Coming into the Dever Fellowship, I knew two things for certain: first, real archaeology is nothing like it appears to be in the Indiana Jones films, and second, I am not an archaeologist. Nevertheless, I knew I could learn a tremendous amount about archaeology in four weeks digging at Tel Azekah and four weeks at the Albright Institute, and my summer did not disappoint.

All in all, I gained a great respect for the archaeologists I encountered, as I learned about the methods that they meticulously employ in the field and in their research. It was a particular privilege to work alongside them in the field at Azekah, where I could gain firsthand instruction from the experienced and generous area supervisors. Under the friendly shade nets, we labored together in the dirt so that I could learn when to use the masterinas,* when we needed to sift the buckets of dirt to look for tiny finds, and when to signal changes in dirt color to the supervisors.

I had entered a new world that has its own language – a place where “sectioning,” “registration,” “locus,” and “feature” have very specific meanings (Curious about these words? Come dig for yourself!). As a text and language scholar, I was especially struck by how collaborative the work in the field needed to be; while I do my research sitting alone at my computer, archaeological field research needs to be conducted in a team with a clear line of command so that decisions to document finds and context are made consistently and carefully. This meant constant communication between team members (like me) in the squares yelling up to the supervisors for clarification, and then working in tandem with other team members to execute their directions.

Since I often teach about biblical history in my courses, I was most excited to excavate a destruction layer from Sennacherib’s 701 campaign in Judah.** Within the first few days, we came upon a plaster floor onto which a bunch of pottery had been crushed during the 701 destruction of Azekah. The discovery of this pottery assemblage offered the opportunity for me to be trained in the techniques archaeologists currently use to document, unearth, and test (relatively) whole vessels. As the area supervisor explained to me, the science that archaeologists use is constantly changing as they gain more advanced techniques to understand their finds. I came to understand that even within this single excavation, different archaeologists would have different takes on how specifically to document and preserve a vessel – so that at any given time, I needed to be in communication with the team members about the expectations of the moment.

In general, I learned to take soil samples outside, inside, and under each vessel, and to set aside the fragment with the vessel’s base. Each of these samples would later go to a lab for residue analysis, to determine what was inside the vessel. Opinions differed regarding whether or not one should touch the samples with gloves, since contact with work gloves would mean possible contamination from anything like sunscreen that had been on the handler’s skin. The soil samples could be placed in paper bags, while the most cautious approach to the vessel sample would place it inside aluminum foil to protect it from contamination. Any plastics might contaminate a sample, so it was preferable to prevent contact with plastic buckets if residue analysis was desired. Only after a top plan was made and soil samples were taken could vessels in the assemblage be removed. And of course, everything was registered so that the documentation could be clear. In they went to the colorful buckets to be sorted and analyzed by the experts in the lab!

Joining a dig felt like being welcomed into a family. I can’t express enough how lucky I feel to have received this fellowship, and can’t wait to use my newfound knowledge in my teaching and research.

*masterina was a daily part of the dig language at Azekah’s N1 area; we were told that it comes from the Arabic word for “trowel.”

**See 2 Kings 18-19 to see how this event interfaces with the biblical narrative.

Lisa J. Cleath is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. Her research focuses on Second Temple Judaism, including postcolonial readings of Jewish diaspora communities, epigraphic studies of the Aramaic documents from Elephantine Island, and ideologies of authoritative text in biblical narratives.

Read more about the The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition.