Biblical Archaeology 101: Why We Dig: The Aims of Archaeology

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Have you ever picked up an arrowhead? Watched a television program featuring the pyramids of Egypt or Mexico? Seen a documentary on the spectacular rock-cut city of Petra? Looked at Greek vases in a museum? All of us are fascinated with objects and structures that have survived from the past—whether from a century ago or from deep antiquity. What is it about those objects that sparks such interest? Why do our favorite channels and streaming services feature countless documentaries about archaeological discoveries, and why are so many museums filled with material remains from the past?

The answer to those questions does not lie, ironically, in the objects and structures themselves. Sometimes, of course, the aesthetic appeal of an object—such as the jade carvings from ancient China or the designs on mosaic floors of Roman villas—is reason enough to appreciate what archaeologists have discovered. In other cases, the technology of an ancient structure—such as the construction of enormous stone buildings before the age of fuel­driven engines or the carving of tiny but elaborate scenes on small carnelian gemstones or cylinder seals before the age of microscopes—is cause enough for wonderment.

Yet perhaps the most important reason for the widespread interest in archaeology is not the things themselves but rather the people who made or used them. Archaeology is really the study of how people lived in the past. The material remains of antiquity, especially of cultures that left limited or no written records, provide ways to see and understand peoples and cultures that are no longer directly visible. In our quest to understand our own lives, we constantly compare ourselves to others—to those around us, but also to those far from us in time and space. Archaeology provides the raw data from which the lives of people in past times can be reconstructed.

The study of ancient cultures involves, of course, recovering the details of everyday life—pots and pans, baskets and weapons, looms and jewelry, tombs and houses—all of which contribute to an understanding of how people earned their livelihood, what they ate, what kind of dwellings they inhabited, how they buried and memorialized the dead, and so much more. Archaeological remains also contribute to understanding aspects of ancient life that are less directly visible. For example, the size of houses, the remnants of certain animal bones and seeds, and the variety and quantity of tools uncovered at an archaeological site can help us reconstruct family size. These remains can also indicate the kind of work that the women, men, and even children did to survive in a world without supermarkets. Similarly, the temples, altars, or shrines discovered in a dig, as well as the depictions of gods or mythological creatures in carvings and paintings, provide clues about ancient religious beliefs and practices.

Archaeology, despite the impression one gets from the Indiana Jones movies and other such 055 Hollywood productions, is not about treasure hunting. To be sure, when archaeology was in its infancy, many digs were launched to provide marvelous objects for museums. Archaeologists were sent to sites that had the promise of yielding treasures for display. In antiquity, such treasures were often the possessions of the wealthy few. Archaeologists now realize that the excavated remains of an ancient site are uniquely able to provide information about ordinary people as well as the rulers and warriors, priests and kings. Today, archaeologists eagerly excavate both modest dwellings and royal palaces. They are aware that the simplest fragments of earthenware pottery can be just as significant for understanding the lives of all people in an ancient culture as the most elaborate vessels of silver or gold.

Because archaeology is so important for the recovery of past cultures, from both historical and prehistorical periods, many are surprised to learn that few colleges or universities in the United States have departments of archaeology. The reason is simple: Archaeology in and of itself is not usually considered a discipline; rather, archaeological remains are used in the study of a particular culture. Therefore, archaeology is part of the curriculum of programs or departments that focus on one culture or several related cultures. For the study of Roman archaeology, for example, one would turn to a Classics 056 department and would learn Latin language and literature, ancient Mediterranean geography, and perhaps even Greek history and culture, as well as the artifacts and monuments of ancient Rome. For the study of the archaeology of colonial America, a student would most likely turn to a History or American Studies department where studying archaeological remains would be part of a wider consideration of data related to the 16th and 17th centuries.

For archaeologists working in the lands of the Bible, the desire to know about peoples mentioned in the Bible means knowing about many ancient civilizations in the Near East, being able to read the Bible in its original languages, and studying biblical texts as well as artifacts from the biblical world. Yet most of the students and volunteers working on digs in biblical lands do not seek careers in archaeology. Rather, they are passionately interested in knowing what it feels like to dig up an object that has been buried for thousands of years, even if it’s a broken piece of pottery, shard of glass, or rusted nail. Just feeling such an artifact puts them in touch, literally, with people who lived in the Holy Land in biblical times. It also makes them part of a demanding intellectual enterprise—interpreting those 057 objects in a way that allows for a new understanding of the social dynamics and beliefs of the people who used them.

Of course, archaeology does not always deal with mundane objects, and there is always the possibility that excavators, students, and volunteers will unearth an artifact of astonishing beauty or complexity. During the decades I helped direct excavations at the site of Sepphoris in the lower Galilee, perhaps the most spectacular discovery was a colorful mosaic floor from a third-century C.E. Roman villa. It depicts scenes from the life of Dionysos, the Greek and Roman god of revelry and fertility, and it also features the portrait of a young woman of such striking beauty that she was dubbed the “Mona Lisa of the Galilee.” So dazzling is this example of ancient mosaic art that it was the subject of countless newspaper and magazine articles,^a several documentary films, and, of course, the scholarly publications where all such archaeological finds are reported.

Even without such once-in-a-lifetime discoveries, the pull of archaeological fieldwork is powerful. Students and volunteers relish the camaraderie of living and working closely with each other and with their teachers and supervisors. They enjoy learning the techniques of digging and recording what is uncovered (in notebooks, drawings, photos, and computers), as well as experiencing the challenge of hard physical labor. Most of all, they are exhilarated by the opportunity to recover human history. Finding out about peoples’ lives in the past is, after all, a way of providing another perspective on our own lives in the present.

Archaeological remains, whether grand or mundane, fill us with a sense of wonder. Does this interest come from the artifacts themselves or from wanting to understand those who made and used them? As our author explains, archaeology is much more than towering monuments and buried treasure.