BAR Dig Scholarships

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BAR is again offering travel scholarships to dig volunteers! Last year, BAR announced scholarships to help defray travel expenses of individuals who wished to volunteer on a dig. Requests poured in, and two scholarships were awarded.

Marsha Middleton, of California, one of the 1993 winners, shared with us the entry in her diary of the dig at Tel Beth-Shemesh:

“We were a varied group: some retired, looking for Biblical insights; some students, curious or serious about archaeology; others seeking adventure. A few were scholars. I had joined the dig to experience field archaeology and to decide whether it was the career for me.

“Day one at Beth-Shemesh. ‘Today is going to be a miserable day,’ our leader warned. He was right. Our first job was to clear away the tall, intruding weeds that covered the excavation site. Then the real work began.

“For the next few weeks, I learned archaeology—the digging, sifting, shoveling, brushing, earth moving, removing the artifacts—harder work than I had imagined.

“Underneath the lifeless, eroded dirt, we saw the skeleton of humanity’s living and breathing existence—broken pottery and artifacts, showing us that people had lived here, and larger stones, vaguely cultic, reminding us that they had dreamed.

“As the exhausting days went by, I asked myself whether or not I was enjoying this experience. True, field work is an uncomfortable and difficult part of being an archaeologist, but I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

“First came the decision; now comes the commitment. I know I’ll return.”

A BAR scholarship enabled art student Alysia Fischer to return to Sepphoris.

She sent this account:

“I first came to Sepphoris, a site in the lower Galilee, in 1991 as a volunteer from Centre College in Kentucky. It was an impulsive decision, motivated mostly by a desire to travel.

“My first season at Sepphoris was spent working in Gary ‘Termite’ Lindstrom’s square.^a His knowledge of archaeological evidence and method was impressive. Every day I learned something new. Although I was constantly coerced into drawing top plans because I was an art major, it was the artifacts we were excavating that really caught my attention. Glassblowing was my major at Centre College, and we were uncovering the by-products of glass production. The dig directors pressed me to take a larger role in analyzing the glass finds.

“On returning to the United States, I decided to find out more about ancient glass. By the summer of 1992, I was off again to the excavations, where I produced mechanical drawings of all the glass brought from the field. My curiosity and commitment grew stronger. The following year, I analyzed the glass data. I concluded that we had uncovered a Byzantine glass factory.

“Looking forward to the 1993 excavation season, I applied to Centre College and to BAR for funding. I was fortunate to receive assistance from both sources. I returned to Sepphoris with high hopes of discovering the elusive glass factory. During the last two weeks of the season, we found the glass dump and what may have been part of the furnace. The structure dated to the Byzantine period, just as I had predicted. I was ecstatic!

“I have begun working on a Master of Fine Arts in Glass at Washington University, while continuing to research glass evidence from Sepphoris. I draw the sherds and experiment with ancient glass in a modern glass studio. At Sepphoris I found something that I suspect will be a lifelong interest.”

BAR Scholarships Available for Dig Volunteers in 1994

If you would like to volunteer on a dig in 1994, but need financial assistance to get there, send us a letter describing yourself, your financial need and where and why you want to go. Please mail your application and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Biblical Archaeology Society, Attn.: Dig Scholarships, 3000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008. The deadline for applications is March 30, 1994.