We start our new season of excavations at Ein-Gedi in January2018. This season will last 4 weeks and we expect 20 volunteers for each week, each staying for a minimum of one week.

The sunny winter months at this lowest point on earth reach 18–20 degrees centigrade, making work outdoors especially attractive at a time of year when most of Europe and North America is freezing cold.

Please put the Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations in your calendar. We look forward to your joining us for a new season of exploration and revealing another hidden part of Ein-Gedi’s past.

The nature of the work

Archaeological work, though not easy, is both stimulating and great fun, and affords an opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Much of the work entails clearing rocks, soil, and debris with shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows; however, the human occupation levels are carefully dug and sifted with the aid of smaller, more delicate tools. Other than this, there is also plenty of washing and registration of pottery to be done.

No prior background is required, though all volunteers should be in good physical health and of good cheer. There is no age limit – we have teenagers working alongside octogenarians, and all ages in between.

The 2019 season will be held from January 13^th to February 7^th inclusive. 

Minimum participation: 1 week. Fieldwork is conducted from Mondays through Thursdays, from 7.00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. In the evenings there are often lectures and presentations about the history and archaeology of the area and previous seasons of our excavations.

Fridays and weekends are free. Optional after-work activities includes wimming in the Dead Sea, walking through the oasis, socialising with old and new friends among the volunteers or just relaxing and enjoying the landscape – the most beautiful in the world, in my prejudiced opinion!

1. Ein-Gedi Youth Hostel on the shore of the Dead Sea, a short walk from the excavation site

Please approach Rachel (excavation camp manager), by the reception desk on Sunday afternoon upon your arrival to the Youth hostel.

Pay attention – we have only 6 rooms and expecting for up to 20 volunteers per a week, therefore we cannot obtain single room, unless there will be less volunteers. 

Each room has 3 or 4 beds (the 4^th one is upper one), a toilet, a shower, 1-2 wash-basins and most have a small private terrace with a glorious view of the Dead Sea. An electric kettle is provided in each room.

Rooms must be vacated early Thursday morning. Luggage may be stored in designated rooms over the weekend. 

Participation costs include room per a day: a single volunteer will pay 80$, a couple in a room, each will pay 45$; three volunteers 35$, four 30$. Breakfast 15$, lunch/dinner 20$.

Weekends(Friday–Sunday morning). Volunteers wishing to remain at the Youth Hostel over the weekend will make arrangements at the Youth Hostel:

Tel. 972-2-5945681;  Fax. 972-8-658-4445  ; eingedy@iyha.org.il

2. Those wishing to set up their own tent will participate in the cost of meals.

3. Ein-Gedi Hotel – Accommodation can be arranged by:

Tel. 972-8-6594222; Fax. 972-8-6584328; Yoellal@ein-gedi.co.il            

Please note that the Kibbutz Hotel is some distance from the excavation site. Transport is not provided.

Food 

Breakfast will served on the site, among the date palms, Lunch at the Kibbutz dining hall, a hot dinner in the Youth Hostel dining hall in the evening (open only when they will have groups).

From 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Please return the completed application form, together with a non-refundable registration fee* of 35$ (or your local equivalent) in cash or by personal cheque, payable to “Israel Exploration Society, Ein-Gedi Oasis Excavations directed by Gideon Hadas” no later than December 13, 2018.

Eurocheques, bank cheques, money orders, and bank transfers are not accepted. 

In order to avoid confusion and to ensure your accommodations, we stress that your registration fee  & application form must arrive by mail or Email before your arrival at the excavation. (Dr. Gideon Hadas, Kibbutz Ein-Gedi, Mobile Post Dead Sea 86980, Israel). 
 *Returning volunteers are exempt from the registration fees.

Notification of Change of Plans:Please adhere to the dates for which you are registered. Any change in plans, including cancellations, arrival before Sunday afternoon, or arrival late at night, mustimmediately be brought to my attention: Gideon Hadas (E-mail: gideonhadas@gmail.com; fax: 972-8-6584384.  Failure to notify us will incur full payment of original reservation.

Mode of Payment.Payment for room and board will be made at the beginning of each week to Rachel, the camp manager, by cash, traveller’s cheque, or personal cheque payable to “Israel Exploration Society – Ein-Gedi Oasis Excavations directed by G. Hadas". Credit cards will not be accepted.

All volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance, valid in Israel, in advance for the duration of their stay at the excavation.Proof of insurance must be provided to the Excavation before you are allowed to participate. This must cover illness or injuries connected with archaeological excavations by the Dead Sea.

According to the Hebrew University instructions each volunteer have to sign on 

SUMMARY OF RISKS AND WORK SAFETY GUIDELINES AT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE that will be given to him before entering the site.

Dr. Gideon Hadas, Fax 972-8-6584384; E-mail: gideonhadas@gmail.com

For more information and application form see our website

The hilltop village of Shikhin is located a short walk from Sepphoris, the largest city of Roman Galilee. Referred to as Asochis by the historian Josephus, Shikhin was an important Roman pottery production center closely tied to its larger neighbor.

Shikhin is remembered by the Sages of the Tosefta and later rabbinic writings for the high quality of its pottery, and excavations have revealed much evidence of pottery and oil lamp manufacturing at the site. Both the Sages and Josephus suggests that the town housed wealthy and powerful Jewish Galilean families. Excavations have also uncovered remains of a Roman period synagogue, and there are indications that the interior was covered with painted plaster. In 2019, the dig crew will continue to excavate in the synagogue and pottery/lamp manufacturing areas.

$2,800/four weeks for double/triple;

$3,500/four weeks for single

The purpose of the Mount Zion Project is to expose, examine and preserve all levels of habitation over the course of Jerusalem’s 3,000-year history. This site shows evidence of habitation from the modern period back through Ottoman, Islamic, Crusader, Byzantine, Roman and ancient Israelite levels. This project is a unique opportunity for the city of Charlotte to have an historic presence in the Old City.

The Mount Zion Project advances research and teaching in the humanities by bringing together students, scholars, and a diverse range of professionals in the study and practice of cultural transformation. Using the two thousand-year window opened by our Mount Zion archaeological excavation as a reference point, we examine the global significance of questions raised by the past, present, and future of this contested sacred city. Jerusalem is a crossroads of religions, cultures and languages, a place where ultra-modern high tech meets the ancient walled city. Shaped by multiple histories of conquest and pilgrimage, migration and exchange, cooperation and restriction, Jerusalem is both a city and an idea, overburdened by pasts that make it a crucible and powerful symbol of conflict and promise, creativity and renewal.

UNC Charlotte students, both undergraduate and graduate, as well as students from other accredited universities in the United States are invited to apply for our 2019 Mt Zion Excavation Education Abroad program. Students spend three weeks in Israel, June 13 through July 5, 2019. Undergraduates earn six hours credit, graduates earn three hours. Credits can be applied to History, Religious Studies, or Liberal Studies. This Education Abroad program is directed by Dr. Robert McEachnie of the UNC Charlotte Department of History, students on this study abroad course fully participate in every aspect of the archaeological project: excavation, examination, collection of finds, cleaning, and material processing. There is also a week of guided touring as part of the student program. For 2019, Drs. Diane Zablotsky and Heather Smith of the Levine Scholars Program will co-lead the program. Students can apply. For more information and details about this accredited program and how to apply see edabroad.uncc.edu/mtzion.

A limited number of spots for non-UNC Charlotte students who wish to participate in a non-credit-seeking capacity will be open in the 2019 season. Non-credit participants will dig for two weeks, June 22nd through July 5th. For details on this aspect of our program see our web site: digmountzion.com and send email inquiries to digmountzion@gmail.com.

2019 is the seventh season of excavations at Tel Abel Beth Maacah. It will be a rewarding summer with interesting finds and great friendships at an exciting project. 

Abel Beth Maacah is a major tell in the Upper Galilee, at the northern end of the Huleh Valley, just west of Dan, and at the ancient juncture of Aram, Israel and Phoenicia. The site contains remains from the third through first millennia BCE, as well as from the Classical and Medieval periods. 

Sunday June 23 – Friday July 19, 2019

Every team member must register for a minimum of two weeks (four weeks are required for academic-credit students); exceptions are possible in special cases.

Based on this registration, we reserve rooms in the kibbutz and plan our excavation strategy. Thus, we must know if there are changes in your plans. Please notify us as soon as possible if there are changes in the dates you plan to be with us.

An archaeological excavation requires physical labor (sometimes strenuous) in dusty and hot conditions. We work under shade cloths so no one is exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time; however, it can still get warm.

This is why we begin early in the morning and quit after it starts getting hot. We also try to accommodate those with physical limitations; for example, if you have a weak back we are not going to force you to push wheelbarrows.

There is little way to predict how one may adapt to field conditions, but if you are in good health, like the outdoors, can lift buckets of dirt (even half-buckets if strength is an issue), can live with chemical toilets, and don’t mind being dusty and dirty for a few hours then you should be fine.

The basic cost for a unit with kitchenette, toilet and shower that accommodates 3-4 people is $550 per week (7 nights) for full room and board for the first three weeks and $400 for the fourth week (5 nights).

The weekly cost includes transportation by air-conditioned bus to and from the tell each working day and the evening lectures. All other transportation arrangements and costs must be made by the individual team member.

A few double rooms (for two people) are available, although we recommend early registration in order to ensure availability. The cost for a double room is $220 per night ($1540 per 7-night week; $1100 for the final 5-night week).

Returning team members are entitled to a discount: the cost will be $500 per week for the first three weeks and $360 for the final, fourth week.

Students may arrange to receive academic credits through the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . The cost is US$80 for the registration fee and US$120 per academic credit paid directly to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Participants will receive 4 credits for participating during the entire season. Students opting to receive academic credits must fulfill the requirements set by the field school directors (attending all field trips and lectures, tasks in the field and writing of an academic paper relating to the project).

Official website

The site of Tell es-Safi/Gath is located in the Shephelah region (the Judean foothills), approximately half way between Jerusalem and Ashkelon.

One of the largest archaeological sites in Israel, it is identified as Canaanite and Philistine Gath, Medieval Blanche Garde, and modern Tell es-Safi.

During biblical times this was one of the five major cities of the Philistines, the home of Goliath and Achish according to the biblical text. As of 1996, a team of archaeologists, led by Prof. Aren M. Maeir of Bar-Ilan University initiated a long-term project at the site. Excavations have uncovered impressive remains, including the worlds earliest known siege system, rich finds from the Bronze and Iron Age periods, Philistine temples, inscriptions and art, and evidence of the destruction of the city of Gath by Hazael, king of Aram Damascus, as mentioned in II Kings 12.

The ancient city of Hippos, one of the Decapolis, was erected upon the plateau of Sussita Mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee which stretches west of it. The Hippos dig is one of the main Classical Period excavations being conducted during last decade in Israel.

This season's excavation plans:

• The Roman theater
• The Roman sanctuary
• The burnt Byzantine church 

June 30 - July 25 2019

The program will be divided into two sessions, each of two weeks.

Session 1: June 30 - July 11
Session 2: July 14 - July 25

Two weeks (one session) participation = $1,400 or Four weeks (two sessions, full season) participation = $2,500 (may be paid in your own currency).

This cost includes full board and lodging in the Kibbutz in air-conditioned rooms including weekends (3 meals a day, expedition tours, leisure activity, lectures, etc.). 
Participants should fill up and submit the Application Form, and send the registration fee of $220 (the registration fee is deducted from the full payment).
The full payment should be made no later than 31st of March 2019.

All payments can be made ONLY by personal or bank check or wire transfer, in the applicant's national currency (e.g. US in $, Europeans in € etc.). 

We start our new season of excavations at Ein-Gedi in January2018. This season will last 4 weeks and we expect 20 volunteers for each week, each staying for a minimum of one week.

The sunny winter months at this lowest point on earth reach 18–20 degrees centigrade, making work outdoors especially attractive at a time of year when most of Europe and North America is freezing cold.

Please put the Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations in your calendar. We look forward to your joining us for a new season of exploration and revealing another hidden part of Ein-Gedi’s past.

The nature of the work

Archaeological work, though not easy, is both stimulating and great fun, and affords an opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Much of the work entails clearing rocks, soil, and debris with shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows; however, the human occupation levels are carefully dug and sifted with the aid of smaller, more delicate tools. Other than this, there is also plenty of washing and registration of pottery to be done.

No prior background is required, though all volunteers should be in good physical health and of good cheer. There is no age limit – we have teenagers working alongside octogenarians, and all ages in between. 

The fourth excavation season will be held from July 21 to August 17 2019, inclusive.

Your application is due no later than July 15, 2019.

We will stay in the city of Ashdod, at the ORT YAMI-ASHDOD Naval officers boarding school, located at the bottom of Giv'at Yonah (Jonah's Hill: which is named after the prophet Jonah, who is believed to be buried there), within a short walking distance from Mei Ami, Lido and Oranim Mediterranean Beaches, south to northern Lachish River Promenade. 

Volunteers will participate both in excavation (ca. 5:30 AM – 12:45 PM) and in post-excavation activities such as pottery reading, academic lectures and tours, which will be conducted in the afternoon.

Volunteers are required to arrange their own medical and accident insurance, valid in Israel, in advance for the duration of their stay at the excavation.

Dr. Alexander Fantalkin

Email: fantalk@tauex.tau.ac.il 

For more information and application form see our website​