A Hasmonean Water Park

The Shiloh dig season is drawing near, and my days are very busy preparing for the dig season, my wedding, and moving. But I managed to fit in one more mini-dig. Rujm es-Sia is a weekend excavation. I think the longest season I’ve ever participated in there was three days long. Last weekend, I joined the team to help excavate a part of the site we are referring to as the Hasmonean water park. It has a cistern, a mikva, and another water installation that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was a fun dig season. I didn’t make any remarkable finds, but I did help uncover a wall.

The top of the wall that I uncovered. Many of the stones at this site are smooth river rocks. I guess it makes sense, because the Jordan River is nearby.

No Israeli excavation is complete without coffee and wafer cookies. Even I, a confirmed tea-drinker, drink coffee on Israeli excavations.

A couple of dogs from a nearby farm joined our team. They liked digging in the loose dirt of our dump pile. They even took up guarding us and barked at everyone who approached – including their owner. Is that treason?

Puppies, dirt, and the great outdoors. These kids are living the good life.