Weeks 9 & 10: Literally “Saving the Stones”!!! ...and writing up reports. After a much needed break during the week of Pesach (Passover), we jumped right into a week long intensive course on stone conservation with Jacques Nageur, Head of Art Conservation for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), and his team. Our week with Jacques was highly anticipated, as it had been built up by the Saving the Stones staff, and it definitely did not disappoint....

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"Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness..." (Exod 5:3) Masada, Hatzeva, and Ein Boqeq - Week 7 Nothing beats building with mud the week before Passover (see Exodus/Shemot 5). As a biblical scholar myself and one who is particularly fond of the Book of Exodus (שמות), I found the timing of our 3-day trip to Hatzeva brilliant. The work was dirty, tedious, and very hot, but I feel more at home working on Iron Age (1,200-586...

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Week 6: Architecture as Language Week 6 sits between two very action-packed weeks. Last week, we spent three long days working at Caesarea and next week we will be working at Hatzeva, an Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) site in the Negev. We spent the bulk of Sunday and Monday on a technical write up of our Caesarea workshops, but the remainder of the week was full of fascinating tours. All of the tours took place in Old City Akko, but each gave...

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