Inside BAR

004

BAR’s annual summary of volunteer dig opportunities, a feature which appears in this issue, is complemented this year by a companion theme: methods used by archaeologists in the field.

Joe Seger traces the evolution of archaeological field methods for BAR readers in “A Capsule History of Archaeological Method.” Seger, Visiting Professor of Religious Studies and Humanities at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, received his Ph.D. in 1965 from Harvard University. Presently director of the Lahav Research Project at Tell Halif, Seger is the author of Tomb Offerings From Gezer.

Also interested in the history of archaeology and archaeological methods, William H. Stiebing, Jr. has stimulated our curiosity by his article, “Who First Excavated Stratigraphically?” about an 18th century American. While Dr. Stiebing was researching sources for a book on the history of archaeology, he discovered this new material. A professor of ancient history and archaeology, Stiebing has been on the faculty at the University of New Orleans since 1967 and a staff member at digs at Tel es-Sa’idiyeh, Jordan and Saraband, Lebanon.

Another aspect of archaeological methodology, the influence of bias and ideology on the archaeologist, is examined by J. Edward Barrett in “Piety and Patriotism—Secularism and Skepticism: The Dual Problem of Archaeological Bias.” A professor of Biblical archaeology and classical mythology, Barrett teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. A great traveler, Barrett has led student groups on international trips, dug on an archaeological site in Israel, and taught at Tunghai University in Taiwan as Visiting Professor during 1971–72. Professor Barrett has written a book entitled How Are You Programmed? which provides a theological interpretation of the nature of man, freedom and meaning.

“Books in Brief” this month also focuses on procedures and methods used by archaeologists. Anthony Pitch reviews Manual of Field Excavation: Handbook for Field Archaeologists. Pitch, a staff writer at U.S. News & World Report, lived and worked for many years in Israel. After leaving his hometown of Salisburg, Zimbabwe, Mr. Pitch was schooled in England and South Africa. His books include Inside Zambia—and Out, Bazak Guide to Israel, Bazak Guide to Italy, Peace, and Israel—for Children.

In any serious discussion of archaeological methods, Kathleen Kenyon’s name and work must necessarily appear. In this issue the contributions of the energetic British excavator of Jericho and Jerusalem are amply discussed, first in a review of a new edition of Kenyon’s classic work Archaeology in the Holy Land by the distinguished author and educator, Siegfried Horn (“Books in Brief”), and next in a synopsis of a brilliant article assessing Dame Kathleen’s life and work by Peter R. S. Moorey of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England (“Prominent British Scholar Assesses Kathleen Kenyon”).

Mary Remole of Minneapolis, Minnesota brings the themes of archaeological method and dig opportunities to a fascinating personal level. A volunteer at Tel Michal for a summer and a gifted photographer, Remole is presently an editor for the Eden Prairie (Minnesota) News.

An unusual article, “Animals of the Bible—Living Links to Antiquity,” which provides a change of pace for BAR readers, allows us to introduce a new author, Bill Clark, and a superb nature photographer, Gail Rubin. Bill Clark is a 37-year-old naturalist and author who has served as vice president of Friends for Animals, a national animal protection organization. Now he is a wildlife ranger with the Israeli Nature Reserves Authority and is responsible for the care of about 300 animals at the Hai Bar Biblical Wildlife Refuge. The author of The Paper Ark, a book about Biblical animals, Clark lives with his wife and son in Israel. Clark’s article is accompanied by a number of photographs by Gail Rubin. Rubin was killed in 1978 by PLO terrorists while she was photographing birds on the Mediterranean coast. A collection of her magnificent nature photos with text was published posthumously under the title, Psalmist With a Camera.

BAR’s annual summary of volunteer dig opportunities, a feature which appears in this issue, is complemented this year by a companion theme: methods used by archaeologists in the field.