The Desert

I have been through the desert on a camel with no name.
We started our day early to beat the intense desert heat. When we got to Masada, the temperature was about 21 degrees Celsius (70 F). Masada was a mountain palace built by Herod, which could also conveniently withstand a siege if necessary. After the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the remaining rebels fled to Masada. The Romans, commanded by Lucius Flavius Silva, a relative of the emperor Vespasian, prosecuted a siege against the stronghold, first circumvallating the mountain and then building a siege ramp to the top. As we ascended the mountain, the remains of Roman castrae were visible, together with the outline of the wall. Smaller camps were set up at intervals along the wall, probably holding about a cohort of soldiers. On the far side of the cable car, there was a much larger castra, likely the first one built where the legion stayed on the first few days and then later where the headquarters was. Masada as a complex had all the comforts. It was a beautiful palace once, and the remains could still be seen. It boasted a full Roman bath, along with numerous ritual baths and well-designed cisterns. When we left Masada, the temperature had nearly doubled, resting at a comfortable 37 degrees celsius (99 F). Our next stop was Qumran, where the dead sea scrolls were found. Outside there was a fascinating complex where a sectarian community once lived, called the Essenes. Aside from that, Qumran was literally nothing more than a cave atop a 300 foot drop in the blazing heat. By the time we left Qumran, it had reached 41 degrees celsius (106 F) and we headed to the dead sea. I elected not to go in the water as I was already feeling somewhat dehydrated. By the end the temperature had reached a pleasant 45 degrees (113 F) and we went home. It was wonderful coming back to Jerusalem where it was not higher than 27 degrees. At any rate, the heat was prostrating and I will now drink much water.

On the Road Again

On Friday we left Ashkelon and journeyed up North, to Jesus' old stomping grounds, the Galilee region. We stayed at a lovely hotel on the Plain of Gennesaret called Nof Ginnosar. The Hotel was absolutely beautiful, located on the sea of Galilee, which is more like a lake than a sea. The murky waters which Jesus once traversed on foot were soothing and cool on our "day around the lake", reaching temperatures in the 100 degree range with very high humidity. On our last night, our Israeli guide, Illan, grilled very non-kosher cheeseburgers for us, and had the time of his life celebrating the fourth of July with us. Illan is a very interesting man: combining hippie with nationalist, his jovial personality is often juxtaposed by war stories and deep theological musings. Yesterday, we visited many of the cities Jesus visited during his ministry, and we finished by going to the Museum of the Boat. The museum of the Boat had one attraction: a boat. The boat in question was actually a two thousand year old boat which was actually pretty cool. A short distance from the museum was a pier, at which was birthed a replica of the museum boat. Sarah Seibert asked me if I wanted to see it, and so we went to look at it. Within five minutes we were sailing the Sea of Galilee, aboard the hand-made boat, built by a former resident of Salem, MA whom Sarah and I (but mostly Sarah because she reigns supreme at schmoozing) befriended. David was a pretty cool guy, and he gave us certificates proving that we had been on the boat. Afterward, we went swimming.
Nof Ginnosar's one flaw was terrible wifi, which is why I am writing so long post factum. Today, we set out from Gennesaret and journeyed to Bet-She'an, a city with thoroughly impressive ruins. Standing atop the tell and looking down at the Roman ruins on the plain below was incredible, and brought to mind Percy Byssche Shelly's poem Ozymandias:

I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:And on the pedestal these words appear:'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."  

Another wiser man said it this way: 
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures on eath, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

At Bet-She'an, we bade farewell to Jonathan Kirkpatrick, who had come to visit us again, and when we were done, we headed to Armageddon...except not really. While many believe that Armageddon will take place at Megiddo (where we were), there is much better evidence that Jerusalem is the actual site. At any rate, Megiddo was a remarkable tel, and afterward we settled in for the two hour drive to Jerusalem. We visited the garden of Gethsemane, and a church dedicated to where Jesus wept over his impending death. Illan made an excellent point about how God wants obedience and that that was the point of Christ's ministry. He used the example of Jesus' answer to the people asking him about paying taxes to the Romans. Jesus answered them saying "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. Just before this, Jesus asks to see a denarius (a Roman coin of a moderate denomination) and then asks whose image is on it. As humans, we are all made in God's image, and therefore what Jesus actually said to his challengers was "give to Caesar the things that bear his image and give to God the things that bear his image". Next, we went to Church of all Nations, where we further contemplated Christ's obedience. Obedience is something that requires training, Illan told us, using an object lesson from his time in the army. As a medic, he was responsible for having to save lives under fire, and he was able to do so because of his training.
The Christian life is a lot like that, and without proper training, we will not be able to be obedient as Christ was able.
On a slightly more light note, I rode a camel, which the most excellent Sarah Seibert documented, and then returned to the old city to do some shopping.
I will be home soon, and I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

Yad Vashem

I visited the Yad vashem today. The Yad Vashem is the holocaust museum for Israel. I don't really know what to say, honestly. Museums like this one are always so incredible because they are meant to carry a message. This one's message was don't forget. In all honesty, I have never encountered the holocaust in such a graphic way. There is just no other way to describe it. They had plenty of artifacts, and together with the layout of the building, the designers conveyed a powerful messageThe museum left me feeling very hopeless and heartbroken. It was incredibly moving to see the faith that was in that place as well. I was put to shame seeing the testimonies of people who had suffered exile, imprisonment, torture, and death still standing on the promises of God when I can barely muster enough faith to even get through a few bumps on an airplane. The actual memorial to the victims was really beautiful as well. It was a circular room with a giant hole in the floor, about fifteen to twenty feet deep. At the bottom was water. All around the room were shelves. On many of them were books listing the names of every victim. Some of the shelves were empty, symbolizing those who died anonymously.
It was a well designed museum, one that truly left one feeling with the people who suffered.

Like a Mother Hen Gathering her Chicks under her Wings

"There I have seen a temple with no statue, a day on which no work is done, and a sea in which no one drowns"

Pliny the Elder, the great Roman scientist and explorer (although he was strictly the armchair variety when it came to Israel) described Israel in this way. I found it a rather beautiful quote, and appropriate for beginning my journey to the holy city. We began the day in Area 51 and after 2nd breakfast we returned to the hotel and got ready for our journey. We met our guide, a very amiable Israeli Jew with a ponytail and a very good command of the Old Testament. Our journey took us to several places before Jerusalem, including the site commonly believed to be the ancient Philistine city of Gath, hometown of Goliath. We also went to a city facing Sokho, another important stronghold in ancient Israel. At the site of the ancient southern gate, our guide told us about David and Goliath, bringing the story to life in a way like never before. He described how the stone David likely used was no pebble, but much larger. He then told us that slings and stones like David used against Goliath were used against him when he served in the IDF, breaking his best friend's cheekbone. After crossing into the West Bank, we came to Jerusalem. We dropped our bags at the hotel and then explored the old city, finally coming to the wailing wall, the last surviving wall leading up to the temple mount. Since Shabbat begins Friday nights, the wall was packed with people, and the Orthodox Jews were everywhere. Sarah Seibert could barely contain her joy when she saw several of them wearing the giant fur hats indicative of a family that had lived in the holy land for five generations. Her excitement became a general theme for the rest of our walk around Jerusalem. Archeological digs were all over the city, including right by the wall. Whenever we saw one, all that came to mind was the sayings of Sarah, our area supervisor, often referred to as "bootcamp" for her slave-driving tendencies:
"That color is disgusting. It looks so washy."
"make those rocks pop."
"I can't force you to work through your break but I also won't discourage you."
Upon our return to the Post Hostel, our home for the weekend, we were met with an excellent dinner and Jonathan Kirkpatrick who came in from Oxford to see us. After that, we went to bed.

Penetrabis Ad Urbem

Although I have not received a vision that I will sack the city of Rome as Alaric did, I do know that I am off to enter another city, Jerusalem! The dig today was quite fun. Sarah found a piece of iron, which I thought was rather cool. There was not much I could do given that my ankle is sprained. With that said, I am quite pleased to be out of the compound.

Walls and Holes

My life currently is naught but walls and holes. However today I made my first finds: One was a piece of beautiful Philistine pottery (which I could not take a picture of, unfortunately, because I fell asleep last night before I put the memory card back in my camera) and a small Persian figurine, which I did get a picture with thanks to the amazing Sarah Seibert. Today proved interesting for several reasons: We got a tour of the tel, and I twisted my ankle pretty badly. Pottery washing will follow later tonight, and it will be quite tedious. Also, it must be Israeli spring break because right outside my window loud music is playing and people are screaming. Mucho rasta horns. My roommate Ben took a video. It was pretty great. Also, I waded into the Mediterranean sea. The water was the warmest ocean water I had ever been in. The wading was preceded by a lovely walk and some icecream with my new friend Taylor. She is from Ohio, but managed to get a bit of southern twang during her college days in Alabama. Pictures of the artifacts will follow.

Israel, Land of Tels

A Tel has once been described as an archeological layer cake: when one town is ruined, it will often be recycled, brought to an even grade, and then used as a foundation for another city. When this sort of thing happens (as it has in Israel in some places since the Neolithic age, i.e. the first time humans decided to live in cities), an artificial hill is formed, which archeologists LOVE to explore. We are working at the tel at Ashkelon. Because we didn't wash pottery today, we went to explore two other tels. We first explored Azeka, which was built atop already existing high ground. The city was extremely important to the ancient Israelites because it gave both the obvious strategic benefits of high ground, it also overlooked an important trade route that ran through the Elah valley underneath. This valley would be the battleground for one of the most one-sided battles of all time, the battle between David and Goliath. Atop the tel was a monument to the battle. Next, we visited Tel Burnai, considered by many to be the biblical city of Libnah. Tel Burnai was an incredibly fortuitous discovery for the archeologists. Only a few centimeters below the surface, the ruins of a bronze age religious site was discovered. Further up the tel, iron age grain silos were dug into rock in numerous places and the iron age fortifications could still be seen in places. Pictures below: