East Again

Dr. Wright and I at Caesarea Although I had originally thought I would be able to go to church in Nazareth on Sundays, it didn't work out. I decided instead to go along with the volunteers on their field trip. Dr. Wright, the president of Jerusalem University College, was leading one of the busses, so I went with him. He taught one of my classes last year, and is a phenomenal tour guide. He knows the sites well, but also knows how to appreciate and address their theological significance. It was fun to learn from him again. We went to Legio, Megiddo, and Caesarea. I've been to those places several times before, but there is always something new to lear, or re-learn. However, it did remind me of the times I had gone to those places with my JUC classmates, and made me miss it some! My class was smaller, and more attentive than this group. While sitting in the Hippodrome, looking out over Herod's man-made port and the turquoise Mediterranean, I began again to think about ...

A lot has happened in the last two weeks, it feels like I've been here much longer! My trip to Jerusalem was lovely, although very busy! I played a few roles, from getting volunteers from the airport to the hotel, keeping an eye on some of the children in the group, helping people who had lost luggage buy more cloths, and tipping the bus driver on our way down here. I also got a little bit of time to see my friends from JUC, but hope to head back there at some point, to be able to roam on my own more, and spend more time with some friends there. However, as a staff member I got my own room at the Notre Dame Hotel...which was lots of fun! I even had a large balcony to enjoy! My Balcony Honey for Breakfast at the Notre Dame Hotel The day we returned from Jerusalem we went straight to the dig for Seminar day, where several of the Staff members teach the volunteers about various equipment and methods for the excavation. I lead three sessions on the drone, but to be honest ...

As fair waring, this post is quite long! I’ll try and be more frequent and less lengthy in the future! All things considered, I am having a lovely time, learning a lot, and also glad I can contribute some. It’s hard to believe it’s been only three days, so much has happened! Also if you'd like you can check out the site's Blog at: http://www.telshimronexcavations.com Excavating Our first two days were spent primarily with clearing off the topsoil of our grids. Each grid contains 100 squares, 10x10 meters each. In the grid I am in, grid 92, we are only excavating three squares, all adjacent to each other. We have a grid supervisor who oversees all three squares, and a square supervisor for each of the squares. My square is 97. As I said, we’ve worked mostly with clearing away the topsoil, which is very dusty and stony and covered in dry grasses.   Our goal was to level the sloping ground enough to make it an even area. We also had several groups of local school c...

It's 9:30 p.m. local time as I'm sitting in "Cafecafe" for a late dinner and a quick post. We arrived in Tel Aviv earlier today, and after gathering our luggage, equipment, and renting a van, we drove up to the Jezreel valley. It was dark by time we entered the Megiddo pass, but as we entered the valley, it was exciting for me to recognize the shadowy shapes of Mt. More, Mt. Tabor, and the Nazareth mountain ridge! I guess all the mapping we did with Dr. Wright paid off! It is fun too to be back at Kibbutz Mizra, in the very same cabin, and eating food at the familiar Cafecafe. Tomorrow we leave for the site at 5:00 AM to begin opening grids, so I need to head back to the cabins soon. But I learned that I will be a full blown square supervisor (not an assistant supervisor) which both excites me, but also intimidates me somewhat. I'll be in a Middle Bronze grid, working under Dr. Aja, and with my professor Dr. Miglio, a former Wheaton Student, and a girl who has ...

Introduction Tel Shimron is an ancient city. It is the largest tel in the Jezreel Valley, and at its height, during the Middle Bronze Age, would have spanned about 19.5 hectares (about 48 acres). Although it is a large site, it has never been excavated, except by Uval Portugali, who surveyed the site and dug a few test pits in the 1980s. Portugali concluded, and our survey last summer confirmed, that the tel was occupied at least from the Early Bronze Age to the Islamic period - but it also was used during the crusader period, and even in modern times became one of the first settlements of Israeli settlers. The Topography Like all tels, Shimron is a man made mound, a result of many cities being built, destroyed, rebuilt and occupied for thousands of years. Generally speaking, the deeper you go, the older the artifacts and architecture you find. However, Shimron's topography is comprised of an acropolis, and several shelfs of land defending from it. Because of this, there ar...

It’s been almost a year since my last post! But since several people have asked me if I’ll be blogging this summer when I return to the Excavation at Shimron, I decided to spruce up the site a bit, and resume posting! Last year only blogger profiles could comment, but it should work for anyone to comment now, so please let me know your thoughts or ask me any questions, I love to hear from you all! As a summary of what I’m doing this year, I’ll be flying to Tel Aviv on June 12, and working for 7 weeks as an “assistant square supervisor” at the Tel Shimron Excavation. Basically, that means I’ll be part of a team within one of the excavation grids, helping to instruct volunteers and record our finds. I am thankful to be placed on staff this year, and am reminded of God’s goodness to me. - Being on staff means all expenses are paid, which makes it possible for me to participate - This will be my 3 rd visit to the “Holy Land” and I consider myself very blessed for that. - It...