WHAT’S IN YOUR DIG BAG – MORAG KERSEL

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WELCOME TO THE ASOR BLOG

The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) is the preeminent society for individuals interested in the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean and the Biblical Lands. This blog is intended to facilitate ASOR’s mission “to initiate, encourage and support research into, and public understanding of, the cultures and history of the Near East from the earliest times.”[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

What’s in Your Dig Bag, Morag Kersel?

In our “What’s in your dig bag?” series, we asked working field archaeologists what they carry with them out in the field. We wanted to know what gear they love and what items might be unique to them.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_single_image image=”39854″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1537561897736{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”39853″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1537561918868{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Name: Morag M. Kersel
Position: Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, DePaul University
Digging Since: 1989
Current projects (survey and excavation): Follow the Pots Project, Jordan and the Galilee Prehistory Project, Israel

What hat do you wear?

T3 Tilley Hat. I am famous for always wearing the same hat – a Tilley T3 but I add the bandana.

What trowel do you use?

WHS 4” wooden-handle. I’ve had the same trowels for 25+years, although I recently misplaced it and this summer is my first field season without my trusty WHS.

What’s in your bag?

Inside my North Face backpack, I have a smaller “bag of tricks” – everything I need for digging and drawing: foldup ruler, tape measure, some dental picks, a few paintbrushes, a small moleskine notebook, a silva compass CLQ, a plumb bob, clothes pegs, Staedtler mechanical pencils, Staedtler Mars Plastic Erasers, and a sharpener, an old Swiss Army Knife, a first aid kit, and a metal clipboard.

New to my bag for 2015?

Lottie – the fossil hunter. The Special Edition ‘Gold Collection’ ‘Fossil Hunter’ Lottie doll is a collaboration with TrowelBlazers, an Anglo-American group of women archaeologists, palaeontologists and geologists. This summer Lottie is on an adventure in the Middle East you can follow her fun on Twitter at #Lottie and @trowelblazers.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39856″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1537561968195{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Beko gear Nose Guard – Even though I’ve been vigilant about sunscreen, water, and hats for decades this winter I had a tumor removed from my nose – the result of 20+ years of sun exposure. I never want another needle in my nose and I now have a Beko gear nose guard. Developed for extreme weather protection my nose will never be exposed to the sun again.

Water-resistant, broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 – all day every day.

That’s Morag Kersel’s dig bag. What’s in yours? If you’re willing to share the contents of your dig bag, we want to know! Just email ASOR’s Digital Media Specialist, Kaitlynn Anderson.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

WHAT’S IN YOUR DIG BAG – JAMES R. STRANGE

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What’s in Your Dig Bag, James R. Strange?

In our “What’s in your dig bag?” series, we asked working field archaeologists what they carry with them out in the field. We wanted to know what gear they love and what items might be unique to them.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_single_image image=”39843″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1537561444205{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Name: James Riley Strange
Position: Associate Professor of Religion, Howard College of Arts and Sciences, Samford University
Digging Since: 1992
Current Excavation: Shikhin Excavation Project

What hat do you wear?

Tilley T2. Disintegrating, discontinued, and no longer available in my size. Don’t know what I’ll be wearing next year.

What trowel do you use?

The original Marshalltown 5”, engraved with my name. It was a gift.

What is your Dig bag?

I use my daughter’s old green Jansport backpack from high school. Every year I think I’ll buy a new one, but they’re expensive, this one works just fine, and it has sentimental value.

What’s in your bag?

Hydro Flask 32 oz. water bottle
50 SPF sunscreen
Bug repellent
Imodium (you never know)
Ingalls archaeological handpick, engraved with my name. Also a gift.
Saunders plastic storage clipboard with lined paper, graph paper, photocopies of our site plan, a map of the area with Israeli trig points, 1:25 scale, and copies of our excavation licenses from the IAA and INPA.
My director’s notebook: black Moleskine notebook with graph paper
5 m steel tape
20 m cloth tape
survey flagging
work gloves
flashlight

On my belt:

Folding Buck knife for cutting string, tomatoes, and peaches, and for occasionally removing a sprinter
Leatherman tool for everything else
The 5 m steel tape that I bring out in my bag

That’s James R. Strange’s dig bag. What’s in yours? If you’re willing to share the contents of your dig bag, we want to know! Just email ASOR’s Digital Media Specialist, Kaitlynn Anderson.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

MY TIME AT A ROMAN-ERA JEWISH SETTLEMENT

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My Time at a Roman-Era Jewish Settlement

By Jill Marshall, 2016 William G. Dever Fellowship Recipient

Thanks to ASOR’s William G. Dever Fellowship for Biblical Scholars, in Summer 2016, I traveled to Israel to participate in the Shikhin Excavation Project and to conduct research at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem. Since my research is in New Testament and early Christianity, I chose Shikhin because it is a Roman-era Jewish settlement that gives scholars insight into the socio-economic landscape of the Galilee. Directed by James R. Strange of Samford University and Mordechai Aviam of Kinnaret Academic College, the excavation reveals interesting details about ceramic production and the interactions between cities (Sepphoris) and villages (Shikhin) in the Roman period.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39834″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]A newbie to archaeology, I arrived in Nazareth with the early crew so that I could get a crash course in excavation methods, stratigraphy, and record keeping. With the instruction of Dr. Strange and Randy O’Neill, the field supervisor, I soon was able to measure and string a square and identify changes in soil color, composition, and consistency.

The next week, we began on the main field of the site, on a hill overlooking the Beit Netofa Valley and with a clear view of that city on a hill Sepphoris (Tsipori). I was the area supervisor for Square 14, at the northeast corner of the field. We opened three other squares, and the crew got to work clearing, measuring squares, and digging. Most of the crew were college students from Samford University in Alabama.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39837″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]My square had been opened the previous year, and we could see the outline of stone walls, what seemed to be a pit, and a lot of tumble. As we cleared, the walls came into focus and seemed to be constructed at different times, with both large cut stones and small cobblestones. The “pit” provided many lamp fragments and whole lamps, consistent with the character of the site. The previous season yielded numerous whole lamps and lamp molds in a room that appeared to be a workshop. One square excavated this year, to the southeast of Square 14, had an interesting installation that appeared to be a potter’s wheel and work table, again reaffirming the hypothesis about pottery production. In addition to lamps, the site has yielded many “wasters”—pottery fragments that were damaged in production, whether misfired, cracked in firing, or with air bubbles baked into the piece. This is also good evidence that pottery production was occurring at the site, and Dr. Strange is working to classify and record the various forms of wasters at Shikhin. The production of pottery and lamps at the site leads to intriguing questions about trade: Where were these products traded? How were trade networks established and maintained? And, for my purposes, how was trade integrated with the spread of cultural and religious ideas?
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39835″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”39836″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]As we excavated Square 14, we came upon a plaster floor in part of the area, which indicated that this section may have been indoors, or, more probably, given the floor’s poor construction, an outdoor workspace or courtyard. The plaster floor posed challenges for excavation: We scraped a lot of dirt off of dirt and became acquainted with the differences between plaster, dirt, dirty plaster, plastery dirt, limestone, limestone pretending to be plaster, and dirt that really wanted to be limestone. What we thought was a pit was in this section of the square, and it may actually be a cistern that continued into the area to the south and west of our square. Shikhin has several cisterns, two of which another team excavated this season. The cisterns that they excavated are located under what may be a synagogue—or at least a massive building with a monumental threshold, the only architectural part of the building that remains. The cistern team, with their hard hats, ladders, and pulleys, found many whole lamps, jugs, and other pottery, as well as Hellenistic silver coins.

Each day, we arrived at the site around 5:00 am, and—surprisingly, as I’m not a morning person—the mornings flew by: It was cool, and we had great energy to be productive. At 8:30 am, James F. Strange (“Abuna”) and Carolyn Strange joined the team and brought second breakfast, the best meal of the day. Abuna, who directed the University of South Florida excavations of Sepphoris until 2010, made the rounds and gave us insights from his years of excavation in the region. The Stranges fostered an encouraging and supportive community during our month in the field, which made a world of difference for the students. Such community-building led not only to a productive research season but also to a productive learning experience for the students and me. Samford is lucky to have a new crop of experts in reading pottery, soil, and artefacts, who are able to evaluate their findings and make conclusions about the culture and society of ancient Galilee.

All in all, this summer was a great introduction to archaeology in the Galilee. I am grateful to ASOR and the donors who made my work possible with the Dever Fellowship. I hope to return to Shikhin soon.

Jill Marshall received her PhD in Religion from Emory University. Her research focuses on women’s religious activities in early Christianity and the ancient Mediterranean world, particularly inspired speech, prophecy, divination, and prayer. She is currently working on a book on women’s prophecy in early Christian literature.

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DIGGING DEEP AT JEZREEL

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Digging Deep at Jezreel

By Andrea Creel, University of California, Berkeley, 2016 Carol and Eric Meyers Excavation Fellowship Recipient

A lot of things happen on a dig. Most of time, these are things you never expect. This is all the more so when you’re digging from topsoil. This year, I had the privilege of returning to the field with the Jezreel Expedition. As in previous seasons, we started excavating from topsoil with almost no idea of what we might find!

Team Jezreel! (Courtesy of the Jezreel Expedition)

Yet, there has been relatively little excavation at Jezreel, save for expeditions on the upper tel by archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority in the late 1980s and archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem in the 1990s. These excavations uncovered the remains of a monumental fortification system from the 9^th-8^th centuries BCE, perhaps associated with the kings of ancient Israel. This, in and of itself, is an amazing find. However, very little is known about the greater area of Jezreel or its long settlement history.The Jezreel Expedition, sponsored by the University of Haifa and the University of Evansville (UE), explores the ancient settlement of Jezreel, 16 kilometers (about 10 miles) east of the well-known site of Megiddo. Jezreel lies near an ancient roadway that linked Egypt to Syria. This road served as a major trade and military route and the area became the site of settlements (and battles!) from antiquity to the modern era. The greater area of Jezreel includes an upper settlement on a natural hill (Tel Jezreel), a lower settlement near a natural spring (Tel Ein Jezreel), a possible settlement near the modern-day Kibbutz Yizreel, and various roads, caves, tombs, and agricultural installations. Many people may be familiar with Jezreel from the Hebrew Bible, where it is mentioned often (most notably in the story of Naboth’s Vineyard in I Kings 21). The site also appears in a later text from the 4^th century CE as a major strategic waypoint and features the visible remains of a fortified tower built by the Crusaders.

Mulling over stone debris (Courtesy of the Jezreel Expedition)

In 2012, the Jezreel Expedition, co-directed by Norma Franklin and Jennie Ebeling, sought to rectify the situation and began exploring the great unknown that is Jezreel! Since the lower tel near the spring (Tel Ein Jezreel) had never been excavated, the Jezreel Expedition focuses most of its efforts on this area. These excavations are revealing an extensive settlement from the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3300–2300 BCE), as well as evidence for activity in the Neolithic Period, Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader Periods and continuing into modern times. I joined the team in 2014 when we began excavations near an ancient path that connected the spring to the upper tel. In the two seasons that we excavated on either side of this path, we started from topsoil and hit bedrock in only four weeks!

This year, we moved the main excavation further up the slope, hoping for some more depth and better preserved remains. Supervised by Noga Blockman and Field Director Ian Cipin, we opened five new 5 x 5 meter squares. I supervised a square on the northern edge of this area. My team shifted over the course of the excavation, but at one time or another included Kayla Carico, Robin La Rosa Hannig, Michael Koletsos, Isaac Rainey, and Jarrid Thelen. Our square featured part of an oval depression visible in the topsoil. We wondered if it might be a pit of some sort, maybe even a foxhole! However, once we began excavating, we did not see the edges of a pit. Rather, we found some very eroded walls around the depression and the materials from those walls slumped into the depression. It appears that the depression was formerly the corner of some sort of room. Unfortunately, these materials were so close to the surface that the elements as well as later human and animal activities make it unlikely that we’ll be able to say much more about these features.

Smoted by Elijah!

Our square also featured several robber trenches and a large amount of stone debris, likely from a possible wall visible in the southern baulk (side wall) of the square and an emerging ritual space southwest of my square! The finds from inside this space are currently contained in a square higher on the slope, supervised by UE alumna Katie Mickus. The exact arrangement of the ritual area is still unclear, but it likely dates from sometime in the Early Bronze Age. This square also initially featured a large amount of stone debris. However, once this debris was removed, Katie’s team began finding wall fragments, burnt mudbrick, caches of nearly-complete pottery, and artifacts associated with ritual activities. The most impressive of these finds so far is a finely worked basalt standing stone! Standing stones (also known as baetyls, pillars, or maṣṣebôt) are unworked or semi-worked medium to large stones that were set vertically into the ground, either singly or in groups. These artifacts likely represented gods or ancestors or something to house the gods or ancestors. Due to our short excavation season and the complexity of my square, my team joined Katie’s team in the final week of the excavation. This was especially meaningful for me since I specialize in ritual and religion in the ancient Southern Levant, but I’ve never had the opportunity to excavate an actual ritual space!

Fascinating things also began appearing in several other squares this season. The square immediately to the east of my square, supervised by UE alumnus and graduate student at East Carolina University, Tim Smith, featured a constructional fill of densely-packed pottery from the Neolithic to the Roman Periods. This fill was once contained within the robbed-out walls seen in several other squares, including mine. Another square, supervised by UE alumna Morgan Davidson, contained a thick deposit of fallen mudbrick debris from the Early Bronze Age. Meanwhile, Deborah Appler, Professor of Hebrew Bible at Moravian Theological Seminary, and Inbal Samet, doctoral candidate at the University of Haifa, supervised the ongoing excavations of a series of walls lower down the slope. One of these walls belongs to a late Roman/Byzantine building we excavated in 2015. This wall abuts an earlier wall (dating to sometime between the Middle Bronze Age and the Roman period) that may have been a perimeter wall at the possible entrance to the site. A rubbish pit cut into this wall contained sherds of some splendid Crusader Period pottery.

Meeting with the students (Courtesy of the Jezreel Expedition)

Uncovering the standing stone (Courtesy of the Jezreel Expedition)

I also had the privilege of acting as the Education Coordinator for the Jezreel Expedition’s field school. Students who were participating in the excavation for course credit through the University of Evansville were expected to keep field journals, complete an exam and paper, and attend field trips and a lecture series held during the excavation season. In my position, I monitored their field journals, answered questions, clarified concepts, and assisted in organizing the field trips and the lecture series. For the field trips, we visited an assortment of sites around the country, including the archaeological remains of the 1^st century CE town of Magdala, the medieval Old City at Acre (modern Akko), and the Carmelite monastery at El-Muhraqa (the summit of Mount Carmel), the traditional site where the prophet Elijah is said to have challenged the prophets of Baal in a contest of dueling deities (I Kings 18). Note: It did not end well for the prophets of Baal. The lecture series featured a variety of guest speakers, such as Philippe Guillaume, Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Bern, Laura Wright, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Luther College, and Karen Covello-Paran of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Topics included Jezreel in the Hebrew Bible, Egyptian and Egyptian-style seals, and ancient wineries in the Jezreel Valley.

My time with the Jezreel Expedition has been an incredible experience, one that would not have been possible this year without the Carol and Eric Meyers Excavation Fellowship. I am deeply grateful to Carol and Eric Meyers for their generous donation to my professional development. I look forward to future excavation seasons and participating in the publication of this remarkable site!

Andrea Creel is a doctoral candidate in the Near Eastern Studies department at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include ritual and religion, materiality, memory, landscape, embodiment, gender, and identity in the Bronze & Iron Age Southern Levant. Her dissertation, “Connectivity on the Edge of Empire: Movement, Liminality, and Ritual in the Southern Levantine Drylands,” will be completed in Spring 2017.

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WELCOME TO THE ASOR BLOG ARCHIVE

The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) is the preeminent society for individuals interested in the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean and the Biblical Lands. This blog was intended to facilitate ASOR’s mission “to initiate, encourage and support research into, and public understanding of, the cultures and history of the Near East from the earliest times.”[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]

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Get your free copy of The Ancient Near East Today: Vol. V, No. 11!

The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

Articles in this issue include:
“Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah” by William Dever
“An Affair of Herbal Medicine? The ‘Special’ Kitchen in the Royal Palace of Ebla” by Agnese Vacca, Luca Peyronel, and Claudia Wachter-Sarkady
“The Bible as Tool for Learning to Evaluate Competing Voices in an Age of “Fake ” by Brendon Benz
“Not Just for the Birds: Pigeons in the Roman and Byzantine Near East” by Jennifer Ramsay