Digging & Touring & Photos!

Since my last post, we have continued our dig at Tel Gezer. I have remained at the gate for most of the time - it's interesting to see the progression! It's so interesting to observe the archaeologists asking questions and discussing possible answers as we continue to discover what's under our feet. Knowing that it's not just dirt, but pottery and flint used by ancient people, is pretty amazing. We have also watched a couple of pottery readings, which have also been interesting - Eli can tell by looking at a shard when the pottery was from. There's also the puzzle aspect, trying to find pieces that fit together. We also find bones (including camel and horse teeth), flint, and other items. The other areas are just as interesting as the gate. The water tunnel is 15+ stories deep!

Last weekend we traveled to some sites, all of which I've been to before but I got some great photos; I've been really wanting to return to some of the sites since my last trip here. Sites we visited included Caesarea, the church of the beatitudes, Capernaum, the Dead Sea, Masada, and Qumran.

 

 

Masada Views

 

The water cistern at Masada is MASSIVE (but not as massive as Gezer's!!!)

 

Overlooking Cave 4, where Dead Sea Scrolls were found, at Qumran

 

Masada

 

Swimming (well, floating) in the Dead Sea!

 

More Masada views

 

We climbed up to Cave 11, where some fragments were found.

 

Caesarea amphitheater

 

Caesarea Aqueduct

 

Capernaum Synagogue

 

Sea of Galillee from the church of the Beatitudes

 

Gate Area of the Excavation

 

Pottery Readings!

 

Excellent view of Modi'in from Gezer.

 

Sifting for items.

 

Our crane operator Asi, who makes great coffee.

 

Dr. Cole, Eli, and Tsvika reading pottery.

 

Dig friends Jonathan, Sara, Autumn and Savannah

Tel Gezer 2016 Week 1 Update Videos

Videos on site

Gezer Day Three Dig

Today at Tel Gezer we dug through the rain, which is unusual at this time of year, but also made it cool which was nice. We dug and sifted at the gate. Tsvika Tsuk, chief archaeologist for Israel Nature and Parks Authority, came for a surprise visit. Eli, the archaeologist over our site, talked about the importance of thinking ahead in archaeology and answering questions, and keeping an open mind. Another excellent day!

 

An early morning view from Neve Shalom.

 

Making friends!

 

Another Neve Shalom view!

 

The Canaanite Gate where I am digging.

 

Dr. Warner, Tsvika Tsuk and Eli Yannai discussing the excavation.

Tel Gezer Dig day two

Today at Gezer included more setup, but also a good amount of digging at the Canaanite gate. Most of it included material left behind by R.A.S. Macalister back in the early 1900s; we collected pottery shards, bones, flints, and even a camel tooth! It was a great day of learning about how to identify these objects and getting into the dirt: shoveling, brushing, sifting and sorting (Also, I may or may not be reverting to third grade and starting a new rock collection...). I am also continuing to learn about ancient architecture and the importance of Gezer.

 

Brushing dirt off rocks on the gate.

 

Learning about the gate system.

 

Our base/sifting tent.

 

A high view of our site at Tel Gezer!

 

The area where I worked today.

 

This is the view from above the area where I was working, near the cave.

 

The entrance.

Day 1 - tour & setup

Today was our first day on site at Tel Gezer! We had a tour of the site and then worked on set-up (which for me meant helping make sandbags, mostly). It was HOT but still a great day. The water system is gigantic; I'm pretty excited about getting inside the cave! The gate and other areas are interesting as well.

Gezer (which means carrot in modern Hebrew) is located in the shephelah of Israel. In this photo you can see the Mediterranean, which is one of the many reasons Gezer was such an important city.

 

The buildings in the distance are in the Hasmonean city of Modiin (the Maccabees were here).

 

Gezer is the only Canaanite city with standing stones like these, which are of impressive size.

 

Dr. Dan Warner explaining the standing stones.

 

A wider view.

 

The Solomonic gate.

 

The Solomonic gate.

 

Going down to the water system.

 

The cavernous water system!

 

Making sandbags.

 

Here's a view of where we were working today.

Israel beginnings

From beignets to bagels, to pastries and back to bagels: I'm currently in Israel with my school on an archeology trip digging up a major water system at Tel Gezer. Also, here's the blog for the dig. Today was our first full day, so we saw some sights in Jerusalem. Tomorrow we start digging! I'll also be producing some video, photos and other media about the dig, so I'll post some photos here as we go. Hope you enjoy learning about this ancient and significant site!

The group this morning at Neve Shalom, where we are staying.

Some of the group at the Garden of Gethsemane.

In front the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Eastern Gate of the wall.