After our rather somber day yesterday, we were ready to have some fun. How about digging out in the middle of the desert? I was not so sure.... it sounded pretty hot and dusty to me.
Anyway, we all loaded onto the bus and Yoshi, our driver took us through the West Bank, on the way to the Bet Guvrin-Maresa national park, located in the middle of the country, between the cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv but to the south, just west of Hebron off highway 35.
As we traveled there, about an hour's drive from Jerusalem, we passed through the West Bank, a dry region with brown grasses and simple homes. The security fences and walls that marked its borders could not be missed.
In addition to these walls and fences, large sections of the highway on which we were traveling had cement structures that curved over the highway. I wondered about this, until Yehuda explained that the highway walls had been constructed to prevent Palestinians from shooting at cars passing by.
<----highway walls, facing the West Bank
Emerging from the West Bank, we found ourselves driving through rolling hills filled with trees. The difference between the the dry West Bank and the green areas of Israel adjacent to it was striking, a testament to the huge efforts Israel has made to reclaim the desert.
We proceeded down highway 60, with the Judean mountains on our left. The highway outside of the West Bank appears to be quite popular with cyclists on Fridays and the weekend. Passing down a very long hill leading out of the West Bank we found a number of cyclists on the road. One of our friends on the trip with us, Gaynor, mentioned that every year the Hadassah hospital does a fund raising cycling tour. Who knows, if I win the lottery someday, I just might come back to do it!
Bet Guvrin National Park and the Tel Maresha archaeological site
This 1,250 acre park is in the the rolling hills of the Judean plain. Since very early times, caves were dug by inhabitants as the ground is chalky, but soft and is relatively erosion resistant. The caves were used as quarries and burial grounds, spaces to raise doves for meat and fertilizer, and, because of the cool interior, as storerooms, workshops and hiding places.
The Tel Maresha (Marissa), where we were going is in the highest area of the park. This is the site of a city in Judea that was fortified by King Rehoboam after the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak invaded the region in 926BCE. The city is actually mentioned in the bible: "And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph" (Second Chronicles 11:5, 8).
Maresha reached its height during the Hellenistic period (332 - 63 BCE). Then, the 2nd century BCE Maccabeen leader, John Hyrcanus, captured the city and gave the inhabitants the a difficult decision: convert to Judaism or leave. Many left, but before they did, they destroyed their homes and filled up the caves, now in the hundreds, with debris. By Roman times, the site was completely abandoned.
Later, Crusaders took over the region and built a massive church, St. Anne's cathedral, nearby. We saw the ruins of the cathedral can be seen on the highway, coming into the national park.
We entered the park and walked up a barren hill where we were met by Iranda, our guide for the morning. A very enthusiastic student archaeologist and guide, she made us all excited over the opportunity of participating in an archaeological dig. Before we began, however, she quickly introduced us to the history of the area. As we looked around this wasteland, with only sparse vegetation and hardly any structures that we could see above ground, it was hard to imagine that this was once a Jewish city of over 20,000 people. For much of the treasure we were about to see lies below ground.
She took us down into one of them, an active archeological site. Iranda explained that, from what they could determine the inhabitants of this particular site were Ammonite in origin. Ammonites are mentioned in the bible as an ancient, warlike people that were often at odds with Israel. It was not surprising, therefore, that when the Maccabees took over the region during the Hasmodean period, they would not convert to Judiasm.
And so, what we found, deep below, were caves that were partially excavated, but still filled with so much earth it was not known yet where the original floor was. The caves were well lit, and large enough for our entire bus load of about fify people to enter the cave.
Iranda's energy and enthusiasm for archaeology was infectious. The kids quickly started digging, using short pick-axes to break up the soft earth, then carefully look for items of interest.
Within minutes, there was a shout! "I found something!". Then another, and another. Nearly everyone found multiple pieces of pottery, bits of bone and charcoal, all dating back to over 2,200 years old.
What an amazing experience. We dug for about an hour, until all of the black buckets were filled with earth, to be carried out of the cave by hand and carefully sifted above ground.
We were just about to end our dig, when I took a last swipe with my pick-ax at a hole I had dug with Naomi... and then spotted something odd. Reaching down, I pulled out a nearly intact, beautifully crafted clay oil lamp.
And so, it was my turn to shout! It turned out to be the find of the day. Brushing off the earth, one could see where the spout of the lamp had been blackened by a flame.
Iranda was quite excited about it. She showed me one of the holes in the cave where these lamps had been placed to provide light. I gently placed my lamp there, imagining what it must have been like to have dozens of these lamps providing light in these caves. Quite possibly, it had been in that location the last time human hands touched it over two thousand years ago. I'm hooked. Archaeology is awesome!
We returned to the surface, carrying our buckets with us and sifted the soil to catch anything that might have been missed. A few pieces of charcoal were found, but that was about it. Iranda mentioned, however, that all sorts of things have been found, from ancient coins to jewelery.
After our dig, we explored some of the caves that had already been thoroughly excavated. Some of the ceilings of the caves are nearly fifty feet tall. Because the caves have narrow mouths in the hard nari rock near the surface and become wider in the soft chalk below, the caves are shaped like bells, hence some have been called "bell caves". Early inscriptions found on cave walls suggest that they date to the early Arabian period, as far back as the 7th to 10th centuries BCE.
Coins of Antiochus IX, found in the caves, date from 116-95 BCE, in the waning years of the Hellenistic period. This time overlaps with rise of the Maccabean Hasmodian period. The homes and caves, therefore, appear to have been destroyed approximately 2200 years ago.
Stairs and passageways interconnected the complex network of caves hidden below the surface.
Some of the rooms were used to press olive oil. One of the presses has been restored, showing the process they used to produce it.
There, we learned that olives are pressed three times. The best oil, which comes from the first press, was traditionally set aside for rituals such as anointing a king, for use in the temple, or, in Jewish homes, to light a menorah.
The Columbarium cave was truly impressive. A place used to raise doves, the cave had hundreds of nests built into the clay caves for them to be raised for meat and fertilizer.
Anyway, we all loaded onto the bus and Yoshi, our driver took us through the West Bank, on the way to the Bet Guvrin-Maresa national park, located in the middle of the country, between the cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv but to the south, just west of Hebron off highway 35.
As we traveled there, about an hour's drive from Jerusalem, we passed through the West Bank, a dry region with brown grasses and simple homes. The security fences and walls that marked its borders could not be missed.
In addition to these walls and fences, large sections of the highway on which we were traveling had cement structures that curved over the highway. I wondered about this, until Yehuda explained that the highway walls had been constructed to prevent Palestinians from shooting at cars passing by.
<----highway walls, facing the West Bank
Emerging from the West Bank, we found ourselves driving through rolling hills filled with trees. The difference between the the dry West Bank and the green areas of Israel adjacent to it was striking, a testament to the huge efforts Israel has made to reclaim the desert.
Bet Guvrin National Park and the Tel Maresha archaeological site
This 1,250 acre park is in the the rolling hills of the Judean plain. Since very early times, caves were dug by inhabitants as the ground is chalky, but soft and is relatively erosion resistant. The caves were used as quarries and burial grounds, spaces to raise doves for meat and fertilizer, and, because of the cool interior, as storerooms, workshops and hiding places.
The Tel Maresha (Marissa), where we were going is in the highest area of the park. This is the site of a city in Judea that was fortified by King Rehoboam after the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak invaded the region in 926BCE. The city is actually mentioned in the bible: "And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph" (Second Chronicles 11:5, 8).
Maresha reached its height during the Hellenistic period (332 - 63 BCE). Then, the 2nd century BCE Maccabeen leader, John Hyrcanus, captured the city and gave the inhabitants the a difficult decision: convert to Judaism or leave. Many left, but before they did, they destroyed their homes and filled up the caves, now in the hundreds, with debris. By Roman times, the site was completely abandoned.
Later, Crusaders took over the region and built a massive church, St. Anne's cathedral, nearby. We saw the ruins of the cathedral can be seen on the highway, coming into the national park.
We entered the park and walked up a barren hill where we were met by Iranda, our guide for the morning. A very enthusiastic student archaeologist and guide, she made us all excited over the opportunity of participating in an archaeological dig. Before we began, however, she quickly introduced us to the history of the area. As we looked around this wasteland, with only sparse vegetation and hardly any structures that we could see above ground, it was hard to imagine that this was once a Jewish city of over 20,000 people. For much of the treasure we were about to see lies below ground.
Iranda's energy and enthusiasm for archaeology was infectious. The kids quickly started digging, using short pick-axes to break up the soft earth, then carefully look for items of interest.
What an amazing experience. We dug for about an hour, until all of the black buckets were filled with earth, to be carried out of the cave by hand and carefully sifted above ground.
We were just about to end our dig, when I took a last swipe with my pick-ax at a hole I had dug with Naomi... and then spotted something odd. Reaching down, I pulled out a nearly intact, beautifully crafted clay oil lamp.
And so, it was my turn to shout! It turned out to be the find of the day. Brushing off the earth, one could see where the spout of the lamp had been blackened by a flame.
Iranda was quite excited about it. She showed me one of the holes in the cave where these lamps had been placed to provide light. I gently placed my lamp there, imagining what it must have been like to have dozens of these lamps providing light in these caves. Quite possibly, it had been in that location the last time human hands touched it over two thousand years ago. I'm hooked. Archaeology is awesome!
We returned to the surface, carrying our buckets with us and sifted the soil to catch anything that might have been missed. A few pieces of charcoal were found, but that was about it. Iranda mentioned, however, that all sorts of things have been found, from ancient coins to jewelery.
After our dig, we explored some of the caves that had already been thoroughly excavated. Some of the ceilings of the caves are nearly fifty feet tall. Because the caves have narrow mouths in the hard nari rock near the surface and become wider in the soft chalk below, the caves are shaped like bells, hence some have been called "bell caves". Early inscriptions found on cave walls suggest that they date to the early Arabian period, as far back as the 7th to 10th centuries BCE.Yehuda demonstrates a ladder that was built into the sides of a chimney leading to the surface above---->
Coins of Antiochus IX, found in the caves, date from 116-95 BCE, in the waning years of the Hellenistic period. This time overlaps with rise of the Maccabean Hasmodian period. The homes and caves, therefore, appear to have been destroyed approximately 2200 years ago.
Stairs and passageways interconnected the complex network of caves hidden below the surface.
There, we learned that olives are pressed three times. The best oil, which comes from the first press, was traditionally set aside for rituals such as anointing a king, for use in the temple, or, in Jewish homes, to light a menorah.
Our last portion of the tour was set in a small outdoor shed visited by geckos clinging to the walls.
There, Iranda gave us a summary of some of the remarkable discoveries that archaeologists have made. Over the past few years, volunteers and staff found matching gold earrings (found separately, buried in the earth in two different caves - a miracle! What are the odds of that happening?), jugs and stones that were filled with inscriptions. And, oh yes, oil lamps. About a dozen of them. So, my find may not have been so unique after all. But it was incredibly exciting! Who knows what else lies buried, just below the surface of where we were digging?
One of the most significant finds at Tel Maresha has been the discovery of an ancient Ketubah, the traditional religious legal document that in Jewish weddings binds a couple in marriage. Apparently, because of the amounts stated in the dowry, it had been written for a couple from wealthy families. Written in Aramaic, it may be an indication that at least some of the Arabs in the area did convert to Judaism. Another possibility is that, in fact, the Ketubah is not a uniquely Jewish document, but, in fact, may have been used by Arabs and Jews throughout the region. This would be very much in keeping with what Hilary and I have read concerning archaeological evidence that points to the likely integration of Canaanites and Jews in a society that has many more layers of complexity than has been described in the Bible. At any rate, the Ketubah, which was in surprisingly good shape, is not signed. Were the couple ever married? Or did they have to leave this place before the happy event could take place?
So, what became of my oil lamp? The archaeologists kept it, along with all of the items we discovered today. However, before we left, Iranda invited us to pick out pottery shards to take home with us from a bin that they had already analyzed and no longer required. When we finally arrived back at our hotel, I washed the pieces, which had been covered with fine white dust, and discovered they possessed a range of beautiful earthen colors. Suddenly, Hilary had an idea. With a bit of careful arrangement, she assembled the pieces into a Menorah! Once we get back home and they are mounted, perhaps as a wall-hanging using a white base, it will be a lovely reminder of this incredible tour.
Returning to Jerusalem, we passed through the valley of Elah, the site where David and Goliath battled. Yehuda pointed out the hill on the right where the Philistines camped
and the hill on the left, facing them, where the Israelites waited day after day
until David went out to meet the giant with his slingshot in the middle of the field.
The battleground where David met Goliath---->
On the way, we passed by what Yehuda indicated was Solomon's birthplace, then through the Jerusalem mountains. The trees approaching Jerusalem are large and thriving. Yehuda mentioned that there were none before 1948. However, as we came closer to Jerusalem, the trees were younger, smaller. The reason, Yehuda explained, was that arsonists regularly caused forest fires in the region, resulting in younger trees as replanting efforts were made.
We left the bus a few blocks from the market and walked from there. Before we did, however, we said goodbye to our driver, Yoshe, who bravely drove us through busy Israeli cities, parts of the occupied territories that are 'safe'... most of the time, deserts and mountains, all the while negotiating crowded, narrow streets, inching our way through bumper to bumper traffic jams and gently honking at Israeli drivers whenever they got in the way. Thanks, Yoshe!
Machane Yehuda market
We arrived just as the market was reaching one of its busiest times of the week. The place was alive with vendors and sellers, food and
Jewish products.
This strawberry seller had an entertaining technique to attract attention!---->
It was a wonderful way to finish the afternoon before we headed back to our hotel for an afternoon at the pool before Shabbat services in the evening.
Shabbat in Jerusalem
Thanks to a mix-up, Hilary and the girls ended up going to a different Shabbat service than I did. They had gone swimming in the afternoon, while I had gone downstairs to the little hotel gym for a workout. Unfortunately, I thought I had to be back at the hotel room by 6:30. When I arrived, a few minutes late, I found, to my dismay that we had to leave the hotel at 6:30! So they were just going out the door as I arrived. It all worked out, however. I had a quick shower and went downstairs with the intention of catching up with them. However, in the lobby was Rabbi Solomon and his wife. Having not seen them for fifteen years, I decided to take the opportunity of attending Shabbat services with them. So I ended up enjoying their company and going to a beautiful Orthodox synagogue. Hilary and the girls enjoyed a much more relaxed, "Or Shalom" style service, with some of the most beautiful singing they had heard in Jerusalem. When, Hilary and I compared notes that night, we both agreed we had enjoyed unique, and delightful experiences.
By the end of the day we were exhausted. Naomi, Hilary and Rebecca turned in early. I stayed with some of the adults to continue visiting with Rabbi Solomon. Shabbat continues until sundown tomorrow, a day of rest. We're looking forward to it.
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