One person’s experience at Khirbet Qeiyafa

A couple of weeks ago, the Detroit Free Press ran an article by a Mauricio Gutierrez describing his week-long experience on the Khirbet Qeiyafa dig. He went along with a group of professors and students from Oakland University. His article is a nice insight into life on an excavation.

4 a.m. My eyes feel heavy. Today is my second day of digging.

I’m in Israel for a weeklong archaeological dig — not your regular vacation, but one that brought fulfillment and surprisingly more rest than I’ve gotten sitting on the beach.

Reading his article reminded me of a similar post I wrote during my first season at Kh. Qeiyafa. “A Day in the Life of a Volunteer Archaeological Excavator” It appears Mr. Gutierrez and I had similar impressions, though I don’t recall feeling the heat until later in the morning. (The good news… we usually labor under large shade tarps!)

If you’ve dreamed of joining a dig in Israel, please understand that you can actually do it. This experience is not limited to students in specific fields. It’s a fantastic educational, cultural, and biblical immersion that is open to pretty much anyone. Start making plans now to go over and dig in 2013, or even in 2012! There just might be some space left on this year’s excavation team. It’s an experience you remember for the rest of your life.

Oakland U. has typically joined the dig for the first three weeks of the each season. I always come in the latter half, so we haven’t shared time together on the site. The 2012 season has been shortened from six weeks to four, so our groups may finally overlap this year. I’m hoping for it. I’ve found that some of the best things at the dig are the interesting people you get to know.