Digging at Tel Hatzor

A conversation during last year's Symposium at Tel Hai led to two of our students taking part in this Summer's dig at Tel Hatzor - you take the old and now incredibly rural road to Ayelet HaShahar [where there's a fine museum display of finds from the site] and turn off at the sign. The current site,led by Professor Sharon Zuckerman,is a house [or houses] from 3300 years ago,grouped around a yard,or maybe a well,or possibly a collapsed building [Sharon hasn't made up her mind yet] with remains of beautiful big pots strewn about. It never ceases to amaze me how closely I identify with these old pots,and the potters who made them,leaving their marks in the clay and making their decisions about thickness,form,shape, decoration,foot and rim just as we do today.Gilat and Kyla unearthed two finds considered important enough to warrant their own envelopes,they proudly informed me. I generally stood around,trying to work out what was going on [not simple] and not trip over any stones. To show willing,I swept ineffectively around some strategic rocks,trying not to do any lasting damage,and feeling [once again] like a total apprentice.