Fieldwork Report: Pauline Allaire - American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)

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Why is excavating in Hazor such an amazing experience?

Pauline Allaire, 2022 Stevan B. Dana Scholarship for Fieldwork Participation

Archaeological excavations are always a significant step in the training of an archaeologist. I already had the opportunity to participate in several excavation campaigns but only in France, that’s why I was very elated to be able to participate in this excavation campaign in Israel, on the famous site of Hazor. This experience was rich and exotic in many ways.

At the beginning of the trip, the first step was to take the plane. It was the first time I had to make a trip with a stopover, it was stressful, but once this step was over, the adventure could really begin. As soon as I arrived in Israel, I chose to observe as much of my surroundings as possible to make the most of my memories. The airport was full of people looking for their loved ones, with huge welcome balloons and various posters of all kinds. The last step of my journey was to get to the kibbutz, the place where we were staying during the search. I had to take the train and the bus for almost three hours. Despite some difficulties in finding my way around, I finally arrived at the place thanks to the help of some very nice Israelis, who really did their best to help me. It was so nice!

Figure 1: Myself, cleaning an area during the excavation

Once I arrived at the port, I discovered my living space for the next three weeks. It’s quite different from what you can find in France. The kibbutz is Israeli farming communities where mutual aid is at the heart of life. For example, people who work in the community are housed and fed. The residents can eat together in a large hall. The landscape also surprised me. There are innumerable small hills with evenly spaced trees. Many fruit trees are present, as well as prickly pears. The overall atmosphere is rather desert-like, and it is very hot. Being from the north of France, this was completely different from what I was used to seeing. The animals were also surprising. If I was lucky enough to meet few scorpions and snakes, the countless lizards never ceased to make me smile, climbing trees, running around and sometimes even fighting.

Finally, of course, the archaeological site of Hazor filled my eyes with stars. This is a very special archaeological site. It is one of the largest sites in Israel. It is located north of Lake Tiberias. It can be divided into an “upper city” which is on a tell, a kind of hill, and a “lower city” which is much larger, as is often the case in the Near East, with a total area of about 80 hectares. There are temples, palaces, and administrative buildings. It is an important site essentially for the Bronze and Iron Ages, from 2600 BC to its destruction by the Assyrians in 732 BC. It was identified in 1875. It has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2005. And today it is also a national park.

Figure 2 and 3: excavation area M69 at sunset

It is also a biblical site and is mentioned several times (eighteen times). One of the strata is said to have been built during the reign of Solomon, the prophet and king of Israel in the Bible. The excavation campaign was led by Professor Amnon Ben-Tor, assisted by Igor Kreimerman and Deborah (Deby) Sandhaus. The focus this year was on Area M, which was the supposed entrance to the Bronze Age palace and storage areas. The aim was also to find the stairs of the palace. Although I was used to digging and already knew some of the excavation methods, it was still a learning session. I learned to understand the layering of stratigraphic layers. For example, learning which pavement above which pavement or which walls are from the same period. The best moment to teach my eye to recognise archaeological remains was certainly the reading of ceramics. In the evening, at about 5 p.m., we would meet up with the other excavators from our area, M69 for me, to analyse the ceramics that we had washed in the morning. We had to understand the damaged fragments of pottery to find the type of container and to give a date. The pieces that interested us were the characteristic pieces such as the lips and the hooves if they had seals or marks. The next step was to define the orientation of the lip to find the opening of the container and thus to define its type: jar, crater, cooking pot, etc. Finally, it was necessary to establish a dating, essentially Bronze Age or Iron Age depending on the decoration or the material. This is something that I found very interesting because it allowed us to use our knowledge concretely, and we had to adapt to each little piece that was in front of us. This site was impressive because of the size of the archaeological site, but also because of the discoveries, each one more interesting than the other. I can’t wait for all this to be published.

Figure 4: One of my favourite images, one of the site managers taking pictures of the areas balanced on a scale

Finally, one of the last elements that makes this workcamp a rich experience is its international aspect. Indeed, although the workcamp is under the supervision of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, there are students and volunteers of all nationalities. For example, this year I was able to meet American, Swedish, Spanish, and of course Israeli students. This great diversity of cultures is for me one of the strong points of this workcamp. It allows us to compare points of view, to understand each other’s visions and ways of learning. But also, to laugh at each other’s clichés and to learn about new cultures.

It is for all this that I am very grateful to have been able to participate in this experience thanks to the ASOR association and my benefactor Mr. Stevan B. Dana. I would also like to thank my various colleagues on the dig for their good atmosphere and their motivation, as well as the people in charge of the dig for their transmission of knowledge and their patience.

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Why is excavating in Hazor such an amazing experience?

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