Sites

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Tel Dan

Well known from many Biblical phrases, for example, “For a voice declares from Dan, and proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim” (Jeremiah 4:15), Dan is one of the northern sources of the Jordan River. Though no trace has surfaced of the golden calf King Jeroboam set up after Solomon’s death, Tel Dan volunteers have helped uncover many other finds: massive Canaanite ramparts, an Israelite city gate and wall, an open-air sanctuary or “high place,” a Roman fountain house, a Greek and Aramaic inscription “to the god who is in Dan,” and a fully standing Canaanite gate of the 19th–18th centuries B.C. with three complete arches. (See “The Remarkable Discoveries at Tel Dan,” BAR 07:05.)

Volunteers must attend the entire three weeks of the dig, from May 1 through May 22. Spring is beautiful in Israel. The $475 fee covers all costs, including room and board (Monday through Friday). Participants may arrange to stay at Dan on weekends, or they can travel to Jerusalem or other parts of the country. Three credits are available through Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Contact: Paul M. Steinberg, Dan Excavation Program, One West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012. Tel: (212) 674–5300.

Horvat Uza

Horvat Uza was probably the site of the Biblical city of Qinah, mentioned in Joshua 15:22 as being in the Negev on the southern border of Judah. Excavation has focused on an Israelite fortress built there during the seventh century B.C. and reoccupied in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Archaeologists have also found 17 Hebrew ostraca and one unique Edomite ostracon, all from around 600 B.C.

From June 2 through June 27, volunteers will help explore the use of the fortress in the three periods of its occupation. Room and full board at a hotel in Arad cost $150 a week. Academic credit is available for an additional fee. Volunteers must be 18 or older and must stay at least two weeks.

Contact: Bruce Gesson, Institute of Archaeology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798. Tel: (817) 755–3735.

Tel Dor

Gates and defense systems, homes and shops attest to Dor’s long and varied history as an important harbor city, 18 miles south of Haifa. The first mention of Dor occurs in a report of an Egyptian priest in the early 12th century B.C. Joshua mentions it twice, first as the seat of a Canaanite ruler and later as part of the territory allotted to the tribe of Manasseh. The Assyrians conquered Dor in 732 B.C. and during the Persian period (538–333 B.C.) it was a Phoenician city. Josephus called Dor a fortress difficult to take. It was not until Herod built Caesarea that Dor’s significance as a port waned.

From July 2 through August 13, volunteers as young as 17 can receive on-site instruction in field methods and pottery analysis, help examine 14th- and 13th-century B.C. levels, uncover an Iron Age gatehouse and wall and dig up Hellenistic and Persian defense systems discovered in past seasons. Important recent finds include a huge 11th century B.C. building with mudbrick walls, a residential and shop area from Hellenistic and Persian times (fifth through third centuries B.C.) and a domed sewer of the Roman period.

Room and board will be provided at the agricultural school in nearby Pardess Hanna, though cost is not available at this time. Two or four academic credits are available from Hebrew University at $40 per credit. A two-week minimum stay is required.

On weekends you can swim in the Mediterranean or take optional guided tours of historical sites.

Contact: H. Neil Richardson, 168 Mt. Vernon Street, Newtonville, Massachusetts 02160. Tel: (617) 332–1971.

Tell Halif

Excavations since 1976 have uncovered remains from all stages of Tell Halif’s habitation, from its settlement about 3200 B.C. to modern times. The 1977 discovery of a unique ceramic bowl with a molded pomegranate at its center supports speculation that this was the Biblical city of Rimmon (the name is the Hebrew word for pomegranate); other evidence points to its being the Biblical Ziklag. The courtyard of a large residence from about 1400 B.C. yielded pottery, stone tools, scarabs and faience jewelry.

In 1986, workers will excavate within the walls of the Early Bronze Age (c. 3200–2300 057B.C.) city of Halif, as well as among more ancient settlements (3500–2800 B.C.) on the lower slopes outside the walls.

Through the project’s field school, volunteers will also receive training in excavation techniques and recording, learn about field laboratory processing and artifact analysis, attend lectures on archaeological methods and history and visit other archaeological sites. Tell Halif is located near Beer-Sheva.

The $750 fee covers room and board in the excavation camp for the six-week season (excluding weekends), from June 22 through August 1. Six undergraduate or graduate credits are available; tuition varies with the sponsoring institution. Volunteers can participate for less than the full six weeks under a special Patron’s Program.

Contact: Joe D. Seger, Director, Lahav Research Project, Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Drawer AR, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762. Tel: (601) 325–3826.

Sepphoris (Sippori)

A 600-acre site in central Galilee, Sepphoris boasts two excavations within 600 yards of one another. This one, sponsored by the University of South Florida, will run from June 1 through June 30 or possibly July 7. In past seasons, archaeologists at Sepphoris have uncovered houses from the Herodian through Byzantine periods, a watchtower fortress from 350 A.D., a Roman theater and extensive water system, a large cemetery and silos for agricultural storage.

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One of this season’s goals will be testing the usefulness of radar for determining where to dig. Volunteers will also continue excavating a theater that probably dates to the time of Herod or the first century A.D.

The University of South Florida offers six undergraduate or graduate credits. The $2,085 cost covers round-trip air fare (tentatively New York-Tel Aviv), ground transportation between Tel Aviv and Nazareth, four meals a day and lodging seven days a week at the Galilee Hotel in Nazareth (just four miles east of the site), two Saturday trips and tuition. There is also a $25 nonrefundable application fee.

Contact: James F. Strange, College of Arts and Letters, Office of the Dean, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620. Tel: (813) 974–2834.

Sepphoris (Sippori)

Sepphoris was the home of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, who codified the Mishnah in the second and third centuries A.D. According to tradition, it was also the home of Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus, and a large Christian or Jewish-Christian community lived there starting in the first century A.D.

From June 22 through July 25, volunteers will help explore the extensive cisterns and underground chambers that have been found at Sepphoris, examine more of its many plastered pools (presumably Jewish ritual baths) and excavate public buildings of the Roman period. Participants will stay at comfortable dormitories at the agricultural school at Nahalal, about 13 miles away, where tennis courts and a swimming pool are available. The program includes afternoon field trips and several all-day tours of Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights.

Participants must enroll for the entire five weeks and can receive six undergraduate or graduate credits. The $2,070 cost covers room and board, tuition, field trips and tours.

Contact: Carol Meyers, Department of Religion, PO. Box 4735 DS, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27706. Tel: (919) 684–3301.

Rehovot ba-Negev

Not to be confused with the city of Rehovot near Tel Aviv, Rehovot ba-Negev (Rehovot in the Negev) has a deep well, traditionally identified as a well that Isaac dug (Genesis 26:22). Although the site has so far yielded no Biblical remains, it does offer volunteers the chance to excavate one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the Near East.

The city was founded in the first century B.C. by the Nabataeans, Arabs whose powerful kingdom surrounded the Jewish kingdom at the time of Herod the Great. The city flourished during the Byzantine period (fourth to seventh centuries A.D.) and declined and became depopulated during the seventh and eighth centuries, probably because of the Moslem conquest. In past seasons, volunteers have uncovered two churches, a caravansary, houses, pottery, glass, coins, architectural fragments and inscriptions. One of the churches, including a crypt and a number of tombs, has been completely excavated. This summer, participants will excavate further in the residential quarter, the caravansary and a church. They will try to identify a monumental structure beneath the church that may be a Roman or Nabataean temple. The city plan is an unusual one, and teams will begin measured drawing of the ruins in order to learn how the city developed. Excavators will also survey the agricultural area surrounding the city and extract samples of burials from a large cemetery (probably Byzantine) north of the city.

The program will run from June 22 to July 31. The cost for room and board during the week is $400 for the first three weeks and $75 for each additional week. Volunteers must sign up for at least three weeks and will stay at an on-site tent camp. Undergraduate credit is available at $251 for three and $502 for six credits. Participants may earn graduate credit by special arrangement. On weekends, archaeological tours will be available for a slight extra cost, as will transportation to Eilat and Jerusalem.

Contact: Kenneth G. Holum, Department of History, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742. Tel: (301) 454–2843.

Timnah

Located on the border between ancient Israel and Philistia, Timnah was the center of Samson’s exploits. The Israelites captured the region during David’s reign, but lost control of it to the Philistines after Solomon’s death.

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The kingdom of Judah recaptured Timnah some time in the eighth century B.C.

Excavations have exposed strata from Timnah’s founding to its demise in the early fifth century B.C. Last year’s highlight, a fortified gate, included a massive tower from Hezekiah’s reign in the eighth century B.C.

From June 15 through July 12, volunteers can continue work on the gate and tower, as well as on the buildings constructed during David’s and Solomon’s reigns. The dig is sponsored by the Southwestern Baptist Seminary, which offers four to six hours of credit for $100. From June 3 through 14, volunteers may take a tour of Israel and Egypt, which includes a three-day Nile cruise. Field trips, lectures and touring in Israel are included in the dig program. Participants will stay in the Shoresh Hotel, about 20 miles from the site, and must sign up for the entire four weeks of the dig.

Contact: George L. Kelm, Timnah Expedition, P.O. Box 22417, Fort Worth, Texas 76122–0417. Tel (817) 923–1921.

Tel Yin‘am

Occupied from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period, Tel Yin‘am was the site of Yavne’el, mentioned in Joshua 19 as a southern border town of the tribe of Naphtali. Working in a large building that dates to the 13th century B.C., archaeologists have uncovered unique and rare objects imported from Greece, Egypt and Assyria, including Mycenaean pottery, an Egyptian blue bowl, Egyptian jewelry and a Middle Assyrian cylinder seal. They have also found evidence of a primitive iron smelter.

Next summer, archaeologists hope to finish excavating several houses from the Late Bronze Age (13th century B.C.) and structures from the period of the Judges (13th to 11th centuries B.C.). They also plan to excavate a house from about 3000 B.C.

The program will run from June 17 to July 25. Food, lodging and touring, excluding weekends, will cost $115 a week. Volunteers must stay at least two weeks. They will be housed either in Moshav Yavne’el very nearby or in the field school at Kfar Tavor 15 minutes away. Six academic credits are available through the University of Texas at Austin for $16 per semester hour for Texas residents and $120 per semester hour for nonresidents.

Contact: Harold Liebowitz, University of Texas, 2601 University Avenue, Austin, Texas 78712. Tel: (512) 471–1365.

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Caesarea Maritima

Herod the Great built the city of Caesarea on the site of an earlier Hellenistic settlement and constructed a harbor adjoining it. The harbor, a marvel of ancient engineering, was a major Mediterranean port for over 1,000 years. (See “Caesarea Maritima: The Search for Herod’s City,” BAR 08:03.) It is the largest partially submerged ancient Mediterranean port easily accessible to archaeologists. Investigations of two breakwaters in past seasons have greatly expanded our knowledge of how ancient harbors were built, particularly of how concrete was laid under water.

This summer, volunteers who are experienced divers will explore the breakwaters, and, if sea conditions permit, they may bring up remains of an early Roman shipwreck discovered in 1983. Both divers and diggers will explore the land facilities of the port to achieve a more thorough understanding of the harbor before the time of Herod.

There will be two excavation sessions, from May 23 to June 13 and from June 13 to July 4. Volunteer divers must sign up for at least one session and can receive three credits a session. The cost for divers is $900 for one session and $1,650 for both. Volunteers wishing to work only on land must stay a minimum of two weeks at a cost of $225 per week. Participants will stay at the marine center of nearby Kibbutz Sdot Yam and will eat at a restaurant overlooking the ancient harbor. These accommodations—including clubroom, television, bar and dance floor—have given Caesarea Maritima the name “the Rolls Royce of archaeology.” Costs do not cover weekend meals or lodging.

Contact: Lindley Vann, School of Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742. Tel: (301) 454–3427.

Caesarea Land Excavations

In addition to its project for divers, the Caesarea Ancient Harbor Excavation Project (CAHEP) sponsors excavations on land only. From May 23 to July 4, volunteers will break ground in an area believed to be the Jewish Quarter of the city in Crusader times. Archaeologists will try to define the extent of the Jewish settlement. They hope to uncover all strata of settlement there at least back to Hellenistic times and, if possible, even to the Phoenician colony that preceded the Hellenists. There has been little archaeological evidence of that colony, known as Strato’s Tower. In past seasons, excavators at Caesarea have uncovered extensive Roman storehouses, a Roman hippodrome and an ancient synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D.

Participants in the Caesarea Land Investigations Project (CLIP) pay $200 a week for room and board six days a week and must stay a minimum of one week. Like the diving volunteers, they will stay at the marine center of nearby Kibbutz Sdot Yam.

Contact: Robert R. Stieglitz, Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102. Tel: (201) 648–5233.

Tel Gerisa

At Tel Gerisa, on the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, archaeologists have found the remains of a weaver’s shop in an Iron Age (1200–1000 B.C.) village and a large courtyard from the Late Bronze Age (13th century B.C.). The goal for this summer is exploring Bronze Age material (c. 1700 to 1200 B.C.), perhaps including the building surrounding the courtyard.

Volunteers are encouraged to stay for an entire session, from July 6 through July 25 or from July 27 through August 15, although they may sign up for as little as one week. A $350 fee per session covers room and board, and college credit is available for an additional $100. Participants will stay at a public school at the foot of the tel.

Contact: Fredric Brandfon, School of Religion, University of Southern California, University Park, Los Angeles, California 90089–0355. Tel: (213) 743–2631.

Ein Yael

A settlement outside Jerusalem, Ein Yael was a major agricultural area during Biblical times. (See “Ancient Jerusalem’s Rural Food Basket,” BAR 08:04.)

This summer, volunteers 16 and over can help reconstruct the technology and building used in Ein Yael and nearby agricultural centers. The goal is to develop an “open air” 063museum for researchers and students who want to study farm terraces, wine and oil presses, cisterns and water conduits of the period.

The dig will be held during June, July and August. Volunteers must stay at least one week and arrange their own accommodations at nearby youth hostels or hotels. There are no fees.

Contact: Andrea Reback, Box 1344, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254.

Tel Miqne-Ekron

The site of Biblical Ekron, Tel Miqne, the northernmost city of the famous Philistine pentapolis, is one of the largest Iron Age sites in Israel. Last season, excavators found the remains of the Canaanite city the Philistines conquered at the end of the 13th century B.C. They also uncovered a huge wall and gate and a large industrial building for producing olive oil, and nine- four-horned altars dating to the last Philistine city occupation. The building contained oil presses and hundreds of restorable Judean and Philistine vessels, all buried by debris when Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians destroyed the city in 603 B.C.

From June 15 to August 1, archaeologists plan to investigate all levels of occupation from the Canaanite through the final Philistine culture at the end of the Iron Age. The cost of the seven-week session, including six hours of credit, is $1,215. There will also be a limited number of three- and four-week opportunities. Participants will stay at a campsite at Kibbutz Revadim, which boasts a swimming pool and tennis courts. Excavations will take place in the afternoon and early evening hours, leaving the mornings for lectures, workshops and material processing at the campsite.

Contact: Ernest S. Frerichs, Box 1826, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912. Tel: (401) 863–3900.

Ashkelon

When Samson’s bride divulged the answer to his riddle to her fellow Philistines, an enraged Samson went to Ashkelon, the Philistines’ major seaport, and killed 30 of its men (Judges 14:19). Ashkelon is often mentioned by the Biblical prophets as the target of God’s wrath. In Amos, for example, God says, “I will wipe out the inhabitants of Ashdod and the sceptered rulers of Ashkelon.”

New excavations began in Ashkelon last summer. Archaeologists surveyed Ashkelon’s occupation from about 2000 B.C. to about 1400 A.D. Among last summer’s finds was a church in use from Byzantine times (c. 400 A.D.) through the period of the Crusaders (c. 1300 A.D.); its frescoes carry Greek text. Also uncovered was a large building (from c. 400 to 600 A.D.) with a mosaic floor, a bath and an inscription reading “Enter and enjoy yourself.” Archaeologists hope that further excavation this season will determine whether the building was a bath house or a bordello.

This summer volunteers will work mostly on Philistine (c. 1200 to 600 B.C.) and Canaanite (c. 1800 to 1200 B.C.) levels. The season will run from June 1 through July 31. The cost, $1,300 for the full season or $700 for the minimum four-week stay, covers all living expenses, field trips, lectures and workshops. Participants will live in either tents or bungalows near the site. Academic credit can be arranged. Prospective participants may enjoy reading about the first excavation of Ashkelon in 1815, in “Restoring the Reputation of Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope,” BAR 10:04.

Contact: Lawrence Stager, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, 1155 E. 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637. Tel: (312) 962–9552.

Shave Ziyyon

Located on the Mediterranean coast north of Akko, Shave Ziyyon will be the site of late Phoenician excavations in May. The program will also feature lectures on Phoenician culture. Volunteers must be at least 20 years old and must stay at least two weeks; college students with experience in classical archaeology are preferred. Arrangements for accommodations are not yet final, but participants will stay at either Shave Ziyyon or Nahariya, at a cost of approximately $15 a day. In addition, there is a $50 registration fee.

Contact: M. Prausnitz, Department of Antiquities, PO. Box 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel. Tel: (02) 278–609 or home (02) 536–857.

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Tel Akko

A crossroads of major land and sea trade routes, Akko has been a thriving city as well as a meeting ground for different cultures for 5,000 years, almost without interruption. The tribe of Asher conquered Canaanite Akko but, according to Judges 1:31, did not expel its inhabitants.

In the 1983 excavation season, archaeologists found evidence of Akko’s first settlement, from the early Canaanite period, c. 3200–2900 B.C. They also uncovered the first well-preserved Middle Canaanite gate ever found in Israel. Last season, archaeologists dug up pottery and other objects made in the 13th century B.C. by the Shardana, one of the early Sea Peoples. One of this summer’s goals will be to find the site of an ancient anchorage on the southern side of the tel where the river Belus (Na’aman) flowed in antiquity.

Volunteers may join this year’s dig—the 12th excavation season at Tel Akko—for July and August, though they may stay as little as one week. Room and board will be provided for $15 a day at the agricultural school at nearby Yad-Nathan.

Contact: Professor Moshe Dothan or Mrs. Ruth Negry, Akko Excavations, Department of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31999, Israel. Tel: (04) 240–234, (04) 229–534 or (02) 632–096.

Shiqmim

One of the largest Chalcolithic (c. 4500 to 3200 B.C.) villages in the Negev, this 23.5-acre site provides an opportunity to investigate the development of early complex societies in the southern Levant. The season will run from September to October; exact dates will be fixed soon. Volunteers pay a registration fee of $20 and receive free meals and accommodations at the campsite. A minimum stay of two weeks is required.

Contact: Thomas Levy, P.O. Box 19096, Jerusalem 91190, Israel. Tel: (02) 288–956.

Mt. Ebal

“At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal … ” (Joshua 8:30). Digging at Mt. Ebal, Haifa University archaeologists, led by Adam Zertal, have uncovered an Israelite altar and cult center dating to the time of Joshua. (See “Joshua’s Altar—An Iron Age I Watchtower,” by Aharon Kempinski, and “How Can Kempinski Be So Wrong!” by Adam Zertal, in this issue.)

Participation is limited to 40 volunteers in each of four one-week sessions from June 22 to July 18. Each session lasts from Sunday night to Friday noon. The cost of $125 per week includes room and board at a nearby hostel and transportation to and from the central bus station in Natanya. Two courses of three credits each are available during the dig for $100 per credit.

After each session ends, a seven-day “Follow the Bible” tour is offered to both participants and non-participants. Biblical archaeologists will lead the dig-related tour to the Galilee, the Mediterranean coast, Mt. Carmel, Jerusalem and other sites. The tour plus one week on the dig costs $508.

Contact: Jane Thomas, United States Volunteer Coordinator, 665 Park Drive, Barrington, Illinois 60010. Tel (312) 381–5676.

Tel Haror

Tel Haror in the western Negev desert has been identified with Biblical Gerar. In Gerar Abraham and Isaac both tried the same ruse: pretending to the Philistine king Abimelech that their beautiful wives were really their sisters (Genesis 20 and 26).

In only three previous excavation seasons, archaeologists have uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved fortification system of the late Iron Age, a Philistine settlement and a Hyksos settlement that dates to the 17th and 16th centuries B.C.

From July 27 to September 5, volunteers willing to stay at least two weeks can help explore the rich complex of stone buildings from the Late Iron Age and can participate in large-scale excavations of the Hyksos settlement. Room and board in student apartment suites at Beer-Sheva’s modern Ben-Gurion University cost $150 a week. With a minimum three-week stay, academic credit ($50 per credit) can be arranged through Ben-Gurion University or Brandeis University.

Contact: Martha A. Morrison, Department of Classical and Oriental Studies, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254.

Tel Dan