Welcome back! This is my last post for the semester. Classes ended last Wednesday, with a tour on Thursday and a make-up class on Sunday. I'll talk a little bit about how the end of the semester went, and then give a preview of what my vacation is going to look like.
The Sunday after our trip to Megiddo (before the last week) we had a make-up class since some of our professors have needed to cancel their normally-scheduled lessons. The class was fine, not really worth mentioning. After the class, however, I organized an impromptu trip to Jerusalem! A few of my friends and I took a taxi to the Old City after class, and spent the evening touring the area. We walked through the Arab shuk, visited the shops and remains of the Roman Cardo, and arrived at the Kotel. Then we walked around outside the walls. We visited the Giv'ati parking lot, where recent excavations have unearthed the infamous Hellenistic 'Akra. We've talked a lot about it in our classes, but actually seeing the site brought us a whole new understanding. We ended our trip to Jerusalem with a quick walk down Ben Yehudah St.
The last week went pretty uneventfully. We wrapped up our history course, discussing the end of the Hellenistic and Hasmonean Periods. We finished looking at the stratigraphy of Megiddo. We began looking at some of the things we will be doing next semester. Three of our classes were only for the first semester, and they are now done. We are no longer taking the Megiddo seminar, the Text and Image workshop, and the intro history course. Instead next semester we will start three new classes. There will be a pottery typology class, a class on archaeological science, and a different class about history of the region. That last one I'm not too sure what it's going to be about, since it seems similar to what we already took. But we'll see!
Last Thursday we had a field excursion to the site of Beit Guvrin/Tel Maresha. The tour started at the tel, but there isn't much to see. A bit of the fortification is visible on the surface, but very little of it is left exposed after it was excavated and back-filled in the early 20th century. After walking on the tel we saw parts of the later city, which includes the famous caves, cisterns, columbaria, and tombs in the national park that date to the Hellenistic Period.We walked through several of the caves, and then went and saw the Roman city, with its amphitheater and bathhouse. That is how the semester ended.
Now for the look ahead. Starting now, we have no classes until February 29th. Yes, we have nearly 6 weeks off. That doesn't mean we don't have work to do, however. To really finish up the semester, we have three papers to write for the classes we are completing. These papers are due during the vacation, so we aren't off the hook yet. This time is also the perfect opportunity to go on trips around the country, or to go abroad. Some of my classmates are taking trips to Europe, or to go back to their place of origin. I, however, am staying here, filling up my time with things to see in Israel.
The most exciting thing I will be doing is going on an excavation. Starting this coming Sunday (at 5am) I will be participating in the excavations at the site of Timna, in the Negev near Eilat. The season is 10 days long, working every day. I am really looking forward to getting back in the field and working!
After the excavations are over I have to get hard to work writing my papers. During the remaining several weeks I hope to take several trips around the country. I have already made plans to stay in Jerusalem for a few days, as well as a tour to Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea. I'm hoping to go to Akko, Caesarea, and maybe another trip or two. It all depends on how my work goes, and how bad the weather is. My next post will happen some time near the end of the vacation, probably mid-February. Until then everyone!
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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