Learning, discovering - one ancient inch at a time

By Susan D. Messenger

Straight out of the Indiana Jones trilogy, a team of North Indiana Conference pastors recently returned from an archeological dig at the ancient site of Bethsaida in Israel. During their two-week stint, the team unearthed a tomb and then disclosed an eighth century cobblestone road that led up to the City Gates of this old metropolis.

During their visit, the NIC group stayed at Ginnosar Kibutz, the site of the ancient boat museum. Tel Bethsaida is situated a little over a mile-and-a-half from the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is one of the largest artificial mounds ever discovered in Israel. The best example of City Gates is preserved at Bethsaida. They were, indeed, at a site that possessed the history of many centuries.

The group's teacher, archaeologist and guide was Pinhas Porat, former regional director of all excavations in Lower Galilee. Under his watchful eye, digging began at 6:30 a.m. Trowels in hand; the group sorted pottery shards, bones and flint instruments from rocks. The next day, the items would be carefully washed, counted, and sorted into categories.

The prized objects were the pottery shard rims, which are used for dating the pottery shards; the bones were studied to identify the forms of animal life living there. Each afternoon during their study experience, the group engaged in "reading the pottery," a session in which Pinhas dated the materials and taught their significance.

This learning opportunity was conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies, and sponsored by Educational Opportunities, a Christian organization dedicated to providing study opportunities in the Holy Land. The Center's Director, Dr. Charles Page, for eight years has lead in-depth seminars on biblical studies, with particular emphasis on biblical archaeology, history, geography, and cultural anthropology for the North Indiana Conference.

Last updated on 01/14/2004

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