Ok, so today was the start of the dig. We got to the site about 5, and immediately got to work. We started with getting rid of the grass and weeds that had grown up in and on the site over the past year. It wasn't really pulling weeds, since that might damage the walls and the other stuff at the site, but that's pretty much what it was. From there, I moved on to picking up smaller rocks and such that had fallen from the walls and ground level into the church complex. So far, this had all been general "busy" work. it was the little stuff that had to be done before we got started.
Once that was done, we were able to move to our respective squares to start digging. My team had one of the largest squares back behind the apse. Right now, there's a part of it that was cleared in one of the previous years. They thought it would just be the back of the church. However, they found what a bed and another few walls. So what started as just the church now appears to be a monastary complex. However, it is our square that will or will not prove that this year. We just did the preliminary digging today, picking the soil that had been packed down as part of a road, and clearing it off. Along the way, we ran into several large stones, several of which we've removed. However, there are four or five that look like they might be part of the back wall of the room we're clearing. So we'll see what comes of it tomorrow.
Being able to take part in a dig like this is absolutely incredible for me. I've always wanted to be a part of something like this, so I was really excited to get a chance to do this. But it's not quite what I expected. It is really a lot harder work than one might think. Even after one day, my respect for archaeologists and those who do this work regularily has grown greatly. I have really began to learn quite a bit of all that's involved in a dig... And that is only going to grow over the next month of working.
So today, I've done a lot of work and learned quite a bit. It's already been an amazing experience, through which, I have grown mentally and spiritually. To be where Jesus was and to see where he was and to swim in the sea he walked on is something that cannot be easily described. Today was quite a day...
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