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From Armageddon to Azekah
by Jordan Weitzel 

Without a doubt, the highlight of my year studying in the International MA program was
the time spent digging in the field. My summer was split between two of the most important
excavations in Israel: Tel Megiddo and Tel Azekah. Megiddo (or Armaggedon) is one of 
the
most famous archaeological sites in the region....

 

 
A month excavating the remnants of Romans, Rebels, Monks and a Monarch.
Atop the forbidding, isolated rock plateau of Masada, students of the program,
took to the dry desert dust with trowels in hand. Each student worked the tools of
the modern archaeological excavation, from trowels and turreahs, to total stations...

 

 
Part of TAU’s International MA Program in Archaeology is a 4-week excavation.
This year the two options for excavations were Tel Megiddo and Tel Azekah. Each
excavation was 4 weeks long, with Megiddo running from mid-June into July and Azekah
from mid-July to August. Both are very famous excavations, with over one hundred
participants attending them each excavation season.

 

 

One of the most impressive tours we’ve had this year was, without doubt, our field trip to Masada, the famous desert stronghold, next to the Dead Sea. We were guided by esteemed Professor Guy Stiebel, who is also the director of excavations there. He gave us a fascinating and in-depth tour of the site, sharing both historical and excavation related stories...

 

Archaeology and Conservation: a Tour of Old Acre
 

The city, which has elements dating back to the Early Bronze Age, is built upon Crusader ruins
from almost 1,000 years ago. [...] After the fall of Jerusalem Akko became the capital
of their 
kingdom, until it was finally conquered and left in ruins by the Mamelukes.
The old city incorporates many aspects and structures from the Crusader period,
making it a unique city within Israel.

 

The Second Annual Thesis Conference of the International MA Program in Archaeology and History of the Land of the Bible
 

The Second Annual Thesis Conference of the International MA Program in Archaeology and Ancient Near East Cultures / Joshua Errington print Send to friend About a week after being acknowledged as the leading archaeology department in Israel and as one of the leading research centres in the world, the International MA program of the Archaeology Department at TAU held its second annual thesis conference. S

 

 

Recently I was privileged to participate in an excavation at the site of Timna, the ancient copper mines of the Aravah. Located approximately 20 kilometers north of Eilat, Timna, known in the public sphere as the site of King Solomon’s Pillars, is an extensive area where copper mining and smelting has been conducted for the last 3000+ years. 

 

 

 

While going on a tour of literal Armageddon is pretty cool in and of itself, this tour was special because we went with Prof. Israel Finkelstein, the man in charge of the excavations there. This gave us an insider’s, detailed look at the site, the finds, and stories of the excavations, following the seminar we had recently taken about Megiddo, with Prof. Finkelstein.

 
 
 
 
With the beginning of classes behind us, now is the perfect time to look back at the launch of the school year, from living in Tel Aviv to classes at TAU. Living in Tel Aviv Tel Aviv is truly a city that never sleeps. Every day, from before sunrise to well after sunset the streets are full, busy, and loud. Waking up for classes is easy. The Sun is shining, people are walking about on their daily routine, and the streets are full of cars, taxis, buses and motorbikes honking at each other to get out of the way. After classes your time is yours to do with as you wish...

 

 
This past Friday we were supposed to go on our first field excursion with Dr. Yuval Gadot to Tel Gezer and Tel Afek to learn about Canaanite city-states in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages.At this point I’d like to bring to mind the old adage, “Man plans and God laughs”, as we woke up at 5:30 am to major rain storms. We couldn’t go on our planned outdoor tour, and everyone was disappointed since it was going to be our first hands-on experience...
 
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