Religious Studies News

Shalom Again!

Ok, sometimes when you dig in an archaeological site you come across fascinating ancient relics. And sometimes you think you do.

Case in point. Today was our last day at the Bethsaida dig in Israel. And we were digging near our suspected tomb that I wrote about yesterday. And we came across an interesting object. Take a look at it:

Itlooked modern, but we hoped that it might be an ancient anchor or some sort of fabulous artifact. The WVU group began to dig vigorously and uncover more of the object. After some very intense excavations, here is what we really found:

Can you guess what this is? It is a modern military bunker! The region where we are digging was a contested piece of land on the border of the Golan Heights, and military installations were common. And today the WVU group dug it up after 40 years!!!

Hey,we still had a great time digging for the last two weeks, and now it’s off to Jerusalem. In the coming days we’ll report about our trip to this sacred city.

In the meantime, here is a picture of some of the artifacts (mostly pottery shards) that the WVU team uncovered while at Bethsaida this season. Most of these shards date back at least 2,000 years!