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I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig
Within moments, word spread across the tell. Looking up, we saw the entire staff and volunteers circled around
our area, watching us from five meters above. Professor Ephraim Stern, the dig director, suddenly appeared beside us,
and the photographer snapped pictures from every imaginable angle. Everyone’s attention was focused on the beautiful
artifact of an anonymous artisan, now destined for the annals of history.
Professor Stern calmly asked if there were more bones to be found. Aaron indicated the spot in the pit where the
bones had been uncovered, and there were indeed more fragments visible in the soil. We sat at the edge of the pit to
excavate the remaining fragments. With delicate wooden sticks and paintbrushes, Aaron and I dug around the bone fragments so they could be lifted out of the ground on a pedestal of earth. The soil from the pit was carefully sifted through
a sieve to retrieve any tiny pieces that could aid in reconstruction. By slow, painstaking work, we recovered every splinter of bone.
Now that the scapula has been restored, seven splendid figures are readily visible on one side, and a votive inscription on the other, the letters that Aaron first saw.
The fifteenth season at Tel Dor is just a few short months away. As I prepare for the excavations, I feel sure that
more treasures are waiting to be uncovered.

© 2006 Biblical Archaeology Society

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