’97 Dig Opportunities
000
1988 Excavation Opportunities
1990 Excavation Opportunities
1991 Excavation Opportunities
1993 Excavation Opportunities
1994 Excavation Opportunities
1996 Excavation Opportunities
2006 Digs
A Guide to ’98 Digs: The Volunteer's View
Akeldama
Alter vs. Kugel
An Odyssey Debate
Ancient Musical Instruments
Assessing the Jehoash Inscription
BAR's 20th Anniversary
BAR's Tenth Anniversary Section
BAR’s 20th Anniversary
Battle Over Bones
Battle Over Jericho Heats Up
Battling Over the Jesus Seminar
Caesarea: Herod and Beyond
David’s Jerusalem: Fiction or Reality?
Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea Scrolls Research Council: Fragments
Dead Sea Scrolls Update
Defusing Pseudo-Scholarship
Different Interpretations
Dig 2004
Dig In: A Guide to ’99 Digs
Digs 2000
Digs 2001
Digs 2002
Digs 2003
Digs 2005
Digs 2007
Digs 2010
Digs 2015
Digs and Digging 1980
East Meets West: The Uncanny Parallels in the Lives of Buddha and Jesus
Ecclesiastes
Elba Update
Elgin Marbles Debate
Excavation Opportunities 1985
Excavation Opportunities 1986
Excavation Opportunities 1989
Excavation Opportunities 1995
Forgotten Kingdom
Frank Moore Cross—An Interview
Has Richard Friedman Really Discovered a Long-Hidden Book in the Bible?
In Private Hands
Israel Comes to Canaan
Israel Underground
Issue 200
James
Jerusalem 3
Jerusalem Explores and Preserves Its Past
Jerusalem Update
Jerusalem’s Underground Water Systems
Jonah and the Whale
Megiddo Stables or Storehouses?
Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling
New Directions In Dead Sea Scroll Research
One if by Sea…Two if by Land: How Did the Philistines Get to Canaan?
Ossuary Update
Pilate in the Dock
Point/Counterpoint: Pros and Cons of the Contemporary English Version
Portraits In Heroism
Questioning Masada
Qumran
Redating the Exodus—The Debate Goes On
Remembering Ugarit
Rewriting Jerusalem History
Riches at Ein Yael
Roman Jerusalem
Scholars Disagree: Can You Name the Panel with the Israelites?
Sea Peoples Saga
Should the Bible Be Taught in Public Schools?
Special Bible Section
Spotlight on Sepphoris
Sumer
Supporting Roles
Temple Mount
Temple Scroll Revisited
The Age of BAR
The Amman Citadel: An Archaeological Biography
The Babylonian Gap Revisited
The Bible Code: Cracked and Crumbling
the Brother of Jesus
The Dead Sea Scrolls
The God-Fearers: Did They Exist?
The Jacob Cycle in Genesis
The Minoans of Crete: Europe’s Oldest Civilization
The Most Original Bible Text: How to Get There
The Pools of Sepphoris: Ritual Baths or Bathtubs?
The Search for History in the Bible
What Was Qumran?
Where Was Jesus Born?
Where Was the Temple?
Who Invented the Alphabet
Introduction
Many people may be turning their attention to the classical world of ancient Greece this August, when the Olympic Games convene in Athens, but those of you who sign on this summer as dig volunteers in Israel or Jordan may well find yourselves handling artifacts that were already ancient when the first Olympics were held in 776 B.C. No other region in the world offers volunteers such an array of historical and culturally valuable dig sites in such a small area.
Nearly two dozen digs need your help. Some digs require little more than a willingness to rise early and patiently sift, shovel and cart away dirt, dirt and more dirt. A few are physically demanding; good boots, long hikes and sleeping bags are de rigueur. The excavations listed here are ready to embrace adventurers from all over the world, of all faiths, ranging in age from 18 to active retirees.
Are you intrigued by mankind’s earliest attempts to create art and sacred imagery? Prehistoric figurines in the Galilee and rock art in the Negev await you. How about uncovering hellenized towns of the Decapolis or rose-red Nabatean structures in Jordan? Beachside ruins and underwater excavations offer sun-and-surf possibilities. And of course, Biblical sites abound, ranging from destroyed Canaanite cities and towns inhabited by Israel’s kings to sites where early Christians built their homes and churches.
We’re sure there’s a site with your name on it. But is it safe to go? Digs are far removed from the political turmoil of the Middle East. You will have to decide for yourself. The reasons to stay home are on the nightly news; the reasons to go appear on the pages that follow.