I’d like to invite all who are interested to join us this summer for the second season of exploration at Tel Azekah, Israel. The University of Iowa is proud to be joining with Tel Aviv University and the University of Heidelberg as part of an international consortium of universities participating in the Lautenschläger Archaeological Expedition at Tel Azekah.
Tour the Holy Land and spend a summer doing archaeological research for university course credit.
For more information, visit the Azekah Facebook page, or visit the Iowa Azekah Information page. Biblical Archaeology Review also has information on Azekah. You can also read through last year’s Azekah blog.
2013 season details are also available here.
Excavation dates: July 13 – August 23, 2013.
Excavation Directors: Dr. Oded Lipschits, Dr. Manfred Oeming, Dr. Yuval Gadot
Iowa Team Director: Dr. Robert Cargill
Consortium members: You will meet students from around the world, including those from Collège de France, Duke University, Georg-August-Universität-Göttingen, Heidelberg University, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Macquarie University, Moravian College, Moravian Theological Seminary, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Tel Aviv University, Universität des Saarlandes, Université de Lausanne, University of Iowa, Univerzita Karlova v Praze, and the University of Zurich.
Accommodations: Students stay in the Nes-Harim guest-house, a mountaintop village of fully air-conditioned wooden cabins, located on in the midst of a green and lush forest. Students enjoy accommodations and full board, with three delicious meals a day, their own private bar, as well as full complementary Wi-Fi internet services in classes and the surrounding area.
Schedule:
Saturday Evening: The excavation week begins on Saturday evening, with buses that bring students from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or weekend trips to the Nes-Harim guest-house. After a quick dinner, students attend opening lectures and introductions to the week ahead.
Saturday to Thursday: Students wake up very early to work and begin digging as the sun rises over the Judean hills and the Elah Valley. At 9:00 we gather for wonderful Israeli breakfast served on-site at beautiful Tell Azekah, eating and enjoying the breathtaking view of Judean Lowlands. Afterwards, we continue digging until noon, at which point students take the short bus drive back to the Nes-Harim guest-house. Students eat lunch, shower, nap, read, and enjoy time until the time for pottery washing. In the afternoon, students gather for pottery washing where they clean pottery collected that morning in the field, and look for seal impressions and ancient inscriptions. Later, and in the evening, students enjoy dinner a rich academic program, complete with lectures from the world’s leading archaeologists, and enjoy guided tours of the lovely landscape where the ancient history of various nearby excavations is recounted by leading scholars.
Thursday afternoon: Students depart for weekend trips on Thursday afternoon. Two options are available during the excavation weekends (Thursday afternoon – Saturday afternoon):
- Students may take part in organized tours to other parts of Israel (for an additional fee).
- Students may take advantage of the complimentary bus service to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem (leaving the guest-house on Thursday afternoon and returning on Saturday afternoon). Studetns are responsible for their own accommodations on the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv weekends.
Friday and Saturday: Free time to enjoy weekend tours or free time in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.
Saturday afternoon: Buses bring students from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or weekend trips to the Nes-Harim guest-house.
Weekend Tours: Each weekend, students will take tours of various sites in the Holy Land including, the Sea of Galilee, Tel Aviv, Caesarea, the Mediterranean coast, Jerusalem, Qumran, En Gedi, Masada, Dead Sea, Bethlehem, the Herodium, and the Jordan River. And this year, I am planning a special trip weekend for Iowa students to Petra, Jordan – the city carved from stone.
University course credit: Students interested in earning university credit for the excavation can join one or two of the academic courses. (Cost per course: $300 total)
- Archaeology and History of the Judean Lowland: one session (July 13th - August 10th) 3 credits
- Archaeological Fieldwork – Theory and Methods: one session (July 13th - August 10th) 3 credits
- An additional course, Theological Aspects of Archaeological Work, is also available through the University of Heidelberg: one session (August 3rd - August 23rd)
Click here for further information about the academic program.
Program Cost: The cost of the summer excavation program depends on how long you participate. I encourage all Iowa students to come for 3 or 6 weeks.
Registration fee: $50 USD
Weekly cost (Saturday night to Thursday evening): $585 USD. This price includes: participation in the excavation, weekly room accommodations (up to 4 people in a room), full board (morning coffee, breakfast at the field, fruit break at the field, lunch, afternoon coffee and dinner), 24-hours internet service, transportation from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to the camp on Saturday night and from the camp to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, transportation to the site and back on working days and transportation to midweek tours, security and first aid in the Nes Harim accommodations, all academic lectures and workshops, afternoon archaeological programs and social activities, educational mid-week tours to archaeological and historical sites in the region.
Breakdown by week:
- Two weeks: $1170 USD ($1150 USD for return team members)
- Three weeks: $1755 USD ($1725 USD for return team members)
- Four weeks: $2340 USD ($2300 USD for return team members)
- Five Weeks: $2925 USD ($2875 USD for return team members)
- Six Weeks: $3510 USD ($3450 USD for return team members)
Price does not include: Flights to and from Israel; personal health insurance; weekend tours and board; free time room and board from Thursday evening to Saturday evening.
Iowa students and staff participate in the 2012 excavations at Azekah.
If you are interested in participating in the excavation, or as traveling/participating with the University of Iowa team, please contact Dr. Robert Cargill at robert-cargill@uiowa.edu.
To download the registration form, click here and email it to: azekah.excavations@gmail.com.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all this year at Azekah!
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!
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Filed under: archaeology, University of Iowa | Tagged: 2013, archaeology, credit, excavation, holy land, israel, jordan, Lautenschläger, Oded Lipschits, palestine, summer, Tel Aviv University, Tel Azekah | 1 Comment »
