How to Pick a Dig
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This coming summer more people than ever will join archaeological digs in Israel and elsewhere as volunteer workers. Some will be taking an important early step toward a professional career in archaeology Many will be earning academic credit for their work; others will be seeking adventure and experience simply for its own sake.
But what kind of experience will it be? While some are engaged in significant learning, others will endure disappointing frustration. While some have a happy adventure, gain a new sense of themselves and form lasting friendships, for others the summer will be an emotional disaster. The difference will depend in large measure on the questions would-be volunteer diggers ask in advance—about themselves and about a prospective dig opportunity.
Know thyself
People come in all shapes and sizes with differing strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. If this is your first summer in the dirt, the more you know about yourself, the more likely you are to choose the right kind of experience and to gain the most from it. Before applying to join an excavation team ask the following questions of yourself:
How healthy am I?
Brute strength is not necessary, but basic stamina is essential. Long hours of bending, lifting and tedious work in the dust under a hot sun will quickly undo someone who is not in good physical condition or who has a particular disability such as back trouble or dust allergy. Whether or not the excavation you are considering requires a medical examination, you should have a general physical. When you do, be honest with your doctor about the working conditions you can expect on a dig, and then be honest with yourself in evaluating your doctor’s advice.
Do I really enjoy rustic living?
Excavations vary widely in their living conditions, but unless you know otherwise, it is best to anticipate the worst: a crowded tent or dormitory, cold showers, smelly outhouses, food that may range from lack-lustre to downright intimidating, and local wildlife that may include scorpions, poisonous snakes and big furry spiders.
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How well do I work with other people?
You may consider yourself to be the friendly sort, but can you work with other people? Can you accept a menial task with grace; can you be cooperative and supportive of a co-worker with a vastly different personality or life-style? If you are male, can you take direction from a younger female; if you are female, can you take direction from a male who also may be a male-chauvinist? (Your supervisor may still have some things to learn, too!)
I don’t mean to paint too grim a picture of life in the dirt. It can be fulfilling and it can be fun. People who were not in good shape physically, but who were highly motivated, have been known to emerge from the trenches at the end of the summer so fit they could scramble up the snake path at Masada without puffing! The living conditions probably won’t be any more primitive than you have already happily endured at a summer camp or on some vacation in the woods. And it can be a delightful experience to work closely with—and gain respect for—people you might never have met in your “other” world.
But the most important question to ask yourself is:
How interested am I in doing archaeology?
This may seem like a silly question. Of course you are interested or you would not be reading this. But how interested? Archaeology may seem glamorous and exciting in the cool of the first morning’s early hours. But are you really interested enough in the process of excavation to endure days of blisters, backaches and burns with no more significant personal discovery than some potsherds? The more affirmative you can be in answering this last question, the easier it will be to deal with the discomforts and frustrations that may be in store for you.
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Learn about a dig—beforehand!
Excavations come in different shapes and sizes, too. Some are organized as formal “field schools” for students, while others accept volunteer workers but make no pretense of offering an educational program. Among the field school projects, some larger excavations may have well-organized programs of lectures, training sessions, and supplementary field trips to other sites. Smaller projects generally are more informally organized. Size and organizational structure are not automatic criteria for a successful learning experience, however. A volunteer may learn more on a small “no frills” project with an experienced, dedicated staff than on a sophisticated “field school” program which is poorly run. The key to a successful summer lies partly in a volunteer’s personal attitude (of which more below) and partly in knowing as much as possible in advance about the project. Here then are some questions to ask:
How rigorous are the application standards?
The more thorough and well-organized the application process the greater the likelihood that the project itself is responsibly conducted. Do not resent application forms asking for detailed personal information or requirements for a medical examination and letters of reference. If project directors treat you casually as a prospective volunteer, they may approach their archaeological work casually, also.
How experienced is the staff?
How many seasons has the project been in the field? What archaeological experience have the senior staff members had, at this site or elsewhere? What publications have staff members produced?
What will be the ratio of experienced supervisory staff to volunteers?
A responsible project normally will be organized with small teams of workers (four to six persons) under close guidance by an experienced supervisor. If some of the workers also have had previous experience, this can provide a healthy ratio in the digging trench of only two or three novice workers to each trained worker or staff member. A ratio much larger than this will result in poor learning and sloppy archaeology.
How long is the digging season?
Volunteer digging “sessions” on different projects may range from one or two weeks to six weeks or longer. Generally, the longer the minimum required length of stay, the better the training experience—and the more careful the digging.
How much will it cost?
Don’t shop for bargains in an experience which can last a lifetime. A high price tag by itself does nor guarantee the quality of a project, but—as in most other things—you usually get what you pay for.
How will the field work be organized?
Will volunteers do all hand-tool work, or will there be hired workers also? Will work assignments be rotated to allow volunteers to learn different skills? Will the work also include experience in recording procedures and processing pottery and artifacts?
If this is a “field school” project, what will it include beside digging?
Will there be special training sessions, lectures, field trips to other sites, required advance reading, a paper assignment or examination? Up to a point, features such as these can enhance the total learning experience. If given disproportionate emphasis, however, they can get in the way of the most important kind of learning—the actual “doing” of archaeology.
What will be the total size of the dig camp?
There is no magic size, but there are differences between the atmosphere and conditions on a large project and those in a small camp. The larger the group, the more opportunity to meet like-minded friends, but also the more fragmented the total group becomes. For shy or unaggressive people a big camp can be a lonely place. In a very small group there may be excellent opportunities to work closely with established experts and scholars, and to learn a great deal. On the other hand, a summer of living and working together in cramped and tiring conditions with the wrong handful of people can drive you mad!
Some of these questions may be more important to you than others. Most of them may be answered in the information you will receive when you ask for application materials. All of these questions are legitimate, however, and if they are not answered in a project’s advance literature, you should not hesitate to ask for more information. The better informed you are beforehand, the more likely you are to have a happy experience—and to contribute to a successful season for those you work with.
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Prepare yourself—physically, intellectually …
Whatever the character or quality of the project you may join, you can help make the experience a successful one by preparing yourself physically, intellectually and psychologically.
Even if you are in good condition, you probably are not using some muscles as much as you will as part of an excavation team. Unless you can spend the weeks just before the dig season in full-time gardening or ditch-digging, devote some time daily to deep knee bends, pushups and lifting a heavy object from the floor to a position above your head. Try to get a start on your tan. Walk a lot, and use the opportunity to toughen your feet to the boots or work shoes you plan to wear on the dig. After all this, on the first days of excavation wear work gloves or use adhesive tape to protect the insides of your thumbs and palms from small-tool blisters, and give special protection against sunburn to the back of your neck and legs and the small of your back.
Read what you can in advance about the culture, history and archaeology of the area in which you will be working. If your project leaders do not provide a reading list, ask for suggestions or consult libraries. For persons anticipating their first season on a dig in Israel the following resources might be suggested:
Oxford Bible Atlas, edited by Herbert G. May (London & N.Y.: Oxford University Press, Second Edition 1974), a compact and inexpensive paper-bound introduction to the Biblical lands, history and topography with a special section summarizing archaeological work in the region.
The Bible and Recent Archaeology, by Kathleen Kenyon (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1978), an up-to-date survey of archaeological results relevant to Biblical history from the Patriarchs to the New Testament, completed just prior to Dame Kenyon’s death last summer.
A Manual of Field Excavation Handbook for Field Archaeologists, edited by William G. Dever and H. Darrell Lance (New York: Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion, 1978), a thorough introduction to modern excavation and recording techniques.
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… AND psychologically
Whatever you read beforehand, however, go into the summer with an open mind, prepared to encounter new ideas and to learn some new methods.
Plan to make the most of your digging experience whatever the structure of the project. Even if it does not include a formal educational program, consider yourself a student and determine to learn as much as you can. On the other hand, if you join a field school-type project, do not think of it as you would a classroom course. Consider the dig more as an internship training opportunity where what you learn will depend greatly on your own initiative.
If you approach your excavation opportunity with some preparation, with an open attitude and with a willingness to put a lot into the experience, you may be surprised how much you get out of it.
And you may find in the process that you learn as much about yourself as you learn about archaeology or about the dead cultures you dig up. The young volunteer may be right who told me one summer that “archaeology is essentially an inner journey.”
This coming summer more people than ever will join archaeological digs in Israel and elsewhere as volunteer workers. Some will be taking an important early step toward a professional career in archaeology Many will be earning academic credit for their work; others will be seeking adventure and experience simply for its own sake. But what kind of experience will it be? While some are engaged in significant learning, others will endure disappointing frustration. While some have a happy adventure, gain a new sense of themselves and form lasting friendships, for others the summer will be an emotional disaster. […]
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