Welcome to That's My World Tuesday meme.
For the past few weeks my world has been an archaeological expedition in Tiberias.
Tiberias sits in the Great Rift Valley, 212 meters or 606 feet below sea level.
The best part of a dig is the camaraderie that develops between volunteers.These two nice girls from Quebec stayed in my hostel dorm room the first night.
They were touring the Lower Galilee, but when they heard about the dig they immediately jumped on the chance to dig in the dirt and the hot sun for a week. They camped out at the site.
So young and already off to see the Holy Land with only a tent and a small backpack. Chapeau!
Once in a while and in carefully selected spots it is kosher to go down quickly with a digger/bagger/backhoe.
But my favorite way to move earth (after breaking it with a pickaxe) is with a big heavy flat hoecalled a turia.
I suspect the Arabic names of most of our archaeology tools entered Hebrew when the early Israeli pioneers learned them from the Arab farmers, who used them for cultivating the land.
Breakfast comes at 9 o'clock. Three or four tables are set with lots of healthy food--salads, cheeses, tuna, eggs, humus, tehina, yogurt. The Americans among us like to make "Reese's Pieces" by spreading a pita with peanut butter and chocolate spread.
In the picture above, Katia, our dig director, presents T shirts and certificates to the volunteers who had finished their stint of service.
This year's T shirt features an ostracon, a potsherd with writing on it, discovered at the site. The writing is in Arabic. One of the things we are excavating is a mosque from the Early Islamic period.
The front of the shirt shows a circle made from "Tiberias" written in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, and Greek.
In back of those trees is the shore of the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Tiberias.
That's My World for now, a world rich in antiquities and religious heritage. Until next Friday.Would you like to sign up for the next season of the dig, in spring?
The dig was staffed with volunteers? My mother would LOVE to do something like that on one of her visits. Do you have a link to information I can send her?
ReplyDeleteI love doing these if I have the chance. Wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
Awesome! It must be very exciting to be part of this digging. And it seems very safe from the strife and war between the Israelis and the Arabs.
ReplyDeleteYum, I always enjoyed those Israeli breakfasts! Much better than pita with peanut butter and chocolate spread...in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some sights around the dig with us...the earth opens up its mysteries; that has intrigued me ever since I first heard about archaeology in my schooldays.
This looks like so much fun, Dina and so very important and meaningful. Terrific Monday post to energize us for the week. I love how you met those two friendly girls who are experiencing the world.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post, and very interesting for me, for My World Tuesday! Thanks for sharing a real archeological dig with all of us! :)
ReplyDeleteThis must be so fun to be able to do this. It lookes like it's still great weather too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting adventure! I would love to participate in something like that! How would I get involved?
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating post. Must have been great to be part of that.
ReplyDeleteOh, I would love to do this -- wish I could have when I was younger! Marvelous captures, Dina, and such a very interesting and meaningful post. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your week!
Sylvia
Oh my, that looks like such fun. And hard work. I would love to jump in and help out when I visit your beautiful country.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it with us.
It does sound very interesting! I'd LOVE to work on a dig!
ReplyDeleteLovely post and thanks for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteShalom friends and thanks for all your nice comments.
ReplyDeleteTo Robin and Eve and all those interesting in volunteering for a dig, look first at
http://digs.bib-arch.org/ the famous Find a Dig from the Biblical Archaeology Review.
Also the Archaeological Institute of America has fieldwork listings at
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10036&search_region=6
Israel Antiquities Authority:
http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=55&subj_id=229
About volunteering at Tiberias where I am now:
http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/Tiberias/Volunteering.aspx
The next dig season is in the spring.
Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteexciting and interesting reading! Thank you
ReplyDeleteA very interesting and informative post. It opens as many questions as it answers as to the scope of the dig and the duties of the volunteers, how the Moslems feel about Jew's excavating the mosque.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Dina. I am thrilled to learn about your experience on the dig. Thanks for catching up on my blog.
ReplyDeleteWhen we visited Israel a few years ago, we spent part of a day at a dig (tel Maresha) in the Negev. I gained a better understanding of how painstaking that work is, and how hard you must work to find relatively little - but so rewarding when you do.
ReplyDeletei truly admire archeologist. i know it is not an easy job but i am glad you had fun and passion about your work. thanks for sharing your world.
ReplyDeleteGood work everyone!
ReplyDeleteShalom & Aloha, Friend
Comfort Spiral
I'm smiling from ear to ear! This is one of my favorite posts of yours ever. I love hearing about your work, and obviously I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to join in on the dig but I'd probably have a hard time keeping up with you, Dina. Thanks for taking us along on the adventure.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww, Dina, so good to see you.
ReplyDeleteYour journey has been a wonderful photo expression and read.
Thanks, Dina, for your kind words about me at My World Tuesday. I had a lot of new people stop by my blog.
ReplyDeleteIt would be very exciting to work on a dig. Thank you for sharing this, Dina.
ReplyDelete