Hey, even walls need to look pretty for pictures. Today we were cleaning the site to make it ready for some aerial pictures tomorrow. So we were sweeping (yup... dirt on dirt, I know), pulling up rocks, and trimming the roots. But if you pull or cut too much the wall will fall in. Our dig supervisor, Marcela joked that if I cut too much and made one fall on top of me and I was hurt, she would be sure to tell the paper that it was Talia Davis who knocked over a priceless 1st century wall... Thanks Marcela!So we set about cleaning. We were each given a room/quadrant. My room was a really nice square. I had a ‘bench’ of un-cleared area and a trench where they had gone down further to see what they could find. I went about my merry way, snipping roots and brushing the loose rocks and dirt to the floor. That took all morning, from 6 until our breakfast at 10. Then after breakfast, I started sweeping the floor... I was sweeping dirt up on a dirt floor. And brushing dirt off the dirt wall onto the dirt floor... sometimes it was hard to tell when to stop brushing or sweeping... but I had to be sure to stop before the wall started crumbling and on the floor... well, I just had to stop at some point.The whole team set about cleaning the site. Juan and Elias were clearing one area where we had found an arch. We weren’t sure what it was or why it was there. It was a freestanding arch that backed up almost to a wall. Then Juan found a small square in one of the bricks in his area. It could have been for water. I just can’t wait for this site to be fully excavated. I really want to come back in three years when it is cleared. It will be amazing to learn exactly what each of these areas are for.All in all, it was an amazing experience. I was so honored to work with such an amazing group of people. These volunteers are so dedicated and amazing. Many of them will be here for three years to fully excavate the site. Wow!Well, my experience on the dig is at a close. I head to Tzfat tomorrow for shabbis with my wonderful friend Chani and her family. I am looking forward to going back to Mayanot energized and ready to learn... with one more thing checked off the bucket list. I played a part in history and that is so exciting, especially for a history nerd like me. :)
Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Your Custom Text Here