Archaeological Digs & Tours in Israel You Can Join

[cyberjosh]

There are several opportunities to join important digs in Israel through the Biblical Archaeological Society and it doesn't matter your age - check here. Young children have even helped their parents who joined a dig, and frequently young adults join as well (and sometimes make the important discoveries that go public). They also do multiple annual tours. Ah, if only I had the time and money!

I also just found out about this IBEX program (Israel Bible Extension - main site here) and after looking at the tons of pictures of those trips I am very jealous! Those people are my age and are getting to go to the most important sites in Israel in person! You can see the pictures here. It almost makes me sad. :bigcry

Has anyone here every been to Israel?

 

[cyberjosh]

How cool would it be to be standing in the Gezer gate like this group from IBEX?

From this gallery. This was the very city that Pharaoh gave to Solomon as a dowry for marrying his daughter, and one of the most well-fortified cities in ancient Canaan.

 

[cyberjosh]

IBEX also has a youtube channel with almost 60 videos on it. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/user/ibexvideo.

One of the videos uploaded just 3 weeks ago involves a tour through Jerusalem in which they get to walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel (the Siloam Tunnel):

[youtube:1p5s8txx]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AypueI0Z3V4[/youtube:1p5s8txx]

 

[Maranatha]

WOW!
I wish I knew about IBEX in my younger years...I'd still like to do it, but unfortunately I need to work.
My wife and I are going on a tour in Israel with Joel Rosenberg in May of 2011...can't wait!

 

[cyberjosh]

WOW!
I wish I knew about IBEX in my younger years...I'd still like to do it, but unfortunately I need to work.
My wife and I are going on a tour in Israel with Joel Rosenberg in May of 2011...can't wait!

Cool! How did you book a trip with Joel Rosenburg? I need to plan a vacation/tour visit to the Holy Land some day. Its frustrating to consider one's self a buff on archaeology in the Holy Land and to have only read or seen pictures of it and not actually seen it in person. I get as close as I can through books and videos though.

I bought an awesome DVD from Albatross Video, an Israeli based photography and filmmaking company, which shows the vast range of geography and terrain in Israel and it is quite neat. Here are two clips from the video on YouTube that Albatross put up. Click their channel to see more of their videos.

[video=youtube;eCyOy5FrgpA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCyOy5FrgpA[/video]

Link: YouTube - Aerial Odyssey

[video=youtube;5q7Y1jDQnMs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q7Y1jDQnMs[/video]

Link: YouTube - Aerial Odyssey english2

- The Albatross DVD: on Amazon.
-Their main website: Albatross Israel aerial photography

P.S. That's probably as close as I'm getting to Israel for a while until I can save up some money and find the vacation time!

God Bless,

Josh

 

[Ashua]

I've declared my major in Anthropology; specializing in Archaeology. I checked out one of those sites a while back. They had a lot of Meggido digs and such. When I get closer to relevant courses I'm definitely going for these. (Taking a relevant course now, actually with dig testing and such; but there are still a few filler courses I want to knock out first.)

 

[cyberjosh]

I've declared my major in Anthropology; specializing in Archaeology. I checked out one of those sites a while back. They had a lot of Meggido digs and such. When I get closer to relevant courses I'm definitely going for these. (Taking a relevant course now, actually with dig testing and such; but there are still a few filler courses I want to knock out first.)

Cool. Who will some of your professors be? I was lucky enough, at a university not known for any "famous" anthropologists, to have been able to take two classes (one in basic anthropology/archaeology 101 and the other in New Kingdom Egyptian history) from Gregory Mumford who is an Egyptologist who studied under Donald Redford (who is a famous/well known Egyptologist and author) and has done some poineering digs of his own in the Sinai on Old & Middle Kingdom Egyptian mining installations in the Sinai Peninsula.

He knows James Hoffmeier, a Christian archaeologist and scholar, who also does work in the Sinai (they were on a particular dig together, which is how they met). I have one of Hoffmeier's books and it is a great introduction to Biblical Archaeology.

I'm not sure if you are a Christian Ashua, but do beware of extremist minimalism in that field if it pertains to Israeli/Canaanite archaeology, and even "moderate" minimalism which (in terms of Israeli archaeology anyway) certain persons like Israel Finkelstien and William Dever (less Dever, who actually defends the Bible on many counts, than Finkelstien) hold about the supposed inaccuracy of OT scripture, as pertains to historical events/details, in favor of their personal interpretation of archaeological evidence or non-evidence. Just a word of caution.

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[Ashua]

Cool. Who will some of your professors be? I was lucky enough, at a university not known for any "famous" anthropologists, to have been able to take two classes (one in basic anthropology/archaeology 101 and the other in New Kingdom Egyptian history) from Gregory Mumford who is an Egyptologist who studied under Donald Redford (who is a famous/well known Egyptologist and author) and has done some poineering digs of his own in the Sinai on Old & Middle Kingdom Egyptian mining installations in the Sinai Peninsula.

He knows James Hoffmeier, a Christian archaeologist and scholar, who also does work in the Sinai (they were on a particular dig together, which is how they met). I have one of Hoffmeier's books and it is a great introduction to Biblical Archaeology.

I'm not sure if you are a Christian Ashua, but do beware of extremist minimalism in that field if it pertains to Israeli/Canaanite archaeology, and even "moderate" minimalism which (in terms of Israeli archaeology anyway) certain persons like Israel Finkelstien and William Dever (less Dever, who actually defends the Bible on many counts, than Finkelstien) hold about the supposed inaccuracy of OT scripture, as pertains to historical events/details, in favor of their personal interpretation of archaeological evidence or non-evidence. Just a word of caution.

God Bless,

~Josh

I'm at a McCollege right now finishing my first year this semester. Just getting the irrelevants out of the way so I can "enjoy" the rest of college. I'm in "Intro to Archaeology" right now and next term taking "Into to Anthropology". I dont know where I will be transferring (money and location pending) but the teacher I have is a "real archaeologist" named Sandra Forney.

I am well aware of those snake oil peddlers who preach for fact, the private interpretation of evidence. I am in fact a Christian and know that their opinions of evidence will not be definitive and will never shake my faith in the Word of God. If the glove don't fit, you must acquit.

Anyways, thats cool that there are others here majoring in the field. Its good to know someone who is ahead of me will be here.

 

[cyberjosh]

I'm at a McCollege right now finishing my first year this semester. Just getting the irrelevants out of the way so I can "enjoy" the rest of college. I'm in "Intro to Archaeology" right now and next term taking "Into to Anthropology". I dont know where I will be transferring (money and location pending) but the teacher I have is a "real archaeologist" named Sandra Forney.

Awesome, I hope you enjoy it. My class taking days are over for now, but not my Bible studies!

I am well aware of those snake oil peddlers who preach for fact, the private interpretation of evidence. I am in fact a Christian and know that their opinions of evidence will not be definitive and will never shake my faith in the Word of God. If the glove don't fit, you must acquit.

That's admirable of you, and I hope you can show that conviction to others. If you read as much biblical scholarship literature as I have though you will find that the field is rife with such views and its the overwhelming trend which entire university curiculms are built on (because prestigous scholars perpetuate them). Only a select few like Kenneth Kitchen and James Hoffmeier have any conservatism left (and are darn good scholars in their own right!) to their approach to Biblical Archaeology. Sometimes though to find adequate sources to refute false views you have to read the legitimate and neutral archeological discoveries made by the skeptical scholars and archeologists (think: Finkelstein) which they, IMO, misinterpret so that you can make a case in the opposite direction. So they cannot just be ignored (*sigh*), but it does not mean you have to be spoon-fed their conclusions. But it is an upstream battle being a conservative Christian in the field of Biblical Archaeology and OT scholarship in this day and age. Few still yet stand against the flood going in the opposite direction. A grim but true reality.

Anyways, thats cool that there are others here majoring in the field. Its good to know someone who is ahead of me will be here.

Well actually as far as majoring in the field you are better off than I am, because I just took those classes as electives and was not under any anthropology curiculum. I did it to edify and educate myself in the historical sciences and had many burning questions about ancient Canaan conveniently answered by my Egyptologist professor (who has the largest personal scholarly library - in his home - that I've ever seen; a candy store of scholarly works of great value). So I did a lot of self education through that study, but I majored in Computer Science. So I salute you for going into the field you have. God speed to you.

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[Ashua]

Yeah I caught myself literally rolling my eyes when the instructor made a quip about there was a need to think in terms of human history beyond 6,000 years.

It is all monopolization of tenure and pedant academia cliques strong arming their interpretations. Most of the curriculums today are polluted with voodoo science. Theories established upon other theories. Using broken tactics of deceit such as radiometric dating; of which dates are cherry picked from a dramatic variety of results on any given test; or the so called geologic column which first of all, isn't even uniform or consistent; and can be interpreted by a great flood. There are mountains of evidences that can be seen in consistency with the Bible. They wrest the evidence to a more convenient form no different than they accuse us of doing. Consider how Ernst Haekel's ontogeny H-O-A-X was tried, confirmed, and confessed to in 1875 and what would you know it? they are still teaching his trash to "prove" evolution in textbooks at major universities 135 years later? So called vestigial structures and "junk DNA"? Piece by piece becoming understood to all have functions.

Evolution and their geologic theories are not science. It is a religion. They left science at the door the moment they stated "We believe that"

If you cannot test, observe, or demonstrate it; it is not science. Everything seems to be subject to the scientific method except in matters of origins. How convenient.

Anyways, not to go off on a tangent but thanks for your support, God bless you.