Community Archaeology at Tel Esur

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At dawn, scores of schoolchildren noisily cross the wheat fields and arrive, full of enthusiasm, at the ancient mound. “Let’s find out what was here thousands of years ago!” they shout in Hebrew. The archaeologists raise their heads from sorting and registering finds—another day of community archaeology has begun at Tel Esur.

Tel Esur is located about 20 miles south of Haifa, at the western entrance to the narrow Nahal ‘Iron valley. This pass was one of the main routes through which the ancient Via Maris, the major north-south coastal road, crossed the Carmel mountain range toward the fertile Jezreel Valley. Esur was a fortified settlement during the Middle Bronze Age. Later, it appears to have functioned as a Late Bronze Age caravan station on the route between the Egyptian garrison towns of Jaffa and Beth Shean. A nearby early eighth-century B.C.E. administrative building featuring a fortified tower and a paved, tripartite structure (likely storage rooms or stables) may evidence the expansion of the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the days of King Jeroboam II (see 2 Kings 14).

Remarkably, much of the site has been excavated not by professional archaeologists, graduate students, or even seasoned volunteers, but rather by local everyday people and especially teenagers. The Tel Esur excavations began in 2010 as a dedicated community archaeology project, of which there are a growing number within the Middle East.^a Though their aims may range from heritage education to site stewardship to social and economic development, all such projects share the common idea that archaeology can be sustained only through direct engagement with the communities who live with and around heritage sites.

Indeed, community archaeology has become very popular in Israel. Although Israel has a tradition of community participation in archaeology since the foundation of the state in 1948, it is only in the past two decades that more projects are focusing on education and youth participation. The Israel Antiquities Authority manages several very large community projects, and youngsters dig at many salvage excavations throughout the country (see “5 Questions: The IAA to the Rescue”). As BAR readers know, there are also several popular “dig-for-a-day” programs—the Temple Mount Sifting Project and the Tel Maresha project in Beit Guvrin—that allow locals as well as tourists the opportunity to experience archaeology firsthand.^b

The Tel Esur project, however, is a bit different. We began the project to remember the legacy of the late Yitzhak Dori, an Israeli educator and teacher from Metzer (a kibbutz near Tel Esur), who believed that education could be used to promote peace and friendship among people of all faiths and cultures. With Dori’s ideas in mind, we had a two-pronged goal in engaging schoolchildren: to expose local youth to archaeology and to foster collaboration and exchange among people from different backgrounds and identities (religious and non-religious, Jewish and Muslim)—all while learning about the ancient communities that lived in the region more than 3,500 years ago. Our project is also unique in that the excavations are sustained not through grants or university funding, but through the support and contributions of the local community. The project relies on private donations and in-kind contributions from local companies and organizations during the excavation season—by providing heavy machinery, food and drinks, free accommodations for our professional staff, or medical services. Some more entrepreneurial methods of supporting the dig include producing and 026marketing “Tel Esur” brand olive oil, and selling scrap metal collected from the site and surrounding areas.

Every year, nearly 500 teenage students from surrounding communities join us in excavating the site. They come primarily from two Jewish public schools, a Jewish orthodox girls’ school, and a Muslim public school. Most participate for about a week. Knowing that fieldwork can be overwhelming for many teens accustomed to learning in air-conditioned classrooms, we first meet with students in their schools to introduce them to archaeology and explain its importance for the community. We present the site, talk about its history, and describe the various tools and methods used in the field to reveal the past.

Once excavation begins, we establish a daily field routine. Early in the morning, on their first day at the site, we hold a pre-dig meeting and introduce them to the area where they will be working. Subsequent days open with a review of new findings, with high praise for the students’ hard work and effort in the field. Students dig for about four hours each day and, before they wrap up, supervisors brief them on the day’s achievements and the next day’s plan. Those who are not comfortable using a pickax or trowel can participate in other on-site activities, such as pottery washing, sorting, and sifting.

Students, parents, and teachers frequently comment how beneficial the project is for the teens. One of the dig’s most valuable benefits, they tell us, is promoting confidence and self-esteem. Although many students begin the dig believing they will be unable to cope with the harsh conditions on site (e.g., long hours under the sun, working in a group setting, fear of animals and insects), by the time they leave, they feel a sense of accomplishment, having overcome perceived limitations and fears. Similarly, students who suffer from ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and sometimes struggle in a traditional classroom setting often shine in our excavations.

Admittedly, our community-based excavation model is difficult to sustain financially. We had to cut back on the number of weeks we are in the field, from five to just three, and community support does not cover the project’s very costly research and publication expenses.

But even beyond financing the project, the main question that troubles me is whether we have made an impact. Have we made a difference in the lives of the teens the project aims to serve? Every time I hesitate, I remember the words of Waseb, a boy from the nearby Muslim school who wrote us a touching letter in Hebrew (!) to express what he gained from the dig experience: “I’m glad that I got to meet new good people, and I hope that you’ll visit us at our homes and school so we can meet again. You do a great job with cooperation and mutual respect … We learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves. Thank you.”

At dawn, scores of schoolchildren noisily cross the wheat fields and arrive, full of enthusiasm, at the ancient mound. “Let’s find out what was here thousands of years ago!” they shout in Hebrew. The archaeologists raise their heads from sorting and registering finds—another day of community archaeology has begun at Tel Esur. Tel Esur is located about 20 miles south of Haifa, at the western entrance to the narrow Nahal ‘Iron valley. This pass was one of the main routes through which the ancient Via Maris, the major north-south coastal road, crossed the Carmel mountain range toward the fertile […]