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I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig

Volunteer for Life: “Termite” Catches the Bug

By Theresa Wigginton

Perched atop a column, Gary “Termite” Lindstrom works on
the synagogue reconstruction at the excavation of Khirbet
Shema, in the upper Galilee. With a longer record than
most digs, Lindstrom has spent 22 seasons as an archaeological volunteer in Israel.

Gary “Termite” Lindstrom is a dig director’s dream. Lindstrom owns and operates a termite and pest control company in
Oakland, California, and his profession requires him to inspect the dirt under buildings. But each June for the past 22
years, Gary has kissed his family goodbye and headed for Israel to dig in a different kind of dirt—historical dirt.
Since 1984 he has worked at the Sepphoris excavation, four miles outside of Nazareth, with Professor Jim Strange
of the University of South Florida. In 1986, Gary became an area supervisor. Before that he worked several seasons at
Khirbet Shema, two miles south of Moshav Meiron; at Caesarea Maritima, Herod’s magnificent Mediterranean sea port;
at the village of Jish, or Gush Halav, as it is called in Hebrew; at Nabratein, which lies between Jish and Safad; at
Meiron; and at Tel el-Hesi, about 20 miles south of Ashkelon.

© 2006 Biblical Archaeology Society

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