Well, let me tell you about life on an archaeological dig at Tel Gezer. I start my typical day at 4am where I go out behind where we stay and read and pray for about thirty minutes. Currently I am reading through the Psalms. There is something about reading through the Psalms in David’s backyard that bring them alive (that and being very dependent on the Lord here). There is a Byzantine church about a mile or so away that rings a bell three times at exactly 4:15am every weekday morning. I’m not sure why other than they want to let me know I have about ten minutes left for my quiet time. I’m sure that’s not their reasoning for ringing the bells but it works for me.
After that I come back to the room and put on my dig clothes. These consist of a tee shirt and a pair of shorts that I wear three days in a row because after about ten minutes in clean clothes they are just as dirty. After that we can go and eat a small breakfast of very sweet Israeli peanut butter and jelly, but I choose not to do this due to the sugar. Instead I eat a handful of almonds that I get at the store we go to on Wednesday afternoons. Then promptly at 5am we board the bus for Tel Gezer. It takes about fifteen minutes or so to get there.
Once we arrive at the Tel we walk about one hundred yards to the “container” and gather the needed equipment for the day including picks, hoes, water, and floppy buckets called goofas. Once we are loaded up we ascend Tel Gezer with the usual fanfare of moans and groans of how steep it is and other various complaints. Once we ascend the Tel, we raise our shade cloths and start to get to work.
We work in 4x4 meter squares that are separated by a one meter area called a “balk”. Depending on what we are dealing with in our square directs what equipment we use. If we are moving earth to get the area we want to get to then we use picks and hoes to get there. If we are there and are excavating around small things then we use brushes and very small picks. We work from 5:30 to 8:30.
Promptly at 8:30 the Field Archaeologist yells, “BREAKFAST!” Then we all descend the Tel to enjoy a breakfast set up near the container. This includes beef salami and turkey cold cuts, milk and cereal, tomatoes, cucumbers, as well as coffee. It’s pretty good and it’s a nice break from eating dirt.
The dirt here is a very, very, very fine powder. Think of finely sifted flour. Then think about it being inches deep and walking through it. The dirt here puffs up into a cloud at your feet when you walk through it. It gets everywhere – including your mouth, nose, ears and everywhere else.
After breakfast we must once again hike up the Tel to restart working. We work from 9am to 11am. Everyone on the Tel looks forward to two of the most important words on the Tel – the sound of the Field Archaeologist yelling the words, “FRUIT BREAK!!” I can smell the watermelons as I type this part. These are the best watermelons I have ever had! I’m not sure if this is due to them being so fresh or because we are so tired from working so hard. I believe it is both.
After about a fifteen minute break of eating all the ripe red, juicy watermelon we can fathom, we get back to work. At this point we have an hour and a half until we descend the Tel and go home for the day. We stop working at 12:30 in the afternoon because it is so hot to work in the summer heat. When we get back we all pile into the cafeteria and eat lunch after scrubbing our hands and arms in the bathrooms. The bathrooms are clean before we get there. Needless to say they are covered in Gezer dirt in a matter of minutes.
The running joke here is that all meals include chicken, potatoes, and rice. Occasionally we have some variations of this, but one can be fairly certain that one of these staples is on the menu. After we eat, we return to our rooms, shower, and have free time until 4pm. Free time usually consists of taking a nap, returning to the lobby area where there is wireless access, or hanging out with fellow Tel Gezer diggers.
At 4pm we all gather to wash pottery. The pottery soaks for a day or two and then we clean it systematically piece by piece looking for inscriptions, markings of some kind, as well as what type it is. Once cleaned the pottery is then set aside for a day or two to dry. While the volunteers are washing the pottery the directors are reading the now cleaned and dried pottery from the days before. This is interesting to watch. These men are experts in this field and to stand around the table and watch them discuss what age this pottery is and where at the Tel it is coming from is interesting to watch.
Pottery washing lasts for about an hour or an hour and a half. After that the daily lecture starts at 5:30 pm. These have been very informative. Every night has been a different speaker and a different subject. Once again these speakers are experts in their respective fields of study.
Once the lecture is over it’s time for supper. We eat (our potatoes, rice, and chicken) at 6:30pm. Then after that I call my wife at 7pm and then go to bed.
That is a day in the life at Tel Gezer. It’s tough, but I’m lovin’ it! I wish Shannon was here to experience it with me!
Striving for the Goal…
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Three days in the same clothes? In the Mideast heat? Bro., Shannon might appreciate the distance between you just now! (Just kidding, I know she'd love being with you there!)
ReplyDeleteHow many folks are there at the dig? Where do they all come from? Have you come across any interesting stuff in your 'Balk' just yet? I think it's so cool how the artifacts you may come across could very well have been the pot or pitcher mentioned in a passage of Scripture. Keep up the hard work and updates of your progress!