BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

More Than Meets the Trowel

Exceptional discoveries from ordinary finds

In joining an excavation for the first time, many dig volunteers might dream of discovering the Ark of the Covenant, the next Rosetta Stone, or a magnificent golden statue hidden away in the remains of some ancient temple. The reality of the dig experience, of course, is far more mundane, with volunteers spending most of their days in the trench excavating pottery sherds, discarded pieces of bone, and, not surprisingly, lots and lots of dirt.

Yet, as any archaeologist will tell you, it is often the most mundane, ordinary, and entirely expected finds that can reveal the most dramatic insights into the ancient past. Here, we visit several of Israel’s most prominent excavations to learn about seemingly routine discoveries that, when studied with the latest scientific methods and techniques, completely changed how archaeologists thought about a site’s history, function, or ancient inhabitants.

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Tel Hadid

At Tel Hadid, a large multiperiod site located in the area of modern Tel Aviv, the local topography was dramatically shaped by the countless generations who settled there across the millennia. Especially notable are the many agricultural terraces that ring the slopes of the ancient mound. But when were these terraced fields—a common sight in the region’s rural landscape—first built and cultivated? Unable to date the terraces using traditional means (such as pottery or radiocarbon dating), the team turned to optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, which measures how much time has passed since buried soil samples were last exposed to sunlight. Using this method on soils from the terraces, archaeologists found they were likely first farmed in the Byzantine period (c. 324–634 CE), revealing the continuous nature of site formation processes at Tel Hadid.

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Legio

Similarly, at Legio—the imposing camp of Rome’s Sixth “Ironclad” Legion located at the foot of ancient Megiddo in northern Israel—archaeologists uncovered several cemeteries where soldiers stationed at the base were buried. In line with ancient Roman burial practices, however, most of the deceased were cremated, leaving precious few skeletal remains for archaeologists to study. But the team didn’t give up. Partnering with Tel Aviv University’s archaeology laboratory, they are testing a new method that will allow them to collect DNA samples from cremated remains. If successful, they will gain incredible insight into the background and daily lives of the soldiers of the Sixth Legion, including where they were from and what their diet may have been like.

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Abel Beth Maacah

At Abel Beth Maacah, also in northern Israel, archaeologists recently discovered a small, 2-inch-tall faience head during excavation of the site’s Iron Age citadel. Routine analysis of the head—thought to be part of an idealized representation of a royal figure—revealed much about its design, date, and decoration, though key questions remained, including how it was made. Someone from the team then suggested conducting a CT scan on the piece, which would provide a look inside the object without causing irreparable damage. The scan ultimately revealed that the head (and presumably the rest of the statue) had been crafted using a mold.

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Hazor Lower City

At the nearby Late Bronze Age Canaanite city of Hazor—famously remembered in the Book of Joshua as “the head of all those kingdoms” (11:10)—excavations in one of the temples of the lower city identified a massive ceremonial pit (favissa) filled with broken and discarded cultic pottery and other ritual objects. The sheer quantity of pottery allowed graduate student Ron Palzur to conduct a robust scientific analysis of the different types of ritual vessels that were discarded and how they were used. Amazingly, his study revealed that the entire ritual deposit—which included cooking pots, lamps, and other vessels—had been created during a single ceremonial event and was then immediately buried and covered over.

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Tell es-Safi

Finally, at Tell es-Safi, a site in the Shephelah identified with the Philistine city of Gath, a quarter-century of excavations produced countless examples of beer-drinking vessels used and enjoyed by ancient Israel’s archenemy. As such, when excavator Aren Maeir was approached by microbiologists Ronen Hazan and Michael Klutstein about doing a more detailed analysis of the pottery to see what more could be learned about Philistine beer culture, he gladly accepted. Remarkably, even after thousands of years, active yeast cells could still be found in the fabric of the ancient clay. Propagating the yeast in the lab, Maeir, Hazan, and Klutstein learned not only what types of yeast were used in Philistine beer (surprisingly, the same families of yeast that are still used in beer making today), but also how to brew the yeasty concoction themselves.

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No matter what a dig season brings, modern archaeological methods and techniques can extract more information than ever before, unlocking the secrets of the biblical world. As demonstrated by the remarkable discoveries discussed here, even the most commonly excavated materials have the potential to dramatically change our understanding of the past, from soil samples that reveal when an area was first farmed to pottery containing microscopic yeast cells that can be used to recreate ancient beer. So, if you’re volunteering for a dig this summer, remember that even the tiniest and most insignificant finds can hold great value for archaeologists, often considerably more than you might think.

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Related reading in Bible History Daily

Archaeology Tools of the 21st Century

Digging In: Tel Hadid

Legio

What Is the Shephelah?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

In the Shadow of Armageddon

Prize Find: A Royal Likeness?

Who Lived at Hazor?

Gath of the Philistines: A New View of Ancient Israel’s Archenemy

Glossary: Tools of the Archaeological Trade

Digging Deeper at Tel Hadid