Archaeology, Galilee, Golan Heights, Hiking, HUC, Israel, Jerusalem, Kibbutz, Museums, Shabbat, Synagogues, Talmud, Tel Aviv, Tel Dan
Getting Into Digging
Tuesday morning, 5 July, we met our professor and tour guide at HUC. From there we drove to Ramla, considered by several people the most important medieval Islamic site. We climbed a huge tower fortress that had been there since the 1300s and overlooked the ruins of the White Mosque. Afterward we visited the huge cistern, where we boarded rowboats and made a circuit through the pillars in the cavernous water system. After a visit to the museum, we ate lunch and visited the shuk in Ramla before returning to Jerusalem. That evening we met with the president of HUC, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Panken. We talked about our summer in Israel and our time in the graduate program.
Wednesday we arrived at HUC early and headed out with David Ilan to see Philistine sites. A view of Beit Shemesh, Khirbet Qeiyafa, and Lachish provided an introduction to the Shephelah. David pointed out the similarities in the structures of the cities and their strategic locations overlooking the valley. We looked at the famous siege ramp at Lachish, depicted in a well-known relief. Afterward, we spent time in the caves – tombs, columbarium, and cisterns – at Beit Guvrin. The bell caves at this site are astounding in their design and preservation. That evening I went to the Mamilla Mall to buy new Naot sandals (so comfortable!) and ate dinner at Fresh Kitchen.
Lachish
Beit Guvrin
Thursday we again headed out from HUC with David Ilan, this time stopping first at Tel Gezer. It was fun to be able to explain the findings from the earlier dig at the Canaanite Gate, Eli’s House, and the Water System. We then visited the ongoing dig at the Solomonic Gate, being overseen by Sam Wolf of the IAA. He took us on a tour of their site and explained the work currently being done. Before leaving, we stopped to see the Gezer standing stones. From there we drove to Yafo, where we toured both the Egyptian tel and Old Yafo, including the port. I was happy to return to one of my favorite places in Israel! After lunch we visited the Eretz Israel Museum, going through Tel Qasile, the olive press house, and the metallurgy exhibit. After David left, we saw a special exhibit on the findings from Rechov and the coin exhibit. We found our way back to Jerusalem on the bus, and I ended the night with dinner at Aroma on Emek Refaim.
Tel Gezer
Yafo
Eretz Israel Museum
Friday morning we met with the provost of HUC, Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur. After introductory conversation, we engaged in a short text study. The ideas discussed were intriguing as we talked about how to understand Israel and Jerusalem through different lens. From HUC, I went to Machane Yehuda to buy halvah! Then I wandered through the Jewish Quarter, visited Moshe at Shorashim’s shop, and looked in my favorite shops and galleries one last time. I listened to a harp player at the Jaffa gate before making my way back through Yemin Moshe. That evening I attended Kabbalat Shabbat, an alumni dinner, and bencsched with the rabbinical students at HUC. I met many new friends, and afterward hung out by the windmill in Yemin Moshe with some of them. It was a fabulous last Shabbos in Jerusalem.
Machane Yehudah
Lion’s Fountain
Atop HUC!
Saturday morning I ate at Landwer’s before heading to HUC for lunch and a lecture by David Levine on the Yerushalmi Talmud. He spoke about various synagogue mosaics and inscriptions, in particular one which quoted the Yerushalmi. He discussed why they would have spent money to inscribe that on the floor, especially the section which was chosen. I went out that night after packing to hang out at the Tachanah one last time on this trip.
Sunday morning we loaded our car and met David Ilan at HUC – to switch and load vehicles and prepare to leave for Dan. We looked at the Skirball Museum one more time and I said goodbye to the rabbinical students. We left around 1 for the north. After an uneventful but scenic drive, we unloaded supplies at Tel Dan, then came to our kibbutz, Kfar Szold. We met the other diggers for the week and ate dinner before going to bed.
Mamilla Mall
HUC Jerusalem
Tel Dan Area B
The first week of the dig consisted of a lot of clearing and manual labor for my group, as we worked to prepare squares near the High Place. Any pottery found was generally in the fill layers from the park. The other group digging near the Israelite Gate are discovering items which were in a series of Iron Age houses. We toured the site in several trips, seeing the route of pilgrimage and the Bronze Age Gate. We had one lecture given by David Ilan and visited the Beit Ushiskin Museum on the grounds of Kibbutz Dan, established by its members in 1953 to preserve a memory of the swamp wildlife of the Hula Valley before the draining and certain change of species.
Early Bronze Age “Canaanite Gate”
That weekend I had a low-key Shabbat, and on Saturday several of the diggers traveled to the Galilee Region. We saw Capernaum – the national park site, Greek Orthodox church, and the Dominican site with the archaeological remains of the village and synagogue. From there we went to Magdala, visiting the first century wonderfully preserved synagogue, the village, mikveot, and bread house, and seeing the modern church. Inside the church are four chapels with beautiful mosaics. The church is dedicated to women, especially displaying the women of the Bible. The designs throughout are meant to evoke the original synagogue, including the mosaic designs and fresco colors of the walls. The main sanctuary is astounding, lined on either side by gold-laid pictures of the twelve disciples. At the front is an altar in the shape of a boat, looking out toward a fountain running along the outside of the church and the Sea of Galilee so that it looks like a boat on the water. Downstairs is another chapel, lined by stone seats that evoke the synagogue seating, with a detailed picture of the woman who touched Jesus’ robe to be healed. I noticed that each pair of sandals in the picture was distinct! After lunch nearby, we drove through Tiberias (yes, I waved at the RaMBaM!) and up to the cliffs of Arbel. The group loved the rocks, the views, and the strong winds. We took several pictures at this site before heading back to Kfar Szold.
Sea of Galilee
Capernaum Synagogue 3.0
Magdala First Century Synagogue
Modern Magdala church
Memorial at Arbel
Arbel Cliffs overlooking Lake Kinneret
Sunday we visited Banyas Falls (amazing!) and Banyas Springs. While the other diggers visited Nimrod’s Fortress, I hiked about two-thirds of the way there (not planned). While I didn’t make it to Nimrod’s Fortress, the climb took me on the route many would have traveled through the barren Golan Heights, and the views of the Hula Valley – yes, the ENTIRE THING! – were wondrous and unforgettable. That evening included meeting new diggers and washing pottery.
The Hula Valley from the trail to Nimrod’s Fortress
Banyas Springs from a high overlook
Banyas Falls
The second week brought the discovery of Roman walls. After a backhoe took our dig site down a couple meters, we were able to begin more detailed work. We were in a square in which we have uncovered walls, and are hoping to continue digging deeper next week to see what else is there. We took a tour to the overlook next to the High Place, including a view of Bronze Age installations and modern military trenches. We saw Lebanon and Syria just across the borders. Another day, we walked to the spring and the headwaters of the Jordan to picture how the original inhabitants would have depended on the water and protected their natural resource. During the week we heard three lectures about Dan and its inhabitants and took a field trip to Hazor.
Hazor
Friday night I went to Aroma with a new friend on the dig. Saturday three of us drove back to the Galilee to see three houses – Beit Shean, Beit Alfa, and Beit Saida. I love the theater, Roman village, Cardo, and bathhouses at Beit Shean. This was the first time I have seen in person the mosaic floor at Beit Alfa, which is the best preserved zodiac floor of a synagogue in Israel. It was astounding in its completeness, and the video by the parks was really fun. Beit Saida provides an open look at a huge basalt-built village with intact gates. Many parts of the site are overgrown, but the area allows for wandering through to see old structures. At night I watched a movie with some friends. Sunday I was tired – so I slept late! – then I went into Qiryat Shmona with a few other people and ate the best lamb schwarma I’ve had in a while!
Beit Shean
Beit Alfa
Beit Saida
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