I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig
tured Gezer, and burned it with fire, and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his
daughter, Solomon’s wife. So Solomon rebuilt Gezer…” We discovered evidence of destruction under the wall adjacent
to the gate indicating that the destruction predates the wall. It remains to be seen whether the destruction we observed
can be definitively attributed to the 1 Kings 9 “Egyptian Pharaoh” and whether the wall built upon it can be attributed
to Solomon’s refortification of Gezer. It will likely require several more excavation seasons before enough data is available to drawn any informed conclusions.
There are some digs where a non-staff member becomes a coolie. Not so at Tel Gezer. Drs. Sam Wolff and Steven
Ortiz made certain that volunteers, no matter what their age and experienc