I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig
dirt. We took measurements and drew surface plans, and we washed, labelled and documented pottery. We observed specialists who dated and restored the pottery. In the evenings we had lectures from world-famous archaeologists, and on
weekends we took field trips—one to the Galilee and another to the Negev and the Dead Sea. The whole experience culminated with a visit to Jerusalem.
It was my first dig and I must confess that, at first, archaeology seemed more like a mystery than a science. All dirt
looked the same to me, while supervisors seemed to make quite a distinction between dirt and dirt. How, for example,
could one tell a dirt floor from the rest of the dirt? My last week on the excavation, however, made me a believer in archaeology. I was given the task of finding the dimensions of what I was told was a mudbrick wall. How does one tell a mudbrick wall from the midst of mudbrick debris and dirt? It was a challenging task to search for a wall that I did not believe
existed! Finally I noticed two very weak silt lines—were they actually there or was it my imagination? It was a precious
moment when the supervisor took out a tape measure, measured the lines, looked into my eyes and said: “Exact dimensions of an Egyptian mud brick.” Once I believed this was truly a wall, I could easily uncover the rest of it following those
delicate lines. This proved to me that there are little clues in the soil. It just takes time and experience to learn how to
read them. After years of experience in “dirt reading,” one can truly tell stories about ancient times and people.
I am addicted—I want to dig again! You might think I am crazy wanting to volunteer for this ha ɐ