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If vegetating is your summer style, if you fancy yourself languishing on a strip of talcum-powder sand come June, then don’t read on. Because what follows are tips for the energetic and the imaginative—people looking for a challenge.
Volunteering as an amateur archaeologist in Israel might give you a chance to uncover a building from the time of Joshua, a sherd that dates back to the reign of Solomon or a tool that could have been used by a contemporary of Jesus.
Experience is not necessary; stamina, an interest in Biblical archaeology and the willingness to try something off the beaten track are.
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Volunteers come from all walks of life and from around the world. They range from adventurous high school students to vigorous retired people. (Though most digs set a minimum age of 17 or 18, there is no maximum.) Depending on the program, you might be expected to stay for a week or for six weeks, living in a tent, a dormitory or a hotel. You can dig for college credit or just for fun. On weekends you can visit Jerusalem, tour other archaeological sites or swim in the Mediterranean. One dig (Timnah) even offers a 12-day tour of Egypt and Israel before the excavation season begins.
If you join the program at Caesarea Maritima, you can literally dive into the past—as you do underwater exploration of a harbor built during the time of Herod. If you dig at Tel Dor, you will help uncover an Iron Age gatehouse and wall.
Digging is strenuous. You will start work before dawn to take advantage of the relatively cool early morning hours. Because the summer sun shines very hot in Israel, excavating stops by the late morning or early afternoon. Depending on the dig, you might spend your afternoons attending lectures, washing pottery or taking a field trip.
You’ll make new friends, and like many volunteers, you too might succumb to the addiction of digging—a disease whose chief symptom is the persistent belief that the next piece of upturned earth will reveal an ancient treasure.
If vegetating is your summer style, if you fancy yourself languishing on a strip of talcum-powder sand come June, then don’t read on. Because what follows are tips for the energetic and the imaginative—people looking for a challenge.
Volunteering as an amateur archaeologist in Israel might give you a chance to uncover a building from the time of Joshua, a sherd that dates back to the reign of Solomon or a tool that could have been used by a contemporary of Jesus.
