If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I spent the most amazing 5 days digging in a 1st Century Jewish neighborhood just north of Tiberias in Israel this fall. (If you are new, that's okay! Just check out my Indiana Jones Adventure.)I learned about this dig through Fr. Kelly at Notre Dame of Jerusalem... who I met through Doug Seserman of the Allied Jewish Federation (where I now work). Denver is very fortunate to have such a great connection to this project and group. Subsequently, I would like to share with you a unique opportunity in Denver. The Galilee Gala will take place on Wednesday, June 8 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It is going to be a wonderful evening in support of this very important historical site where you will have the opportunity to learn more about the history of the area and what has already been unearthed (and it is truly awesome).But on a personal note, let me explain to you the nitty gritty. When the Catholic Church discovered this site, they were asked if they were just going to throw some concrete in and build the hotel on top of the area, as planned. Many groups, especially non-Jewish builders in Israel, do this... they hide or obscure history by destroying it. That is not the case for this site. The Catholic Church understands the value of this historical find for, not only the Jewish people, but also for their own edification. Instead of hiding it and covering it up, they are sharing this 1st Century synagogue with the world... despite the fact that it has increased the site cost for them. This will be at least a three year excavation. The friends I made on the dig will be living in a church in Tiberias for three years to work on this project. The welcome center and resources for the Christian pilgrims will be built around these sites and once the excavation is complete, it will become a multi-faith tourist attraction, accessible to all.None of this comes cheaply. The staff needs to be fed (multiple times a day, in fact!) and there are other expenses. I donated $25 a day while I was on the dig towards those expenses to help out with the project. But even so, they need continued support. Please consider attending The Galilee Gala in Denver on June 8th or sending a donation to the project.To donate, click here.If you are interested in attending the Gala, click here to register or scroll down for more information.Thank you in advance for your support!
Photos From My Archeology Adventure
Hi fans! So I was chatting with some friends from my very exciting archeological dig experience way back when (aka about 6 months ago... it's been 6 months!!!) and they have been sharing my blog with people interested in the dig and potential donors (please support this incredible and important work!). So I thought I would make my dig pictures accessible.Here is a link to the images on Flickr. Please do not use any images without my express permission. If you would like permission, you can email me at TaliaSheWrote @ gmail . com. Thank you!Magdala Archeological DigIt was an incredible experience!
Final Dig (B)Log
As I write this (on my iPhone to be transcribed to my blog later), I am on a bus headed to Tzfat for Shabbat. I am excited to see friends, be around the familiar Jewish rituals, and go back to school. But our bus just passed the dig site at Magdala.I saw Martin's hat up over the nearly 6 foot deep dig site.I saw the crew under the pottery tent and the two white vans that careened along the lakeside highway to get us to and from the site.I didn't see Migdal but I know that cute pup was cheerfully running back and forth on the site or laying lazily in the shade or sitting on Maria's shoulders.I didn't realize what an impact these people would have on me or how the dig would affect me. I thought I was just going to clear some rock and dirt and find some pottery. But this was a once in a lifetime event for me (though I would love to find a way to do it again sometime) and I am so thankful to have gone. My only wish is that I could have shared it with a few very special people.Basically, this taught me never to be afraid of new experiences. To never shy away from trying something different, no matter how scary or hard it may seem at the outset. New activities and amazing experiences don't just fall in your lap. They don't always involve a 4 star hotel, the best food, or a clean experience. Sometimes you just have to trust an Israeli bus driver to tell you where to get off and cab drivers to give you good walking directions. Sometimes you have to be strong and aware and confident in your self.It ain't always easy but it's always worth it.
Lesson # 102 – Cut the roots, don’t make the wall fall down or “I’m ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille.”
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. :)
Lesson #13 - Birds are cool but pottery is cooler or "I'm tired, do we really have to ride a golf cart around and look at birds?"
Pre-lesson: When your dig supervisor rattles off in crazy fluent Spanish, sometimes you don't want to know what she is saying. It has been really interesting hanging out with my awesome, new friends from Mexico. I came to Israel knowing that everyone here pretty much speaks English so that shouldn't be an issue. It has only been since I have been hanging out with the Mexicans do I feel like I am in another country. The funniest part was when the Arab caretakers and the Mexican volunteers were all trying to speak in English to each other today. Neither of them could pronounce the English word vacuum and I just had to laugh. Here I am, the only native English speaker for possibly the first time in my life! Anyway, I digress... sort of.Today was another day of pottery marking which was totally cool with me. Not only do we sit in a nice tent and I don't have to wield a pickax, I also get to look at all this amazing pottery up close. They opened up a mosaic today too. How AMAZING! They have found glass, metal, ceramics, and most interesting... flint-stone... pre-historic tools... Looking forward to hearing more about that.Working on the edge pieces (the ones with a lip or a handle or something distinctive) is hard because even the tiniest piece has to be marked but it is very interesting. I got up close and personal with 1st century paint... amazing! Also, Rosaura has been helping me understand a bit of Spanish and I have been helping her with Hebrew. I know it is a daunting task but she is so excited to learn it. I have been showing her the Aleph Bet and teaching her a word here or there. Today's lesson was brought to us by the prefix l' or ל (which means to) and by the word l'tsalem (לצלם) which means to photograph.Today was a hard day on the dig for me. The 4:30am wake up calls are catching up to me and I haven't been sleeping great here. I was exhausted by the middle of the day and then we had a special excursion that turned out to be a bit longer than I expected. We went to Hula Valley to see the migrating birds. 100,000 cranes stop in Israel on their way to Africa for the winter. The Israelis have created this reserve for them to land and eat so they don't destroy the crops in the area. It was truly beautiful, I just wish I wasn't so exhausted so I could have enjoyed it more. We drove around the park for two hours in a GIANT golf cart (I mean seriously, it sat 19 people!) with a Padre, Father John, at the wheel. It was a good time.Then we headed back to Tiveria for showers and dinner and soon, bed. Tons of traffic made it a very long ride but with a good dinner of schnitzel in my tummy, I am ready to hit the sack soon.Tomorrow is my last day on the dig. I can't work Friday because I have to catch a bus out of town before they are back from the dig site to make it to Tzfat in time for shabbis. I am spending a very special shabbis with my friend Chani and her family in the very holy town of Tzfat.I have been looking forward to my time on this dig so much, I can't believe it is coming to an end. It has been such a great experience, I am so thankful to Notre Dame in Jerusalem and Fr. Eammon Kelly, and Marcela, and everyone here for allowing me to hang out, use a pickax and fountain pen. :)Here are some shots from today:
Lesson #65 - How to write with a fountain pen and ink or "Do I really have to write on that tiny piece of pottery?"
This morning, I knew I was in for something different. Having requested not to use a pickax while my body recovered from the work, I was sent to the pottery cleaning and marking. It was a lot of fun but still hard work.
Here's my supposition... on a dig, there is nothing but hard work. You can't escape and really, I didn't want to.
Here's the deal with pottery marking. There are tons and tons of shards that have been found. Approx 300 BAGS of them at this point in the dig. All of those have to be washed and scrubbed, then marked. If they are edge pieces, like the lip of a jug or bowl or handle or spout... aka recognizable pieces, every single one has to be marked. If they are just random pieces of pottery, all of them above a certain size have to be marked. In this case, anything bigger than three of my thumbs... I don't actually have three thumbs therefore this is just an estimate.
Here comes the challenge (other than writing tiny)... You aren't using a sharpie to mark them... you are using a fountain pen and ink well (in this situation, the ink well is a bottle cap). I know a fountain pen sounds romantic but there very little control for a novice on the flow of ink... and you have to write really tiny. As the day progressed, my writing got more consistent and smaller. Thank goodness! Because one of the girls hasn't been feeling well and she was doing the tiny parts, the rim parts, and she had to go rest so I had to finish the tiny parts... yeah... For this work, you are hunched over a piece of pottery, trying to keep your hands steady. The bonus of this work was I had to stop to stretch my hand and arm and back frequently so I got a bunch of pictures. AND I got to go see the synagogue today. What a real thrill to walk down the main street from 1900 years ago! Truly amazing! The intact mosaics on the floor are incredible and you can see the plaster and paint (frescos) on the some of the walls. As they try to understand more about this synagogue, it will be facinating to watch.And here is another sunrise... a nice progression through the morning... for you!(To see all my pictures, go to THDpr Flickr)
Here's my supposition... on a dig, there is nothing but hard work. You can't escape and really, I didn't want to.
Here's the deal with pottery marking. There are tons and tons of shards that have been found. Approx 300 BAGS of them at this point in the dig. All of those have to be washed and scrubbed, then marked. If they are edge pieces, like the lip of a jug or bowl or handle or spout... aka recognizable pieces, every single one has to be marked. If they are just random pieces of pottery, all of them above a certain size have to be marked. In this case, anything bigger than three of my thumbs... I don't actually have three thumbs therefore this is just an estimate.
Here comes the challenge (other than writing tiny)... You aren't using a sharpie to mark them... you are using a fountain pen and ink well (in this situation, the ink well is a bottle cap). I know a fountain pen sounds romantic but there very little control for a novice on the flow of ink... and you have to write really tiny. As the day progressed, my writing got more consistent and smaller. Thank goodness! Because one of the girls hasn't been feeling well and she was doing the tiny parts, the rim parts, and she had to go rest so I had to finish the tiny parts... yeah... For this work, you are hunched over a piece of pottery, trying to keep your hands steady. The bonus of this work was I had to stop to stretch my hand and arm and back frequently so I got a bunch of pictures. AND I got to go see the synagogue today. What a real thrill to walk down the main street from 1900 years ago! Truly amazing! The intact mosaics on the floor are incredible and you can see the plaster and paint (frescos) on the some of the walls. As they try to understand more about this synagogue, it will be facinating to watch.And here is another sunrise... a nice progression through the morning... for you!(To see all my pictures, go to THDpr Flickr)
You speak Hebrew like my mother speaks Chinese...
Says the Israeli Arab man to me...Great. Thanks... at least I KNEW what you were asking... I knew to answer that I am from Colorado and achshav, gar b'yerushalim (and now I live in Jerusalem). And who taught me Hebrew? Ulpan v'abba sheli! (Hebrew class in Israel and my dad)...But Habibi... I appreciate you trying and helping me practice my Hebrew.Interesting experience. On a dig with a 10 Mexicans who can speak okay English, one Slovakian who also speaks okay English, in Israel with Israeli workers who speak Hebrew and Russian and me.Needless to say, I don't talk much here...
Lesson #42 - How to wield a pickax or "I am SO not built for this"
All in all day one was successful. I cleared a trench another 10 centimeters. It was hard work and took me the whole time we were at the site.
We got up at 4:45am... it came way too soon... Up and dressed... Off we went! We headed to the site but one girl got sick so we had to drive her back. Finally, we make it to the site to eat a small breakfast of cereal and watch the sunrise. Then we walked over to the dig site. The synagogue isn't being touched right now but instead we worked on a row of Jewish houses from the same time period. I sat in this trench from 6 until 1:30 digging up pieces of pots. Around me they found some coins and glass too. We were pulling up pieces of these people's lives!The routine was the same...
- Swing the pickax, chomp up the ground. If I got stuck on a rock, my kind neighbor, Carlos (an older gentleman from Mexico) would help me out.
- Sit on the ground and bend down with a small pickax and clear the sides that are more delicate than the middle... the sides near the wall that we don't want to collapse or the side near the string that marks the area we are digging.
- Then sit on your tush and break up the clumps to ensure that you don't have a tiny coin in there or a piece of pottery.
- If you find something, it goes in the appropriate bag. One big one for pottery, one for shells, animal bones, or glass. Coins get handed to the boss.
- Then use the bottom of a big broom and sweep up the dirt into a dust pan and dump it into a bucket.
- Repeat.
Once your bucket is full, call one of the Israelis or Russians over to dump the large rocks or sift the dirt to see if you missed anything.We broke at 10:30 for actual breakfast and then we took a breather at noon. We finished for the day at 1:30... and boy was I ready. My hands hurt to open or close and my back from stooping. It was quite an odd position to be in. We got back to the church where we are staying and had lunch at 2.All in all a good day... but I learned something today... maybe with practice I could do this every day but... wow! Chewing up the ground with a pickax is hard work for a small girl! I am totally not pulling the girl card... just that this sucker was heavy and even the small pickax became hard to hold. Hitting rocks with a pickax hurts your bones.Here is your lesson for the day -Wielding a pickax. Stand firmly with your dominant foot in front of the other. Don't bend over too much. Swing pick side into the hard packed, clay like earth. Straight down, just a bit towards you. Then let the tool pull up some earth. Don't stand there beating the ground like a mad person... it doesn't help. Thanks to Carlos for the lessons. And thanks to Carlos for helping me get out my big rocks.