Bethsaida 2010
From Faith Futures
Brief notes from the 2010 SFC Bethsaida Excursion ...
Photo gallery
In addition to the very brief notes below, you might get some sense of the places we are visiting from these selected galleries:
- Petra
- Madaba & Mt Nebo
- Jerash
- Bethsaida Excavations
- Galilee, the North & Caesarea
- Jerusalem & the South
Day one: Brisbane - Petra (Sunday, 6 June)
Our small party departed Brisbane International Airport at 2.30am heading for Amman via Singapore and Dubai. This is one very long day - with more than 16 hours in the plane. The major segment from Brisbane to Dubai took just over 16 hours, with a brief stopover in Singapore while the crew changed and the cabin was cleaned. We got to stretch our legs for 30 minutes before returning to the departure gate and reboarding. In Dubai we had an even shorter transition time as our plane landed at 12.55pm and our flight to Amman began boarding at 1.15pm. At Amman airport we were met by Amed from Vered Tours, who took care of our processing through customs and bundled us into a small bus for the 2.5 hour road trip to Petra. Amed seems a delightful character. He is a qualified archaeologist and works on a site near the NE corner of the Dead Sea. The only dramas so far have been the discovery of a pocket knife in my cabin luggage (at Singapore, not Brisbane), and one person's luggage not making it to Amman. The knife was an embarrassment, but no real drama. Clare has simply lost her knife that happened to be in my hand luggage instead of my checked luggage. For the owner of the missing suitcase it represents a rather more severe problem. Hopefully it will turn up tomorrow. Driving from Amman to Petra gave our group their first taste of the Middle East: houses that never seem to be finished, dusty terrain, Bedouin encampments, small bands of sheep, arid landscape, and multiple mosques. It is good to be back in this part of the world again. Clare looks resplendent in her new red kefeyah (eagerly fitted by a helpful young man at the shop) while I have a new white kefeyah as I could not find my old ones - but after 20+ years that may not be a bad thing!
Day two: Petra (Monday, 7 June)
We spent today exploring Petra - one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Although I had been here before, that was in 1991 and so much has changed since then. While 80% of ancient Petra remains to be uncovered, the 20% now excavated is far more than was the case when I was last here. The Roman cardo with its handful of surviving columns was not visible then, while the Byzantine church with its rich mosaic floors was only discovered in the mid-1990s. Much more recently the tomb of Aretas IV, king of the Nabataeans between 9 BCE and 40 CE, has been discovered below the so-called (and misnamed) Treasury building (in Arabic, Al Khazneh). It was hot and dusty - and physically challenging for the brave souls that climbed up the 900 steps to the Monastery. The scale and the creativity of this place - an ancient Singapore is one metaphor that captures part of the wonder - is overwhelming.
Day three: Madaba and Mt Nebo (Tuesday, 8 June)
After the physical exertions of Petra today was more relaxing. The bus trip to Madaba lasted about three hours, and took us east towards the Jordanian desert, north up the ancient Desert Highway and then west again towards the Jordan River. At Madaba we visited the Orthodox Church of St George to see the ancient Byzantine map of the Holy Land, including its famous representation of Jerusalem. A short 15-20 minutes from Madaba we were at Mt Nebo, the site of Moses' death according to Deuteronomy 34 and later the location of a Byzantine church. From here we gained a panoramic view of the "promised land" which we shall be entering ourselves tomorrow. Before leaving the Mt Nebo town area we visited a large workshop where local people with various disabilities create the most amazing array of mosaics, hand-painted pottery and other local artifacts. Prices ranged from a few dollars to several thousand dollars, but despite the temptation they represented none of the larger items found their way onto an Aussie credit card. By mid-afternoon we were checking into the Geneva Hotel in Amman, with some time to relax before dinner.
Day four: Jerash (Wednesday, 9 June)
We left the Geneva Hotel around 8.00am, bound for Jerash - one of the ten cities of the ancient Decapolis league located in the area S and SE of the Sea of Galilee.
We made good time to Jerash and enjoyed almost two hours exploring the city with expert input from Emad. The basic pattern of a Hellenistic city is now clearly established in our minds, along with the complexity, scale and public costs of these ancient cities. From Jerash we drove to the crossing near Tiberias. There were no real dramas with the passport control and customs people, but we were delayed for an hour after our bus crossed the small bridge into Israel before we were allowed to begin the process. About an hour after leaving the terminal we were at Ginosar, and after checking into our cabins Clare and I ran into Rami Arav as the pottery reading class was about to begin. After sitting in on the class for an hour or so we had a chance to introduce the rest of the group to Rami and then go on a brief orientation tour to show them around the site. Dinner in the hotel was its usual fine fare and then we had an after dinner lecture, by one of the long time professors associated with the dig, on the evidence from Roman coins for the re-naming of Bethsaida as Julia in honor of the (adopted) mother Emperor Tiberius. With a 5.30am departure from the car park in the morning, we soon head for the beds.
Day five: Bethsaida (Thursday, 10 June)
We left Ginosar at 5.30am for our first day on the dig, arriving at Bethsaida by 5.45am. The lake was still rather misty as we drove to the dig, but by our return at 12.20pm it was clear with good views across to Syria and Jordan. Rami spent the best part of two hours on an orientation program, and then we settled in for some work in the remaining part of the day. Breakfast was a welcome break, and the popsicles were devoured with relish when they arrived after 11.00am. A few of us work in Area A South (close to the area I had been working in last year), while the rest joined the crew working in the new excavations underway in Area A West. Despite the dust and heat, all seemed really pleased with the morning's effort.
Day six: Bethsaida & Nazareth (Friday, 11 June)
Another day at the dig -- but this time our first full day. We began by getting our own Bethsaida archaeological picks, complete with the 2010 branding. This simple gesture from the project actually meant a great deal to each of us, and the picks are valued for more than their utilitarian worth. Worked continued in the various loci to which we were assigned, with a noticeable change in appearance as we gently cleared away the soil and debris to expose the underlying structures. After returning from the site we went to Nazareth for the first of our side-trips this weekend. We were escorted by Moen Tannous, who owns a large transport company based in Nazareth with a fleet of taxis and buses. Moen kindly drove us to Nazareth, took us on a tour around the rim of the city and then dropped us near the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. He later returned to drive us to the Sabeel office, and later still collected us from Sabeel and drove us back to Ginosar.
In the meantime we had an opportunity to visit the lovely old Orthodox Church built over the ancient well of Nazareth. We called by Cactus, an adjacent gift shop built above the remains of a Roman bath house, and enjoyed meeting the owners and buying some of their beautiful wares. We then walked down to main road to the Basilica of the Annunciation, just skirting the edges of the Suq, the ancient market place of Nazareth. After taking some time to explore the basilica and to pray in its large spaces, we were taken to the YMCA building where Sabeel has its offices. The Young Adults group made us very welcome, and explained the activities of Sabeel in building strong community networks in the Galilee so that Palestinian Christians can find resources in their faith for the challenges of life in Israel. There were opportunities for questions and then the gathering devolved spontaneously into several parallel conversations as small groups of visitors and locals shared experiences and insights.
Day seven: Galilee holy places (Saturday, 12 June)
Moen collected us at 8.30am for a morning exploring some of the nearby holy places. We began at the Mount of the Beatitudes, a beautiful Catholic chapel set atop a hill with panoramic views of the lake. We then went to Chorazin, one of the towns that Jesus seems to have visited frequently, where we walked through the remains of the town from the late Roman era (3rd to 5th centuries CE). After leaving Chorazin we visited Capernaum, with time to explore both the 4th century marble synagogue and the very modern church erected above the Insula Sacra (thought by many people to be Peter's House).
After leaving Capernaum we finished our tour with a visit to the Benedictine church at Tabgha with its famous loaves and fishes mosaic from an earlier Byzantine church. Considerable money seemed to be changing hands at the lovely gift shop at Tabgha! Since there was nowhere for a picnic lunch at this site that commemorates the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 (!!), we had our own loaves and fishes event outside our cabins at Ginosar.
Day eight: Haifa - Megiddo - Mt Tabor (Sunday, 13 June)
We began the day with a trip to Haifa so we could worship with the Palestinian congregation at St John's Church in Haifa. As it happened, this was a Sunday when the service was held at St Luke's Church just a street away from the huge Bahai temple in Haifa so we did not get to see the historic St John's Church. We were made most welcome and the service was adapted to include a few parts in English as well as hymns being chosen to allow bilingual singing. The priest, Hatim Shehadeh, trained in Australia at St John's College, Morpeth; so he seemed to especially enjoy having Aussie visitors. One of the highlights for us was the simultaneous English translation of the sermon provided for us by the organist. A most impressive linguistic performance. After the service we shared coffee with the congregation and headed up to Mt Carmel for a picnic lunch on the headland. We were unable to see the church as it is closed between 12 noon and 3.00pm, so we headed down to the beach to dip our toes in the Mediterranean Sea. We then visited Megiddo, an ancient and historic site that has also been very important for the development of biblical archaeology. With some sense of the material from Bethsaida it was interesting to observe how the Bronze Age and Iron Age gates are so much smaller than Bethsaida level V and VI. We finished the day with a brief visit to the beautiful church of the transfiguration atop Mt Tabor.
Day nine: Bethsaida (Monday, 14 June)
Another day of digging, sweeping and sifting - together with circus gymnastics by our specialist photography team. In one locus some of the team - now enlarged with an extra 20+ people from Creighton University - found a complete bowl used in Roman worship, while in an adjacent area another group of workers found a Roman sword. The lecture this evening will be on the Q document, and will be delivered by no less an authority than John Kloppenborg. John is one of the leading international Q specialists, and has been digging in an adjacent locus to me. We share some common Westar Institute connections, so it has been a special delight to meet him after all these years.
Day ten: Bethsaida and Safed (Tuesday, 15 June)
This morning on the dig saw several special finds, including a smashed pot with sufficient pieces for possible restoration (Greg Jenks), an iron sickle (Doug Hoare) and a small ceramic horse figure used as a spout on some kind of vessel. Several of the loci are now cleared to levels where we are finding interesting materials, including Bronze Age and Iron Age artifacts. After lunch the SFC team went to Safed to visit the English library established there and to met its remarkable founder, Edith Geiger (now aged 91 years). Safed in a special religious town in Israel as it is the centre for the Jewish kabbalah tradition. This evening we will have a lecture/presentation by Judith & Shai Schwartz on kibbutz life.
Day eleven: Bethsaida (Wednesday, 16 June)
No major new finds in our areas of work today, but various smashed pots have come into view along with an ancient ceramic oven. Lots of soil and rocks have been moved these past few days, so the area being excavated are beginning to look very different from when we arrived. Everyone seems in fine form and good spirits. There have been no illness or injuries, and people are finding the dig a very rich experience at so many levels (pun intended). We have a free afternoon until pottery reading class at 4.00pm. The evening lecture was a great presentation on military archaeology from the crusader period, by Kate Raphael.
Day twelve: Bethsaida (Thursday, 17 June)
Work continued in the various areas, but with no major new finds. As we work our way down a few inches at a time in the various loci we are gaining a better sense of the complex history of this site. There is great camaraderie between all the participants, with new people being welcomed into our dusty fellowship. Due to the extreme heat today, pottery reading class was delayed until 5.00pm. I took the chance to catch a bus into Tiberias and get a local SIM for my mobile, so my iPhone is now happily chugging away as an Israeli cell phone. For anyone needing to get an urgent message to the group, please use (00 972) 0543 916 115. The lecture this evening was by Dr Nicholae Roddy, who gave an impressive overview of Second Temple Judaism as the matrix out of which emerged both Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity after 70 CE.
Day thirteen: Bethsaida (Friday, 18 June)
Work continued in the various areas, on yet another very hot day. From one loci to another folk were digging carefully down, a few inches at a time taking care to maintain a reasonably level surface, exposing walls, floors and ceramic pots with various degrees of destruction. Slowly this ancient site is surrendering its secrets. We finished with a "show and tell" session at 12 noon, so that everyone gets a quick heads up on the progress in each of the loci being worked this week. We said farewell to a number of people who are leaving us this afternoon, and then returned to Ginosar for lunch and a relaxing eve of Shabbat afternoon. Several of us will be enjoying a dip the Sea of Galilee this afternoon!
Day fourteen: Galilee Touring (Saturday, 19 June)
We spent a very hot day touring a selection of important sites in the Galilee and to the north. We began with the same set of holy sites that we had visited last week, which allowed us to see some aspects that we missed the previous time or revisit places that we especially enjoy. It was good to have the opportunity to hear Nicholae Roddy's commentary on these sites, as well as the spots further north that were mostly new to me. These included Tel Hazor with its mix of Bronze Age and Iron Age remains and Tel Dan where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we visited two of the Banias (Caesarea Philippi) sites: the Grotto of Dan and the Banias Waterfalls. We finished the afternoon with a visit to the impressive ruins of Nimrod's Castle, a Muslim fort from the crusader period. This evening the 4 young ladies who are here with their father's are taking their Dads into Tiberias for dinner to mark Father's day in the US calendar.
Day fifteen: Galilee Touring (Sunday, 20 June)
Today Nicholae took us to Sepphoris, Beth Shearim, Megoddo and Caesarea Maritima. At Sepphoris we enjoyed the beautiful mosaics, but also noted the small scale of this Galilean capital compared to Jerash. Beth Shearim was a traditional burial site for pious (and wealthy) Jews no longer able to secure a grave on the Mt Olives after Jew were banned from Jerusalem by Hadrian in 135 CE. The scale of the sarcophagi was impressive as were the many artistic motifs. We revisited Megiddo, but this time walked through the water system -- as well as enjoying a picnic lunch in the grounds and catching up on some favorite spots of interest. Early afternoon saw us in the ruins of Caesarea Maritima, where we defied the heat with a swim in the artificial harbor built by Herod the Great.
Day sixteen: Bethsaida (Monday, 21 June)
Across the dig work continues as the end of season deadline draws closer. By the end of this week everything will need to be closed up until May next year when the 2011 season will commence. Special finds today included an intact Roman glass bottle. It is always amazing to see what survives under the rubble and between the heavy stones. In Area A South we are currently digging through the red soil that marks the destruction layer from Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE. We now need to proceed more slowly as we should begin to find pottery and other remains that lie on the 8C floor of Level V, with the reddish remains of burnt bricks just above them. We hope to get this done tomorrow as that will be the final day for the SFC team at the site this year. Today has been extremely hot with temperatures reach 44C/110F by early afternoon. The lecture this evening will be my presentation on Jonah and the talking stones.
Day seventeen: Bethsaida (Tuesday, 22 June)
Our final day on the dig for 2010! It did not seem to be as hot today, and we were joined by the volunteers who came with Richard Freund yesterday afternoon as well as a team of Physical Anthropologists to exhume the human remains in several graves found on the site in the last week or so. These seem to have been Bedouin graves, with the principal one in Area A South being a young woman with a lovely glass necklace, a few coins (perhaps also part of a necklace?) and a lovely blue glass bracelet on one of her wrists. Clare was able to work on this grave with the specialist recovery team, and seemed to greatly enjoy the experience. We began the day with a group photograph (the class of 2010) and ended with a shot of the Aussie team. The afternoon was spent doing laundry, and trying to get some of our work clothes clean enough to take home! We had our final pottery reading class late afternoon and then the evening lecture was by Dr Carl Savage from Drew University.
Day eighteen: Qumran and Masada (Wednesday, 23 June)
Today was a long one, but we covered a lot of ground before settling into our hotel in Jerusalem. We left Ginosar around 7.30am and travelled to Masada far to the south so we could leave the site before the worst of the heat. We then had lunch at Qumran before a brief visit to the site followed by a refreshing dip the Dead Sea. We then headed for Jerusalem, with a brief stop in Jericho. On arrival in Jerusalem we went to the Mt Olives for a preliminary overview of the city to assist in getting our bearings. We settled very happily into our comfortable hotel when we arrived around 7.30pm.
Day nineteen: Jerusalem (Thursday, 24 June)
We began the day early (leaving the hotel at 7.00am) and appreciated a much cooler day than any we had experienced for some time. We started with the Haram (Temple Mount) in the early morning light, and were made very welcome by Muslim worshippers. One elderly man asked whether we knew of the open windows of Al Aqsa mosque that would allow us to see the interior, since only Muslims are now allowed inside! The Dome of the Rock was resplendent as always, but I did appreciate the gold plated door on the eastern side of the dome that had not been closed and had a ladder leaning against it. We then took the 90 minute Western Wall Tunnel tour, with its amazing insights into the structures of the site - and its explicit Jewish nationalist ideology. After completing the tunnel tour we observed the milling crowds as jewish families gathered for their sons' Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. The music, and dancing and religious ritual was awesome. Exploring the ruins at the base of the Southern Wall was a quieter experience but here too we found several more Bar Mitzvah ceremonies underway, including one large event attended by the Chief Rabbi of Israel. We then crossed the road to visit the City of David excavations, including Warrens Shaft and the large foundations of the Canaanite water towers. The afternoon began at the Israel Museum with an opportunity to visit the Shrine of the Book as well as the large model of Jerusalem in NT times that was originally at the Holy Land Hotel. We finished the day with a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial.
Day twenty: Jerusalem (Friday, 25 June)
We ended our time in Jerusalem with a day that focused on churches. The day began with a visit to the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem. We had time to pray as well as time to explore - and still had some time (and some money) left for shopping! From Bethlehem we went back to the Mt Olives to get photos without the hindrance of the late afternoon sun, and then walked down the traditional Palm Sunday route via Dominus Flevit and Gethsemane. We had lunch in a new cafe grill bar opposite St George's College, during which time I also managed a quick visit to catch up with Stephen Need (Dean of the College) and my old friend, Khalil, who supervises the housekeeping staff. As a group we descended on Ibraham at St George's Bazaar in Nablus Road, and then we spent some time exploring the cathedral, the guest house and the college. When that was finished we walked down to the Damascus Gate via Salah-edin St and made our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchure along the Via Dolorosa. Late afternoon I left the group to meet up with Nicolae Roddy's group from Bethsaida when they arrived at Ecce Homo, as I needed to collect Clare - who had chosen to stay behind for a couple of extra days on the dig. She seems to have had a great time, including a rafting trip down the Jordan River. Now all that remains is to squeeze all the goodies into the bags, and prepare for our 7.30am departure for Amman in the morning.
