Excavating at Tel Maresha (blog by Avery)

We went to the Tel Maresha archaeological dig in Beit Guvrin. We were allowed to participate in an actual dig, looking for pottery and bones and other ancient objects. We also went on a hike through the vast cave system.

The two caves in which we were digging were full of potsherds. Abba found the bottom of both a vase and a plate, and Noah found pieces of a bowl. We all found miscellaneous pieces of pottery. I found what was once a pile of charcoal, but it had crumbled to burnt dust. I also found a charred rock and a brick from a kiln. Noah found a stone that was not indigenous to this part of Israel. Noah and I also found a few bird bones.

After we dug for a while, we sifted through the dirt we discarded to make sure we had not missed anything. A lot of potsherds were found in the discard piles. Finally, we were through digging.

After digging, we went for a hike through the cave system. (There are thousands of caves, making up hundreds of cave systems.) Trekking through the dim, candle-lit caves, our guide narrated the function of all the holes in the walls. Some holes were doors, but some small holes were for pigeon roosts.

The pigeons were used to carry messages between cave systems. Some of the cave entrances were so small, we had to slide through them on our backs. One of the entrances was a hole in the ground, with a five-foot vertical drop.

Once we got through the caves, our guide explained what the Israel Archaeological Seminars (the supervisors of the dig) does with the pieces that they find. After everything is cleaned and catalogued, the pieces with text on them are translated, and pot bases and rims are kept. In all, half of their finds are kept. Potsherds that are not kept are given as souvenirs to the tourists who helped in the dig.

I found a piece of the rim of a pot on the ground, and since they cannot catalog pieces from outside the caves, I was allowed to keep it.