Caroline in Israel

I was glad when they said to me, "let us go into the house of the Lord." Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls. (ps.122)
 
 It is a few hours by bus to get from Kibbutz Ein Gev to Jerusalem and I got pretty car sick. I'm not sure why- the road isn't overly curvey. We passed through the Judean wilderness and although I imagined it to be a barren place, I was shocked by the actual sight of it. It. Is. Wilderness. I imagined John the Baptist out there (how did he live in it?) and Jesus being tempted (how did he survive?). There's sand, sun, and nothing else. I sat, listening to my ipod, watching (or trying to watch) the countryside for beduin camps. It happened to be that I was listening to a Bulgarian harvest song when we came to Jerusalem and the haunting monophonic sound captured the soul of the city, and for me, embodied it.

Our hotel was within the old city and very close to the Jaffa Gate and from the roof, I could see the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). Around the corner, there was a market section which was very interesting. Also close by was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and this was our first tourist stop. Going inside was a bit like culture shock and reminded me of the Orthodox churches in Eastern Europe: gold, silver, and religious icons were everywhere. As the holiest site in Christendom, one of three churches built by Constantine and his mother Helena, it was awe-inspiring, but not what I personally would look for in a place of worship. There was just too much stuff. People lined up to kiss the (traditional) spot where Jesus was crucified and the tomb where he was (supposedly) buried. I know these things commemmorate the spot where it happened, but I was incredulous until Darryl said to me, "We don't worship the place, we worship the person." Then I could see past the extravegance and find the root of the site: this was where Jesus died for me.

Later that evening, I went back with a couple others to see the locking ceremony, which really wasn't much of a ceremony. We watched as people kissed a crack in the wall by the door and wondered why they all did that. (Looking on the internet, all I could find was an Orthodox tradition that fire lept from that crack in the 16th century, helping Orthodox Christians re-claim the church.) The church was locked, and Rachel and I went out for a beer which was, I think, a good end to the day.

So, if anyone noticed, I missed yesterday's blog. I did so partially because I was too tired to look at a computer screen, and partially because yesterday's lesson was on how archaeology is like Shakespeare (which I didn't think anyone would read). Seriously though, by the time noon rolls around, I am done for the day.

Today's toil in the dirt was by far the best of the last three days. I'm not sure if it's because we're used to the conditions, or if the digging really is easier. I suppose I never described what it's like here, so I'll offer a brief portrait here. Anyone who is following Dr. Chambers' blog can skip this part as he probably explains things better.

Wake up call is 4:00 am as we have to be on the bus by 4:45. Normally, I don't need much time to get ready so I thought I could sleep in a little bit more. I soon found I need all 45 minutes to get out of bed and into my work clothes. Thankfully, my room mates are bright and cheerful in the morning so it's easier to get up.

At 4:45, all the teams are on the bus, heading up the hill to the site. The road is narrow, steep, and winds  considerably. The bus drivers go fast and I think, is this what it's like riding in a chicken bus? Going up isn't as bad as coming down when we can actually see the cliffs as we zoom around them. Once off the bus, there is a short (short in comparison to the hike to our site in Romania) hike to the site and it is a little perilous with loose rocks. etc. on the path. Today I fell on the way down, tearing my pants and skinning my knee. My pants make the incident look much worse than it actually was, sporting a big hole surrounded with blood. In the end, my pride was hurt more than anything else.

By the time we reach our site, the sun is starting to peek out and we set to work. I claimed as mine a hole on the edge of our square where I can dig and not be too disturbed. I had to remove some huge boulders and to do so had to sit on the edge of a previously excavated wall. I prayed the whole time for the wall to be well built and it held. I'm sure they're strong, but to look at them would say different!   My hole is the first part of our square to be hit by the sun as it isn't under the tarp so just after breakfast, I had to move to a shadier spot. My group has had a hard time with walls. We think we've found one and then there isn't one there. This has happened since day one. Today we found a wall that doesn't connect to anything so we're puzzled a little by that. Dr. Schuler says it's enough to give an archaeologist nightmares. By the end of the day, the only thing I found was an ant hill.

Breakfast is at 8:00 and we meet in an old military building to eat our tomatoes and cucumbers. Today we had what looked like lasagne with fried eggs on top. it ended up being pretty good. After breakfast it's back to the grindstone with mandatory water breaks every 25 minutes and we love them! A fruit break is at 11:00 and around 11:40, we clean up the site to be back at the bus by noon. Our schedule is very set so I can't imagine it changing in the next few weeks. This is what we do.

I was surprised at how easier the day went today. The work isn't any easier, but we're starting to get used to it and also each other! We talk and tell stories and inside jokes abound so we don't really notice the time as it goes by. Today, as a bit of a treat, we saw, twice, two fighter jets as they flew over us. They are practicing/training/surveying/intimidating and the noise they make is really loud. I've never seen one in action so this was really neat to witness.

After lunch (which feels like supper) we have free time to swim or nap before the dreaded pottery washing. Any sherds we collect that day have to be scrubbed and it is tedious work. I'm actually prolonging this blog so I don't have to run off right away to do it... but I should...

After Supper, which fells like a midnight snack, I'm off to bed, so at 7:30 my day ends, only to do it again the next.

In archaeology, there's no such thing as easing into a job; In fact, most of the hard work is done right at the beginning. This does nothing for first impressions. In fact, archaeology is much the same as  Pride and Prejudice (originally called First Impressions). Mr. Darcy isn't very dashing at the beginning of the novel but his good nature reveals itself as the book progresses and in the end, he becomes every woman's dream. It is the same with archaeology: at first it is detestable and everyone is thinking, "why did I sign up for this?" Then, it grows on you and by the time the dig ends, you wonder why it isn't scheduled for longer. Darcy and digging; Austen and archaeology; some things are made to be together.

This morning came early as we were at the dig site at 5:00 am. It was warm even at that time! We did some weeding and general clean-up and I couldn't get over the amount of pottery sherds we stepped on- I mean, they were everywhere! In Romania we had to keep even the tiniest sherd and here, we walk on them like they're pavement. It breaks me heart a little. But I digress. Today was back-breaking work as we broke ground, using pick axes to loosen rocks and turreahs to scoop the loose dirt into buckets. From there, the buckets were dumped over a cliff but nothing really reached the cows grazing below. The sun is so hot and we had no breeze today, making the work incredibly hard. I've never worked so slowly (we could not physically go faster) and yet, we got quite a bit exposed. About two minutes in, my team unearthed the top of a wall in the complex behind one of the churches which was very exciting. We also had mandatory water breaks every 25 minutes and I drank so much water, even the thought of another sip sent my stomach into revolt. I've been trying to drink lots of water, but my stomach is rebelling. Some tourists came through our site (the site is a national park) and on one hand we were annoyed because they waltzed right through our squares, but on the other we were thankful because we had to stop work to let them pass (and take pictures of us). We were so dirty and sweaty that I'm sure their pictures are going to be interesting. By the end of the day, which was only noon, I was so hot and tired I couldn't even think. I am thankful for the Sea of Galilee and don't know what I'd do without it. It is heaven to get in the water and not do anything.

There is so much more to say, but my body is telling me to rest, so I think I should listen...

I've sat here at this slow, old computer for a few minutes now, wondering what on earth one writes in a blog. Seriously, what can a - I can't even call myself amateur archaeologist- dirt monkey like me have to say that's of any interest to anyone? I hardly even know what's going on. Dr. Schuler talked about the history of the area today as we toured the site to familiarize ourselves with its structure. He used words and terms I've never heard, but I did understand a few: helenistic... rock... roman... dirt... must drink 8 litres of water a day... That's about allI got. There's so much information it's hard to process. I need to sleep on it and digest it a bit like the pizza margarita I ate for supper...sooooo good! Will try again tomorrow.