ISRAELI ARCHAEOLOGIST ASHER AFRIAT has been lecturing in Deerfield on Idumean ostraca from Tel Maresha:

Israeli scientist dazzles with archaeology (Deerfield Review)

BY RUTH SOLOMON
STAFF WRITER

Forty-five minutes south of Jerusalem, Israeli archaeologist Asher Afriat was among a group digging for artifacts 10 years ago with a group of North American tourists as assistants, when they stumbled across six clay pieces with Aramaic writing on them.

Called an ostracon, the clay pieces bore an inscription that was basically a marriage contract, quite similar to the one used by Jews to this day called a ketuba.

But the kicker is that the ostrocan discovered at this site, which is 2,180 years old, was from the time of the Edomites, who were not Jewish. The discovery may shed light on the origins of the present-day Jewish marriage contract, Afriat said.

[...]

For Afriat, continuing his life means making the trek from Jerusalem to Tel Maresha several times a week to see what other ancient wonders can be uncovered.

The dig, at Tel Maresha, dates back to the Hellenistic period and was the hometown of Herod the Great, at the time of the second Temple in Jerusalem, Ofriat said. The city of Maresha was built in the Iron Age, about 3000 years ago, and is mentioned several times in the Bible, starting in the book of Joshua. The city later became part of the Edomite kingdom.

The site is built on a mound or "tel," as dirt from one civilization was piled on top of dirt from the next. The site also has hundreds of caves, one with 31 rooms, created by the excavation of stone in ancient times.

"It's the wealthiest Hellenistic site in the world. Our labor force is a group of tourists. They dig with us. It is so addictive," he said.