If Dan’s Walls Could Talk…

The last two weeks of our Tel Dan dig brought many new faces and the quick removal of a lot more dirt in Area T1 (near the High Place, where I was working). As we continued to go deeper, we uncovered an Assyrian wall, a floor/pavement, and an entryway. The signs of a collapse – probably from an earthquake – are evident in a few places. During the next season, I’m sure more will be uncovered with the hope of reconstructing the wall’s connection to the cultic site (the Assyrian wall was already known to be there, but the connection is still uncertain). Hopefully the reason for the Roman wall will also emerge.

During the first week, a large group from Grand Rapids, MI joined us. While a few members of their team had been in Dan the first and second weeks, the remainder were only able to dig the last two weeks of the season. Besides three lectures that week, we also visited Banyas Springs/Caesarea Philippi/Pan on a group field trip. This site visit included the walk through trails and a Roman aqueduct which also served as a bridge to the site of “Agrippa’s (II) Palace,” which I had not seen on previous visits. David Ilan allowed me to participate in telling about this Roman period site. Besides the cultic site by the springs, the large palatial structure, and aqueduct, the remains of a large Byzantine church, Crusader village, and Ottoman structures have been excavated.

 Crevices for gods at Pan

 Crusader Church at Caesarea Philippi

 Agrippa’s Palace

My last weekend in Israel was one of my favorite weekends ever, and I will remember the simple fun of the north for a long time. Friday night included an Aroma visit, leading the group in Shabbat blessings and having wonderful conversations, and sitting on the lawn watching evening turn into night with dig friends. Saturday morning we slept in (necessary after tiring weeks of physical labor) and enjoyed a slow afternoon. After a long swim at nearby Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, I joined new friends from Israel, Paris, and Grand Rapids at the pub on Kibbutz Dan to listen to Jamayah, an Israeli groove band – and to dance the night away! Sunday morning our same group went to a new place on the Nachal Banyas to swim and enjoy the cool water. Our Israeli friend brought us back to her apartment on the nearby kibbutz and cooked us the best shakshuka ever, accompanied by homemade labaneh and tahini, bread, and fresh vegetables. She took us out for the best ice cream in Israel and taught us a new card game. Spending the weekend with friends and seeing new places in the north was the best way to leave my free time in Israel.

Jamayah

As we entered the last week of our dig, I knew the time would be bittersweet. Monday we were joined by a large group from the Scout House (mostly for refugees) our co-director started in Tel Aviv, which was really fun. Tuesday three guys who guided groups on hikes and through parks and will enter the army next year joined us to finish our dig. We enjoyed getting to know them and the extra help. That evening we had a laid-back Area T1 party at our co-director’s porch. We listened to music (we were known as the singing group) and filled ourselves up with Israeli wine and snacks. We had a great time talking to each other and spending some time together before we all left Israel. Wednesday I joined my Israeli friend to learn how to micro-sift through the dirt removed from new levels of the dig in our area. Our directors brought us dinner that night, which we ate on the lawn and took in the sunset. The dessert included a homemade cake and gelato. We sat outside very late for our last night together, savoring the time with each other and the temperate Israeli night. Thursday we cleaned the site for final pictures, enjoyed a team breakfast overlooking the Lebanese and Syrian borders, then covered and filled in our hole (dig site). After saying our goodbyes to our new friends, I left with my schoolmates for the airport. After a quick stop in Jerusalem to drop the pottery off at HUC, we continued to Tel Aviv.

 Our dig team the last week (both sites)

Chevarim: me, Shay, Joanna, Liora, & Josselin

 Dirty diggers!

Sifting with Shay

Because my flight left at 5 a.m., I spent a sleepless night in the airport (hey, I finished my last blog that night!) before many questions and a long journey through airport security. I slept through most of my first flight, then had a few minutes to pick up souvenirs and look around the Amsterdam airport before more security questions and boarding my second flight. I watched The Big Short, Spotlight, and Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) on the flight to New York. My six days in New York were well spent with friends in the Rockaways – soaking up the sun and swimming in the Atlantic, watching the Olympics, catching up, enjoying bagels, Uzbek food, and fish, visiting the Ice Cream Museum in Chelsea, and walking the Highline. I spent a day in Manhattan wandering the Upper West Side, visiting Chelsea Market, walking through the Villages, stopping into Russ & Daughters for a babka ice cream sandwich, taking a friend for his first Yonah Schimmel’s knish (kasha), and finally ending the night with friends at Metro Moses and dinner.

Amsterdam airport

 Outside the Museum of Ice Cream

Ben & I taking a break from touring the Villages

Thursday I drove to Cincinnati with my parents. We met my new roommate and her family, attending 1940s day with the Cincinnati Museum Center at the Lunken Airport, ate bagels at Marx’s, attended Kabbalat Shabbat in the park with Northern Hills synagogue, watched Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I made shakshuka (with fresh vegetables from my dad’s garden) and labaneh, and my dad had his Skyline chili. The new semester is off and running now…I’m officially a second-year Ph.D. student!

Taking a break in Tamarack (WV)