Today's report is by Natalie Diamond.
After our usual hearty breakfast, we boarded the bus at 8:10 for the "Dig for a Day" archaeological experience. Our tour guide Tzvika Miller was not with us today so Rabbi Mark did the honors--telling us where we were going and pointing out the sights he thought would interest us. We headed West out of Jerusalem toward the village of Bet Shemesh. the Israeli Department of Antiquities allows tourists (for a price) to actually dig for shards of pottery and or other objects at a site that is currently being excavated by archeologists. During the 45 minute ride, Mark told us we would be traveling near the valley where David slew Goliath. We also passed a village of friendly Arabs which has prospered for years because of their friendliness toward the Jewish people over the years.
We arrived at the dig known as Bet Guvrin (Tel Morasha) and met Sharon Morganstern who was to be our guide. We met her at a gas station/cafeteria where we used the bathrooms and many of us bought jewelry from a man who was selling items from several tables. Prices were good!
We were joined by Avigail and Noam who had spent the night at the Kibbutz where Mark's brother Jay and his family live. Jay and his two little boys accompanied the group on the dig. Everyone purchased water and we reboarded the bus to drive a short distance to the actual dig site.
Sharon explained that everyone would find shards, pieces of pottery, etc., but could not keep what they found since the items would have to be reviewed by the archeological staff. Items that could be kept were in an area known as the "garbage" meaning these items were of no interest and could be taken as souvenirs. Everyone was given a rubber pail and a triangular tool with a long handle to use in braking up the earth. The actual digging experience lasted about 2 1/2 hours and was judged to be fun by those who participated.
[More shots from the dig.
The bucket brigade ships the dirt from the cave.
Rebecca holds an intact 2200 year old lamp found during our shift.
Sifting for smaller shards.]
At about 12:15 we headed back to the gas station/cafeteria for lunch. We were on our way back to Jerusalem by 1 PM at the hotel about a quarter to 2. The afternoon was free and people scattered to either shop before the stores closed for Shabbat or to rest or to read or whatever. We were to meet again at 6:30 for our second Shabbat dinner in Israel
We owe special thanks to Nisus Software Inc. of Solana Beach, CA for making a PowerBook 520 available and Qualcomm Inc. of San Diego, CA for making an Olympus D-300L digital camera available.
Special thanks also to Joe and Dave of Computergeeks for space on their server.
Many thanks also to Lila Abrams of Abrams Travel, Inc. (1-800-338-7075) and her tireless efforts to make this trip a success.
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© MemHeh Productions Last updated: June 2, 1999.