Archaeological Views: The Value of Experience
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I was born in Israel (then Palestine) and grew up in a small town called Ramat Gan. Quite often during construction projects, archaeological sites would come to light, and as a youngster I always enjoyed visiting them.
One of the town’s archaeological sites that did not need to be discovered was Tell Jerishe (Tel Gerisa)—known to us as Har Napoleon (Mt. Napoleon). Local legend had it that Napoleon had shelled Jaffa from the top of this mound. The site, which at the time was located on the outskirts of town and surrounded by orange groves and prickly-pear cactus hedges, had been explored and partially excavated since 1927, and some of the finds were lying exposed for everyone to see and admire. As a kid, my imagination soared whenever I visited the mound, something I did quite often.
My grade-school years covered the period before, during and just after the establishment of the State of Israel. These were the days of strong patriotic zeal, love of country and a strong commitment to the Jewish people. These values were conveyed to each of us in school through a variety of subjects including Bible, history and homeland studies. The curriculum also included visits to historical sites, as well as long hikes through the countryside organized by different youth movements. These youth movements had an important impact in shaping the personality (including ideology) of every youngster growing up in that period.
The youth movement to which I belonged, ha-Shomer ha-Tza’ir (“the young guard”), which was ideologically on the left of the Labor Movement, had an important impact on the way my career developed. A personal goal of every youth in the movement was to become a member of a kibbutz, and in my case I joined Kibbutz Lahav, in the northeastern Negev directly on the Green Line, [the border between Israel and the West Bank]. Lahav was built at the foot of Tell Halif in the heart of a region rich with archaeological sites.
Bedouin tribes surrounded the kibbutz with their black tents, herds of sheep and goats, their camels and donkeys, and their fields that yielded very little. I met many of these Bedouin at work and in my wanderings. At that time, the kibbutz was engaged mostly in agriculture, particularly in the cultivation of field crops and fruit trees. Kibbutz members also herded sheep and cattle and even raised other animals, such as camels, chickens and turkeys. My main occupation was working with field crops, though I had opportunities to work in the orchards and with the livestock as well. More important, however, my work at the kibbutz took me into the countryside and familiarized me with the region and its multifaceted richness.
All of these factors were important for how my career as an archaeologist evolved. My road into academia started when the kibbutz sent me to attend the Absalom Institute for Homeland Study in Tel Aviv, an institution dedicated to studying all aspects of the country’s natural and manmade history, including archaeology, geology, botany, zoology and more. This was done in the classroom as well as in the field. Later, when I continued my academic training and my scholarly inquiry, my background dictated the direction I took.
I have been associated with the archaeological work at Tell Halif undertaken by the Lahav Research Project since its inception in 1976. For the past two summers, I have directed the fourth phase of excavations at the site. The excavations in Phase IV, as well as those of Phase III, which I codirected with Paul Jacobs of Mississippi State University, have been dedicated to the recovery of material culture pertaining to the daily life of the inhabitants of Tell Halif during Iron Age II [1000–586 B.C.E.], especially the eighth century B.C.E. During the course of my scholarly work, I have come to realize that my left-leaning ideological upbringing has led me to be more concerned with the role and fate of the average person in Biblical times rather than specific kings or Biblical personalities. While the latter certainly provide archaeologists with the historical framework, it is the former that supply the context in which historical events take place. And context is all-important in archaeology.
In addition, my experience has provided me with an interest in, and understanding of, the major means of livelihood in Biblical times, especially agriculture and herding. My understanding has likewise been informed by my familiarity with premodern ways of life in Palestine and by the region’s natural resources. All of this is reflected in my fieldwork and publications. Many factors shape one’s career. For me, archaeology is a very personal matter. Looking back on the path I have taken, both personally and professionally, I can say that I feel that a person should incorporate the sum total of his or her life experiences in pursuing a career. I certainly have.
I was born in Israel (then Palestine) and grew up in a small town called Ramat Gan. Quite often during construction projects, archaeological sites would come to light, and as a youngster I always enjoyed visiting them. One of the town’s archaeological sites that did not need to be discovered was Tell Jerishe (Tel Gerisa)—known to us as Har Napoleon (Mt. Napoleon). Local legend had it that Napoleon had shelled Jaffa from the top of this mound. The site, which at the time was located on the outskirts of town and surrounded by orange groves and prickly-pear cactus hedges, […]
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