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I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig

1994 Excavation Opportunities
Eight Not-So-Obvious Questions to Ask Before Joining Your First Dig
By Jo David

Ho-ho-hoeing her way to a Ph.D. in dirt,
author Jo David gathers sand into a bucket at
Tel Kerioth, near Arad, Israel

“Find a private place and watch out for scorpions.”
This sage advice from a 13-year-old dig veteran made my spirits sink to the tips of my toes. The rolling Judean
hills stretched before me, sun-bleached and inspiring. My dream had come true. I was on a dig in Israel, but what had
I gotten myself into?
I had asked so many questions, read so many glowing articles in BAR. I had even picked a dig that offered very
comfortable hotel accommodations, since I am not the “outdoors” type. Why had I not thought to ask about “comfort
facilities” at the dig site?
Despite this inauspicious beginning, I had a wonderful time during my week of digging at Tel Kerioth in Arad. A
large Israelite and Byzantine community in the eastern Negev, the site features a church with mosaic floors, inscriptions,
various artifacts and a tomb. Historically, Tel Kerioth is best known as the hometown of Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ betrayer,
and as a Moabite city in the books of the prophets Jeremiah and Amos.
My adventure began in March 1992 with the BAR 18:01 in one hand and a black pen in the other, poised to mark
upcoming excavation opportunities. I wanted to fit a week on a dig into a trip to Israel. Although I asked a great many
questions of dig director Steven Derfler (of Hamline University in St. Paul) and others, there were many times, once I
was on the dig, that I thought, “If only I’d asked …”
© 2006 Biblical Archaeology Society

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