ON THE COVER: A volunteer worker excavates the remains of a dog, lower left, in the ancient world’s largest dog cemetery. Located at Ashkelon and dated to 500–450 B.C., the cemetery contains over 220 buried dogs, possibly interred by the Persians. Although clearly significant, the precise meaning of the burials remains a mystery. Work on the dog cemetery and at 27 other digs in the Holy Land will continue in the coming season; all these sites seek the aid of volunteers, as detailed in
“Excavation Opportunities 1989.”