses this semester were administration in the Iron Age kingdom of Judah, scientific techniques and methods useful for archaeological investigations, and using pottery typology as a means for discussing bigger debates about issues of chronology and identity in the southern Levant.
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| The Sun setting over the Mediterranean Sea, viewed from the Tel Aviv port |
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Holidays and Family
I hope everybody had a fun and easy Passover! Going without bread for 7-8 days is a tough challenge, but we can all manage it! The week before and the week of Passover were vacation at Tel Aviv University. There were no classes, and during the holiday itself the entire campus was closed without entry. It was a busy vacation for me, without a lot of resting. Since then a lot has happened, and I'll try to give an overview to the best of my abilities
We had two weeks of vacation for the Passover break (the last two weeks of April), and several assignments and papers to write during that time. The first week I devoted all my time to getting as much done as possible, since the library was closed the second week. For the festival dinner (Seder) on the first night of Passover I went to my family in Bet Shemesh. It was a very long and festive celebration, going late into the night. I really enjoyed myself and was happy to have celebrated with them.
The week of Passover (but not the religious days) I participated in an excavation at Tel Aphek. This is the same site I worked at last semester on some select Fridays, and they planned a two-week session to make a big push in the excavations. I went from Sunday-Thursday. We were still removing the backfill from the previous excavations in the 70s. At the end of the week we believe we finally hit the bottom in some of the squares, and are close in a few other places. For most of the time it was very hot, but I really enjoyed being out in the field.
Once the Passover vacation was over it was time to get back to classes. The first week was difficult, trying to finish up all the work and get back into the regular routine. A welcome distraction arrived at the end of the week when my parents came to Israel to visit! Immediately after Passover they left for a few days in Rome, then came to visit me. They spent a week in Israel, doing tourist activities that they hadn't done during their other trips. I was with them for a lot of the time, as well. I took them on my famous tour of Akko, as well as went exploring in the Eretz Israel Museum.
May 11th and 12th were Remembrance and Independence Day (Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma'ut) and Israel entered into holiday mode once again. These are not religious holidays but rather municipal ones, so public transportation was available. However most businesses closed early, and special ceremonies were held across the country. My parents and I spent the holiday with the family in Bet Shemesh. Israeli traditions for Independence Day include fireworks, barbecues, and street parties, which we experienced. It was a fun time had by all. My parents left late Saturday night, after experiencing the hottest days so far this year. It reached 40° C (more than 100° F) both Friday and Saturday!
The last week has been incredibly busy for me. I have spent most of my days sitting in the library doing research for my papers. I also gave presentations for some of my classes as well. While it has been very stressful trying to find time available to go to the library, juggling classes and holidays, I am still glad to be in this field, working with material and topics that I enjoy.
Tomorrow our program leaves at the early hour of 7am for an excursion to the famous desert fortress of Masada, guided by one of the masters of the site, Professor Guy Stiebel. Stay tuned for my blog post about this incredible opportunity!
We had two weeks of vacation for the Passover break (the last two weeks of April), and several assignments and papers to write during that time. The first week I devoted all my time to getting as much done as possible, since the library was closed the second week. For the festival dinner (Seder) on the first night of Passover I went to my family in Bet Shemesh. It was a very long and festive celebration, going late into the night. I really enjoyed myself and was happy to have celebrated with them.
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| My 2-meter deep square at Aphek |
Once the Passover vacation was over it was time to get back to classes. The first week was difficult, trying to finish up all the work and get back into the regular routine. A welcome distraction arrived at the end of the week when my parents came to Israel to visit! Immediately after Passover they left for a few days in Rome, then came to visit me. They spent a week in Israel, doing tourist activities that they hadn't done during their other trips. I was with them for a lot of the time, as well. I took them on my famous tour of Akko, as well as went exploring in the Eretz Israel Museum.
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| My father exploring the Timna exhibit at the Eretz Israel Museum |
The last week has been incredibly busy for me. I have spent most of my days sitting in the library doing research for my papers. I also gave presentations for some of my classes as well. While it has been very stressful trying to find time available to go to the library, juggling classes and holidays, I am still glad to be in this field, working with material and topics that I enjoy.
Tomorrow our program leaves at the early hour of 7am for an excursion to the famous desert fortress of Masada, guided by one of the masters of the site, Professor Guy Stiebel. Stay tuned for my blog post about this incredible opportunity!
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| Preparing Tel Aviv for the holidays! |
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Progressing Through the Year
Time for a new blog post! It's been a while, but my guess is I will be writing posts once a month or so. We have a lot of work to do for the program now. A lot of reading, research, and papers. Sometimes it feels a little overwhelming, but then again this is a Master's program. A lot more is expected of us than when we were lowly BA students!
The month since my last post has been full of activities, work, and learning. A few weeks ago our entire program took a trip to... Akko! Specifically we went and visited the International Conservation Center in the Old City, my home base when I was here two years ago. The trip focused primarily on conservation in Akko and Israel, and Shelley (my former director) was the best person to be our guide. The tour started at the Conservation Center, where Shelley gave an introduction to the building, to Akko, and to conservation in Israel as a whole. After seeing the work done in the Center, we walked through the streets to the port and then to the office of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). There we were given a brief introduction the excavations and conservation of the Crusader fortress where the museum is today. Then, when we arrived at the Crusader Museum, Shelley gave us further introductions to the building, before letting us wander on our own for a while. When we were done in the Fortress we ate lunch at one of the many hummus places around the Old City. After a quick walk through the shuk we took the Templar Tunnel back to the bus.
We all had a good time on the tour. It was definitely a quick trip, and nothing was new to me. However, it was great to see Shelley and spend some time in the Center again, and I always enjoy another trip to Akko! Sharing my old home is also something I enjoy, and I'm sure others enjoyed it as well. You may remember from a previous post that I mentioned that I am contributing to the archaeology department's blog as well, and I wrote a piece talking about our trip to Akko. It should be published soon, so check this link frequently for a more detailed look and from a different perspective! http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/internationalMA/?cat=3
Some interesting news from my time here is that recently I have begun working with some of the staff members of the Central Timna Valley excavations. I haven't been doing anything exciting, just busywork and technical work. Things like renaming files so everything is standardized and consistent, or copy-pasting information from one document to another. Nothing unique or innovative, but it allows me to see how reports are constructed and what goes on after excavations. It also gives me a closer look at the materials and the sites. I know more about the finds and excavation squares now than I did during the excavation, and I better understand what was happening. I am definitely enjoying helping out with this "boring" work!
This past Thursday our program went on another trip, this time to some archaeological museums in Jerusalem. The goal of this excursion was to replace one of our pottery classes, so we did some work in addition to touring the museums. We started the morning at the Rockefeller Museum. After an introduction to the museum, the library, and its history, as well as a brief walk through parts of the exhibit, we got to work with the pottery. The objective at the Rockefeller Museum was to identify and describe pottery from the Philistines. When we were done at the Rockefeller we went to the Albright Institute, a center for American research into Near Eastern archaeology. After a brief tour and lunch we finished our day at the Israel Museum. One of the museum's newest exhibitions details the history of Ancient Egypt's control over Canaan, and we were tasked with identifying and describing pottery from that period. When we were done we had some free time to further explore the museum, such as watching the video about the Exodus that featured our esteemed Professor Israel Finkelstein.
This past month, like many months before and many months to come, was full and difficult. Over the next month I have a lot of work to do. Two seminar papers, several research proposals, as well as some smaller assignments. I won't have much time for fun and games, but I hope to enjoy myself a little bit in the upcoming weeks! This Friday the holiday of Passover starts, and I'm looking forward to spending it here in Israel! Chag Same'ach חג שׂמח!
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| Learning the history of the Conservation Center |
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| Part of the group in the courtyard of the Crusader Museum |
We all had a good time on the tour. It was definitely a quick trip, and nothing was new to me. However, it was great to see Shelley and spend some time in the Center again, and I always enjoy another trip to Akko! Sharing my old home is also something I enjoy, and I'm sure others enjoyed it as well. You may remember from a previous post that I mentioned that I am contributing to the archaeology department's blog as well, and I wrote a piece talking about our trip to Akko. It should be published soon, so check this link frequently for a more detailed look and from a different perspective! http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/internationalMA/?cat=3
Some interesting news from my time here is that recently I have begun working with some of the staff members of the Central Timna Valley excavations. I haven't been doing anything exciting, just busywork and technical work. Things like renaming files so everything is standardized and consistent, or copy-pasting information from one document to another. Nothing unique or innovative, but it allows me to see how reports are constructed and what goes on after excavations. It also gives me a closer look at the materials and the sites. I know more about the finds and excavation squares now than I did during the excavation, and I better understand what was happening. I am definitely enjoying helping out with this "boring" work!
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| The Rockefeller Museum |
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| Beer jars from Egypt |
This past month, like many months before and many months to come, was full and difficult. Over the next month I have a lot of work to do. Two seminar papers, several research proposals, as well as some smaller assignments. I won't have much time for fun and games, but I hope to enjoy myself a little bit in the upcoming weeks! This Friday the holiday of Passover starts, and I'm looking forward to spending it here in Israel! Chag Same'ach חג שׂמח!
Attached here is the link to all of my photos, for those that don't look at or don't have Facebook. It includes all the photos I've taken while I've been here in Israel, including some of the less spectacular ones that I choose to omit from publishing on Facebook. The link will work no matter how many photos I add, so saving this link will always show you the most up to date files.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rzg8dgcag9yjjx7/AADeP0ft-J6r_xxApFqm7p1xa?dl=0
Sunday, March 20, 2016
New Semester and New Material
Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since my last post! It's been a rough and busy month or so. In this post I'll talk about my new classes, as well as what has happened and what will be happening this semester.
The end of the semester break finally came, and with the start of the new semester I had to quickly remember how to be a student again. Classes started off with a bang, and it is a lot of work. This semester actually has fewer classes and class meetings, but the amount of work required has increased. This semester we have a number of papers and research projects to conduct, and they require a lot of time in the library.
This semester I am taking six separate courses. Three of them are new, and three are continued from last semester. Classical Daily Life in the Holy Land, Economy and Administration in Judah, and Ancient Greek Language are all continuing from last semester. My new courses are Pottery Typology, Archaeological Science Methods, and Intro to the History of the Ancient Near East. The Intro to History course is your typical history class on the archaeology, history and discovery of the ancient cultures of the Near East, focusing on the development of civilization and the big empires like Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Pottery Typology is a good hands-on overview of pottery creation and types found in the region, and is a necessity for all archaeologists who want to work in the field. The class is going through the different styles of pottery and how things changed from period to period during ancient history. The Archaeological Sciences course gives brief insight into the different scientific methods utilized by archaeologists to analyze the remains and material discovered on excavations. The topic covers everything from absolute dating techniques, such as Carbon-14 dating, to archaeozoology. Anything that requires a specialist and necessitates the use of a laboratory is a special branch of archaeology, and we are learning the basics of it. The class is very interesting and gives us a look at some of the techniques that we often see and read about, but rarely fully understand.
All of these courses, both old and new, require an increased amount of work. We are reading multiple articles for each class, as well as doing our own personal research to further our knowledge for our upcoming papers. In addition, several of the classes from last semester also require large research assignments, and we are working on those as well. Overall I'm spending more time in the library than ever. But that is what is expected, and I'm not complaining. It's the life of a graduate student, and I knew what I was doing.
The beginning of the semester hasn't been all work and no play, however. I have managed to sneak in a bit of fun here and there. I took a day trip to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to see some of their new history exhibits. In the last few months two new exhibitions, one on Egyptian control of region and the other on the Roman emperor Hadrian, have opened up, and our professors have told us multiple times that they were worth seeing. So one day when I didn't have class I decided to take a trip and see them. They were very interesting, and definitely worth seeing. The Egyptian exhibit was especially fascinating, as it presented a lot of material (including pottery and small finds) that we had learned about and dealt with in detail last semester during our courses. Even some of the material on display was familiar, either because it was so famous and we had to read about it, or it came from the shelves in our classroom at Tel Aviv University. I was also happy to see that the halls were full of people who looked very interested in seeing the material.
I also led a small group of friends on a tour of Akko recently. This was the second time I showed people around my former home, and this tour was just as successful as the first. I always enjoy sharing what I know about new places, and I think I do a decent job making it accessible to people not as obsessed with history and archaeology as I am! I've also helped some friends plan their own travels and tours. On more than one occasion it's been recommended that I found a tour guide company, since everyone has been so pleased with my recommendations and planning! If working as an archaeologist doesn't work out, maybe I'll consider it!
In the upcoming weeks and months I will continue to be busy reading, researching, and writing. There are several trips and tours planned with the archaeology department, and I'm looking forward to them. Keep your eyes open for my posts in the future. One of the locations is very familiar to me. Can you guess where I'll be going for a third time this year?!
The end of the semester break finally came, and with the start of the new semester I had to quickly remember how to be a student again. Classes started off with a bang, and it is a lot of work. This semester actually has fewer classes and class meetings, but the amount of work required has increased. This semester we have a number of papers and research projects to conduct, and they require a lot of time in the library.
This semester I am taking six separate courses. Three of them are new, and three are continued from last semester. Classical Daily Life in the Holy Land, Economy and Administration in Judah, and Ancient Greek Language are all continuing from last semester. My new courses are Pottery Typology, Archaeological Science Methods, and Intro to the History of the Ancient Near East. The Intro to History course is your typical history class on the archaeology, history and discovery of the ancient cultures of the Near East, focusing on the development of civilization and the big empires like Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Pottery Typology is a good hands-on overview of pottery creation and types found in the region, and is a necessity for all archaeologists who want to work in the field. The class is going through the different styles of pottery and how things changed from period to period during ancient history. The Archaeological Sciences course gives brief insight into the different scientific methods utilized by archaeologists to analyze the remains and material discovered on excavations. The topic covers everything from absolute dating techniques, such as Carbon-14 dating, to archaeozoology. Anything that requires a specialist and necessitates the use of a laboratory is a special branch of archaeology, and we are learning the basics of it. The class is very interesting and gives us a look at some of the techniques that we often see and read about, but rarely fully understand.
All of these courses, both old and new, require an increased amount of work. We are reading multiple articles for each class, as well as doing our own personal research to further our knowledge for our upcoming papers. In addition, several of the classes from last semester also require large research assignments, and we are working on those as well. Overall I'm spending more time in the library than ever. But that is what is expected, and I'm not complaining. It's the life of a graduate student, and I knew what I was doing.
The beginning of the semester hasn't been all work and no play, however. I have managed to sneak in a bit of fun here and there. I took a day trip to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to see some of their new history exhibits. In the last few months two new exhibitions, one on Egyptian control of region and the other on the Roman emperor Hadrian, have opened up, and our professors have told us multiple times that they were worth seeing. So one day when I didn't have class I decided to take a trip and see them. They were very interesting, and definitely worth seeing. The Egyptian exhibit was especially fascinating, as it presented a lot of material (including pottery and small finds) that we had learned about and dealt with in detail last semester during our courses. Even some of the material on display was familiar, either because it was so famous and we had to read about it, or it came from the shelves in our classroom at Tel Aviv University. I was also happy to see that the halls were full of people who looked very interested in seeing the material.
I also led a small group of friends on a tour of Akko recently. This was the second time I showed people around my former home, and this tour was just as successful as the first. I always enjoy sharing what I know about new places, and I think I do a decent job making it accessible to people not as obsessed with history and archaeology as I am! I've also helped some friends plan their own travels and tours. On more than one occasion it's been recommended that I found a tour guide company, since everyone has been so pleased with my recommendations and planning! If working as an archaeologist doesn't work out, maybe I'll consider it!
In the upcoming weeks and months I will continue to be busy reading, researching, and writing. There are several trips and tours planned with the archaeology department, and I'm looking forward to them. Keep your eyes open for my posts in the future. One of the locations is very familiar to me. Can you guess where I'll be going for a third time this year?!
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Vacation Trips and Fun
Hello everyone! In this installment of my blog I will write a little about the different trips I've taken over the last couple weeks. During this six-week vacation between semesters I have tried to keep busy. I had the excavation at Timna, I have papers to write, and I've also taken several day trips around Israel to various tourist locations.
My first trip was to Akko, my former home. Two years ago I spent three and a half months there studying and practicing historic conservation. We lived, worked, and studied in the Old City. I was very happy to be back, walking the streets I knew so well. I went with several friends from Tel Aviv and acted as their tour guide. I took them around the Old City, showing them the sites and scenes I thought were most important and impressive. I had an amazing time sharing what I knew with my friends and they had a great time too.
From Tel Aviv we took the train to Akko Station, and walked to the Old City walls. We entered through the old gate, climbed up the huge Ottoman wall, and looked out over the landscape. The morning sky was pretty clear, and we could see from Haifa to Rosh Hanikra. After walking along the walls we arrived at the Hospitaller Fortress, the museum for ancient Akko. Going through the museum was exciting, since when I was there last there was still work going on making it a more interactive, vibrant museum. In the large Pillar Hall there are stalls erected to display medieval crafts such as metalworking, ceramics, glass and medicine. These stalls are run by people who demonstrate the craft. We had been told that this was the goal for the museum, but actually being able to see the finished product was satisfying and enriching. Next we walked through the Turkish bazaar and shuk and saw the port. We then walked through the Templar Tunnel to the other side of the peninsula. We looked at out at the sunken Templar castle and the Mediterranean Sea, and I took them to see my old apartment and the International Conservation Center. We ended the day with ice cream on the coast. It was a great day.
A couple days later I went with some friends to Bethlehem. We took a sherut to Jerusalem, and then a bus to the Bethlehem checkpoint. On the other side of the checkpoint we were persuaded to hire a cab driver to drive us around Bethlehem and surrounding sites. We first went to the Orthodox church of Shepherds' Field. There is a small church there no longer in use, as well as a cave behind it and an archaeological site of a Byzantine Church. Then we left Bethlehem and visited Mar Saba, a Greek Orthodox Monastery in the Kidron Valley dating back 1600 years. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. The monastery, today housing only about 20-25 monks, is built into the cliffs of the valley between the highlands and the desert. The scenery is gorgeous. There are rock-cut dwellings in the cliff-face opposite the monastery, and a path leading to them. The path is steep, but I had fun climbing it. We did not enter the monastery, but I still had a great time.
After leaving Mar Saba we decided to go to Jericho. The drive was long, but the views out over the desert and the Dead Sea were great. When we arrived we visited a church dedicated to the story of Zacchaeus looking at Jesus from a sycamore tree. The inside of the small shrine was painted very lavishly. From there we went to the big gift shop next to the ancient tell, and spent too long being herded around looking at different body products from the Dead Sea. After more than an hour we were allowed to leave and actually enter the tell and look at one of the most ancient cities in the world. The ancient site does not have very good preservation, and there is little for tourists to see. After walking around the tell for a bit we drove to a small stop that looks at the Mt. of Temptation. Then we returned to Bethlehem.
Back in Bethlehem we went first to the Milk Grotto Sanctuary, and then to the Church of the Nativity. The inside the Nativity Church is undergoing extensive conservation and renovation work. Scaffolding and cover sheets are up everywhere. What was visible was very beautiful to look at. We walked around Manger Square briefly, then were shepherded to a gift shop where we ended our visit to Bethlehem. On the way home we all agreed that if we went back to any Christian sites (especially in the West Bank) we would rent a car and make the tour ourselves.
My last trip occurred a couple days ago, in Caesarea. During my time studying and working on conservation here two years ago, if Akko was my home then Caesarea was my work site. We spent probably a total of 10 days working at different locations around Caesarea, and it was good to go back and see what had become of our work. One of the biggest changes to the site is that Herod's temple platform in the ancient harbor is undergoing a complete renovation project. Parts of it have been dismantled, and the area is fenced off. Most of the rest of the site hadn't changed much. The ancient city is still always full of tour groups. This time there were groups from the US and local school children there. We walked around the market, the public bathhouse, ancient harbor, and hippodrome. We saw the sunken southern palace, and rested in the theater. We ate ice cream at the entrance, and then walked to the large central hippodrome, that isn't part of the national park. This hippodrome is four times the size of the one on the coast in the park, is not excavated, and has a large obelisk at the center. We rested there, took some pictures, and then headed home to Tel Aviv.
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| Welcome to Akko! |
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| Walking through the Templar Tunnel |
A couple days later I went with some friends to Bethlehem. We took a sherut to Jerusalem, and then a bus to the Bethlehem checkpoint. On the other side of the checkpoint we were persuaded to hire a cab driver to drive us around Bethlehem and surrounding sites. We first went to the Orthodox church of Shepherds' Field. There is a small church there no longer in use, as well as a cave behind it and an archaeological site of a Byzantine Church. Then we left Bethlehem and visited Mar Saba, a Greek Orthodox Monastery in the Kidron Valley dating back 1600 years. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. The monastery, today housing only about 20-25 monks, is built into the cliffs of the valley between the highlands and the desert. The scenery is gorgeous. There are rock-cut dwellings in the cliff-face opposite the monastery, and a path leading to them. The path is steep, but I had fun climbing it. We did not enter the monastery, but I still had a great time.
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| Mar Saba |
After leaving Mar Saba we decided to go to Jericho. The drive was long, but the views out over the desert and the Dead Sea were great. When we arrived we visited a church dedicated to the story of Zacchaeus looking at Jesus from a sycamore tree. The inside of the small shrine was painted very lavishly. From there we went to the big gift shop next to the ancient tell, and spent too long being herded around looking at different body products from the Dead Sea. After more than an hour we were allowed to leave and actually enter the tell and look at one of the most ancient cities in the world. The ancient site does not have very good preservation, and there is little for tourists to see. After walking around the tell for a bit we drove to a small stop that looks at the Mt. of Temptation. Then we returned to Bethlehem.
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| Church of the Nativity |
Back in Bethlehem we went first to the Milk Grotto Sanctuary, and then to the Church of the Nativity. The inside the Nativity Church is undergoing extensive conservation and renovation work. Scaffolding and cover sheets are up everywhere. What was visible was very beautiful to look at. We walked around Manger Square briefly, then were shepherded to a gift shop where we ended our visit to Bethlehem. On the way home we all agreed that if we went back to any Christian sites (especially in the West Bank) we would rent a car and make the tour ourselves.
My last trip occurred a couple days ago, in Caesarea. During my time studying and working on conservation here two years ago, if Akko was my home then Caesarea was my work site. We spent probably a total of 10 days working at different locations around Caesarea, and it was good to go back and see what had become of our work. One of the biggest changes to the site is that Herod's temple platform in the ancient harbor is undergoing a complete renovation project. Parts of it have been dismantled, and the area is fenced off. Most of the rest of the site hadn't changed much. The ancient city is still always full of tour groups. This time there were groups from the US and local school children there. We walked around the market, the public bathhouse, ancient harbor, and hippodrome. We saw the sunken southern palace, and rested in the theater. We ate ice cream at the entrance, and then walked to the large central hippodrome, that isn't part of the national park. This hippodrome is four times the size of the one on the coast in the park, is not excavated, and has a large obelisk at the center. We rested there, took some pictures, and then headed home to Tel Aviv.
Attached here is the link to all of my photos, for those that don't look at or don't have Facebook. It includes all the photos I've taken while I've been here in Israel, including some of the less spectacular ones that I choose to omit from publishing on Facebook. The link will work no matter how many photos I add, so saving this link will always show you the most up to date files.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rzg8dgcag9yjjx7/AADeP0ft-J6r_xxApFqm7p1xa?dl=0Monday, February 8, 2016
Timna Time!
Hello to all my followers!I hope everyone is having a good February and enjoyed the Super Bowl Yesterday. In this post I will share with you my experience at the excavations in Timna in which I participated for ten days. This post may get a bit long, so bear with me.
I spent the last week of January and the first few days of February at the Central Timna Valley excavations. Timna is located about 30 kilometers north of Eilat in the Arabah Valley. A rich source of copper, the area has been home to copper mining and smelting for over 5000 years. Extensive mining and smelting remains exist from the Late Bronze Age, controlled by Egypt, and the early Iron Age around the 10th century. Timna is also famous for King Solomon's Pillars (an eroded sandstone formation), other interesting-looking sandstone structures, as well as the Hathor Temple.
This season the excavations were being conducted at Site 34, also known as Slaves' Hill, and at Site 35. Slaves' Hill is a large hill in the middle of the valley with a surrounding wall, a gate house, smelting installations, and other features. The date of the site is placed within a 150-year period from the early 10th century to the middle 9th century BCE. The top of the hill is covered in slag mounds, deposited there by the smelters during the process of creating metal copper. Slag is the stony-glass waste left over after the ore has been smelted. Site 35, located a bit south-east of Slaves' Hill, is an open area in the valley dotted with rectangular structures and small slag mounds. Site 35 is tentatively dated to the Late Bronze Age, around 1300 BCE.
Timna Park, run by the Parks Authority, is a well-equipped camping area that hosts tourists year-round. They have small tents, large tents, and cabins, a gift shop and a restaurant. There is also a reconstruction of the Tabernacle built by the Israelites in the desert. We stayed in the cabins, which was an upgrade from what was expected. In the other seasons everyone stayed in the tents, so we were all very happy for the accommodation change.
Our daily routine began at 5:30 every morning, when we would wake up, get ready and pack our day-bag, eat a quick piece of bread with chocolate spread, drink a cup of coffee, and drive to whichever site we were working at that day. By 6:15 we had already started working, either preparing an area to begin excavations or already digging. Sometime between 9-9:45 we stopped for a proper breakfast, which consisted of sandwiches of either cheese or omelet (alternating by day). We took another break a little before noon to have a fruit snack, and then finished the morning's work at 2pm. After getting back to camp we ate lunch provided for us in the restaurant, and then had an hour of rest.
At 4pm we went back to work processing our finds. This involved sifting and sieving buckets of dirt that had been brought back from the field, as well as picking through the separated materials for small finds such as seeds. After several days some of us also began packaging the dirt into small containers that would then be shipped to different labs for analysis. We did this processing until it was time to go for discussion, which occurred any time during the six o'clock hour. Each evening a different veteran of the excavation presented their scientific research to the rest of the group. We had lectures on archaeomagnetic dating, optically stimulated luminescence, stone tools, and other aspects important to Timna's history. After the discussion some people went to bed, while others stayed up for some time hanging out and talking before turning in.
The first few days I worked at Site 35, in an area of the excavation square named the 'animal pen'. The area was a large oblong space surrounded by a wall, too wide to be covered by a roof (hence its identification as a courtyard or pen). I worked in this area along with several other participants, and we found a decent amount of archaeological material. After several days at Site 35 I was moved to Site 34/Slaves' Hill, where I worked at the gate house sifting dirt. Friday I was working back at Site 35 opening a new area of excavation.
On Saturday we had a more relaxing day, doing a ground survey of the area around Site 35. We spread out in rows and systematically walked areas collecting finds such as stone tools and pottery. This activity is important for identifying new areas that may be excavated in the future. Saturday afternoon we had a tour of important sites within Timna Park. We visited the Hathor Temple, some of the mines, and Site 34/Slaves' Hill. The Hathor Temple is an Egyptian and Midianite shrine dedicated to the goddess Hathor, who was the patron of mining and smelting. Nearby is a hieroglyphic inscription on the cliff-face depicting Pharaoh Ramses III worshiping Hathor.
I ended the ten days working on Slaves' Hill in an excavation probe. The probe was a small square on a hill opposite the main excavation site at Site 34. The square had been opened the previous season, but in the last three days a few of us cleaned up the erosion and finished the excavation down to bedrock. We found two man-made features, but nothing else very exciting.
That basically sums up my ten days excavating at Timna! I was so happy to be properly excavating again. I met some really cool and professional people, made some great friends, and learned a lot about archaeological science. I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Erez Ben-Yosef and his team. I'm looking forward to coming back for the excavations next year!
Attached here is the link to all of my photos, for those that don't look at or don't have Facebook. It includes all the photos I've taken while I've been here in Israel, including some of the less spectacular ones that I choose to omit from publishing on Facebook. The link will work no matter how many photos I add, so saving this link will always show you the most up to date files.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rzg8dgcag9yjjx7/AADeP0ft-J6r_xxApFqm7p1xa?dl=0
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| Timna Valley and King Solomon's Pillars |
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| A slag mound |
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| Site 34/Slaves' Hill |
Our daily routine began at 5:30 every morning, when we would wake up, get ready and pack our day-bag, eat a quick piece of bread with chocolate spread, drink a cup of coffee, and drive to whichever site we were working at that day. By 6:15 we had already started working, either preparing an area to begin excavations or already digging. Sometime between 9-9:45 we stopped for a proper breakfast, which consisted of sandwiches of either cheese or omelet (alternating by day). We took another break a little before noon to have a fruit snack, and then finished the morning's work at 2pm. After getting back to camp we ate lunch provided for us in the restaurant, and then had an hour of rest.
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| The copper mines |
The first few days I worked at Site 35, in an area of the excavation square named the 'animal pen'. The area was a large oblong space surrounded by a wall, too wide to be covered by a roof (hence its identification as a courtyard or pen). I worked in this area along with several other participants, and we found a decent amount of archaeological material. After several days at Site 35 I was moved to Site 34/Slaves' Hill, where I worked at the gate house sifting dirt. Friday I was working back at Site 35 opening a new area of excavation.
 |
| Hathor Temple |
On Saturday we had a more relaxing day, doing a ground survey of the area around Site 35. We spread out in rows and systematically walked areas collecting finds such as stone tools and pottery. This activity is important for identifying new areas that may be excavated in the future. Saturday afternoon we had a tour of important sites within Timna Park. We visited the Hathor Temple, some of the mines, and Site 34/Slaves' Hill. The Hathor Temple is an Egyptian and Midianite shrine dedicated to the goddess Hathor, who was the patron of mining and smelting. Nearby is a hieroglyphic inscription on the cliff-face depicting Pharaoh Ramses III worshiping Hathor.
I ended the ten days working on Slaves' Hill in an excavation probe. The probe was a small square on a hill opposite the main excavation site at Site 34. The square had been opened the previous season, but in the last three days a few of us cleaned up the erosion and finished the excavation down to bedrock. We found two man-made features, but nothing else very exciting.
That basically sums up my ten days excavating at Timna! I was so happy to be properly excavating again. I met some really cool and professional people, made some great friends, and learned a lot about archaeological science. I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Erez Ben-Yosef and his team. I'm looking forward to coming back for the excavations next year!
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| The Central Timna Valley 2016 excavation team |
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rzg8dgcag9yjjx7/AADeP0ft-J6r_xxApFqm7p1xa?dl=0
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