AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS have been returning in larger numbers to Israeli archaeological digs this year:

Israeli archeological excavation sites help educate American students (Israel21C)
By Mark Schulman July 25, 2004

Indiana Jones would have never let travel bans and terror threats stand in the way of a good archeological dig. Especially if the field work was among some 35,000 known archaeological sites in Israel, ranging from small areas containing only loose pottery shards to large, fortified, walled cities like Masada and the City of David in Jerusalem.

That was the conclusion drawn by dozens of American volunteers, students and amateur archeology buffs who joined their Israeli counterparts and additional volunteers from Europe at eleven major excavations being conducted in Israel this summer.

By and large, security concerns and dwindling funding for large-scale digs have kept many American institutions and universities away, including hundreds of students and volunteers who are an essential part of any archeological project. A four-year old U.S. State Department travel advisory warning Americans against visiting Israel and the region has certainly not helped, resulting in some excavations being suspended in 2002 and 2003, amid the post-September 11 security concerns.

But this year, the wannabe discoverers are back with a vengeance - scattered throughout the country with trowel and pickaxe in hand in an attempt to make sense of the country's rich layers of history hidden beneath the ground.

"After 9/11 it became almost impossible to come, people were hesitant because of the security situation and insurance companies weren't willing to cover us," said Dr. Ron Tappy, professor of bible and archaeology at the Pittsburgh Theological and director of excavations at Tell Zeitah (Tel Zayit in Hebrew), an ancient village believed to be biblical Libnah in ancient Judah (Joshua 10; 2 Kings 19:8).

"It's good to be back again in the field," Tappy said. "We had about 45 professional staff and volunteers this summer, but I could have used twice as many people. Hopefully we'll see more come out and dig with us next year."

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