Test Test2 | Page 41

I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig

Scholarship Winner

By Jason Schlude

Jason Schlude
Jason Schlude is a student at Macalester College in St.
Paul, Minnesota, where he is pursuing a triple major in
religious studies, geology and classical archaeology. His
diverse interests converged in 1999, when he participated in the first season of excavations at Omrit, in the
Galilee. Inspired by his initial experience, Schlude
applied for and received a BAS scholarship to participate
in a second season at the site. Here’s what he had to say
about the 2000 dig.

“It’s 4:30—time to get up.” Accompanied by a persistent knocking on the door, these were the words I woke to each
morning. The ritual was an invariable part of the day for those of us involved in the second season of excavations at
Omrit. And although it required a bit of acclimation for most of the participants—seasoned archaeologists and first-time
volunteers alike—we all quickly realized that the thrill of excavating a site that hosts a Roman temple and a once-lively
Byzantine market area was well worth the early wake-up call.
Omrit is located at the headwaters of the Jordan River in the northern Hulah Valley, where the Galilee and the
Golan Heights converge. The first season of excavation at the site yielded important standing architecture—in particular, a limestone podium wall (called a stylobate) that once supported a row of columns, as well as an architrave,
© 2006 Biblical Archaeology Society

36