The Earth-sifters of Tel Bet Shemesh Essay -- Personal Narrative Essay

The Earth-sifters of Tel Bet Shemesh The newest addition to my sleeping room wall is a framed enlargement of a pass solstice sunrise. Its non the provided photo on my walls, but this one is different. In that photo, easy from a nearly-visible sun looms up from behind a cluster of tents and pitying silhouettes that could easily date back to the Early Iron Age. In fact, those silhouettes go away to twenty-first century, Early Silicon Age students in search of long dozen hundred year old artifacts atop an ancient, artificial mountain that was created everyplace centuries as successive cultures built upon the ruins of previous civilizations. For me, as for the other students and professors who worked this summer at the archaeological excavation at Tel Bet Shemesh, this photo conjures up memories of earth-sifters and wheelbarrows, rhythmically chinking pickaxes on stone, and excavation grit grinding between our teeth. Zvi and Shlomo, our bald-faced Israeli directors, would e xcitedly exhort us to sweep, scrape, and sift with near-reckless abandon, on only one condition we could never, unde... ...cial conflict. Because of the governments involvement with archaeological exploration and archaeologys dependence on international volunteers at Israeli excavation sites, not even aloof digs were spared the political posturing that characterizes Middle Eastern life. I passing recommend this experience to students who have a passion for cultural or political history, who are willing to work long hours, and who can live in a close community with other volunteers. Enthusiasm more(prenominal) than makes up for a lack of previous archaeological experience.