East Again

In the Field Archaeology is sometimes called a 'science of destruction' - an apt name given that once we excavate ancient material you can never put it back just how it was. This is why taking thorough records is imperative. We record measurements, descriptions of soil consistency and composition, elevations, unique numbering etc etc, and take daily notes describing our excavation method and interpretations. Pottery is the primary resource for dating the material we are digging, and to do so accurately we need to record where the pottery is coming from. During excavation, we may have numerous "Units" existing at one time. A Unit is anything from a layer of sediment to a stone wall. We collect pottery from each unit in separately labeled buckets. At Shimron, we use bluetooth printers to create bucket labels. This is a clean system that eliminates all sorts of errors, like bad handwriting, typos and faded or bleeding ink. We print a lot of tags over the course ...

Excavation is in full swing! For pictures and updates about what we're finding and doing on-site, look at Shimron Excavations' Blog . It captures the atmosphere well! Digging at Grid 92 Lunchtime at the Pottery Compound This is our pit...where we threaten to put people who don't behave ;) Last Saturday, rather than joining the volunteers for the guided tour, I ventured to Beat Shean and the Harod spring with four other staff members. My traditional photo at Bett Shean I had never visited the Herod Spring. Today it is a campground and picnic area, quite popular for Israeli families, and particularly for the kids who can play in the numerous pools filled by the spring. We visited, however, for historical significance of the spring. Judges 7 describes how God selected 300 men to fight with Gideon against the Midianites, based on how they drank from the Harod spring. Judges describes how the Midianites were camped near Mt. Moreh. It was great fun to see...

The Season has begun!  Tomorrow the volunteers arrive, but we've been spending the past three days cleaning up the 'winter wash' (debris accumulated in the excavation area) from the past two years. We also have been hosting local school kids to show them how to excavate etc. It is a good way for the community to be involved in the dig and to feel a part of the excavation. The team enjoying dinner at CafeCafe our first night together. Jack Sheffer, the GIS guy for Grid 92, working atop our dump pile. Goals for this Season My square ("92.97") looks very different than how I left it in 2017. We dug about two meters down in the SE quadrant, but the rest of the square was close to the elevation of topsoil. This was because we discovered the first meter of soil was empty of antiquities. To avoid spending days removing empty dirt, we concentrated on a 5x5 meter portion of the square. In preparation for this year, most the empty fill layer was removed with...

It's been two years since I visited Jerusalem, but after living here for a semester in 2016 the city is familiar and feels like home in many ways. I'm staying at a hostel inside the Old City, the same place I stayed 5 years ago when I first visited Jerusalem. You always meet interesting people at hostels. My bed is on the roof, the nights are balmy and there is a beautiful view of the city. View from the Hostel Rooftop; Domes of the Holy Sepulcher  The Hostel's Common Room Before the Shops Open Streets of Jerusalem Day 1: I woke up at 3:30, partly because thats when the cool breezes hit and partly because of the call to prayer sounding across the city. At 5am I heard bells ringing at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, signaling that its doors were opened. This was first on my agenda, since I've never actually been inside the sepulcher itself. Unfortunately, the chapel was being used in services, and was not open to the pubic until 8. But ...

Tel Shimron Hello Friends! Thank you for wanting to keep in touch with what I'm up to this summer - truly. If my posts end up being like those I've written in the past, they will both relate my work at the excavation and reflect upon the lessons I'm learning. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I write, so please feel free to interact through the comments option. Also, if you'd like, using the 'subscribe' button will send you an email when I post something new. Below are a couple other resources you might find interesting. Tel Shimron Blog The excavation keeps a blog also, which gives overall insight as to what we're finding and what our work consists of. Also, you may see someone you recognize on the latest (June 3) post there ;) Find their blog here . A Previous Post Rather than tell you all about Shimron Again, I'll refer you to one of my previous posts, " About Tel Shimron ." A recent Article  Courtesy, the Isr...