Unearthing the Past

Annual study tour in northern Israel transforms
Carthage undergrads into archaeologists

Map courtesy of Macalester College

It's 4:30 a.m. in the Kibbutz K'far Szold in northern Israel, and a team of Carthage students is waking up for work. The group's goal: To get in several hours excavating the site of an ancient Roman temple before the desert heat of the afternoon sends them back inside.

They spend the morning in 5-by-5-meter squares, meticulously examining every layer of earth as they uncover pottery shards, coins, water pipes, columns and other structures dating back 2,000 years.

"We're digging, we're looking for artifacts. We document everything and take soil samples," says Caitlin Bees, '10. "We are the archaeologists. We do everything that an archaeologist would."

This year is the sixth year that Carthage students have participated in the excavation of Omrit, an ancient site in the northeast corner of the Hulah Valley in Israel. The experience allows Carthage students to get their hands dirty doing real archaeology field work — as they also study Roman history, world religion, geography, Israeli culture and modern Middle Eastern politics.

"I had never been on an archaeology dig before; I had never been to the Middle East before," says Bees, an archaeology and geography major who went to Omrit in 2008. "You can learn it all in a classroom, but to actually do it is completely different."

Carthage student Caitlin Bees, '10, traveled to Omrit in 2008. An archaeology and geography major, Bees was excited to have the opportunity to work in the field. "Usually you have to be a grad student to be able to do that kind of thing," she said. "To have that opportunity as an undergrad student, it was awesome."

About Omrit

Omrit is located in northern Israel, where the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee meet the Lebanese and Syrian borders. In 1998, brush fires revealed the remains of an impressive Roman building. Students and professors from Macalester College began excavating the site in 1999. Carthage students and faculty joined the excavation in 2003. Carthage became a co-sponsor of the dig in 2006.

Every summer a team of Carthage students spends five weeks working at Omrit. The group is led by Dan Schowalter, a professor of religion and classics at Carthage and co-director of the Omrit excavation.

The main focus of the excavation is a three-phase Roman temple.

"We believe the first building was built in the middle of the first century B.C.E.," Schowalter says, explaining that the site remained active through the fifth century C.E. and was again occupied in the 13th century.

"There are 1,300 years of history packed into there that we can peel back and understand better," Schowalter says. "We're adding to the ancient map of the Roman world. We're also doing so at a point that's incredibly important — on the border of Syria and Palestine in a place that would have been essential for Roman control of the region. We're already getting a better picture of how Rome worked in the East through our work in Omrit."

Appeals to All Majors

Photo courtesy of John Robinson, '13

Because Omrit is a teaching dig, students in any major and grade level can participate. There have been freshmen on the trip; there have been business and music majors. Hannah Olken, '11, an athletic training major from Itasca, Ill., went to Omrit the summer after her freshman year. She returned in 2009 as a student leader.

For Olken, a highlight of the trip was meeting Israeli students at a local college and discussing the modern political climate in their country. "We actually got to sit down in a classroom and talk about religion and trying to bring people together, Muslim and Israeli," she says. "How many times do you get to talk to kids your age in a different country about such a big issue?"

During the dig, she found a coin, pottery shards and other artifacts that had been hidden for thousands of years. "I can say, 'Hey, I was a part of history,'" Olken says proudly. "I dug up something. I was there.'"

Layer by Layer

While in Omrit, students work alongside Schowalter and other archaeologists. They're divided into teams; each team works in a 5-by-5-meter square. "We dig in a very controlled way, layer by layer, trying to understand a particular spot," Schowalter says.

"As we're going, we'll find something and the archaeologists will explain what we're finding and how it got that way," Bees says. "We're also learning to make our own hypotheses about what was going on."

When Bees was in Omrit in 2008, the group found an ancient water pipe, and Bees found a coin and pottery shards. Other days can bring little discovery despite hours of work.

"Archaeology is a complicated thing in that, a lot of the time, it's pretty boring," Schowalter says. "Then when you actually start to uncover something and understand something better, there's a huge rush and fulfillment. ... We try to emphasize that really it's the process of systematically taking back the strata, or layers, that helps us the most."

Expect to Work

Photo courtesy of John Robinson, '13

If there is one thing that parents and students should know about Omrit, it's this: Expect hard work. You'll get dirty. Youll get sweaty. It's hot. You'll be exhausted by lunchtime. "You're basically dirty for 24 hours a day," Bees says. "You can shower, but you're still going to be sweating dirt."

Students are expected to do readings in preparation for the trip, listen to lectures while in Israel, and participate in presentations to Kenosha-area schools and organizations upon their return. But it's not all work, Schowalter says. Students visit famous religious and historic sites, swim in the Galilee, and spend a few days in Jerusalem. "We try to pack in as much cultural experience as we can," he says.

Expect to have your eyes opened, about Middle Eastern culture, Roman history, even your own career goals, past participants say. Surprises are part of Omrit.

"Every season we think we know what we're digging for, what we're looking for. Then we find things that completely change our understanding," Schowalter says. "It's really the unexpected parts that are the best. That's where we get excited and learn something."

Omrit at a Glance

Every year six to 12 Carthage students spend weeks excavating an ancient Roman temple in northern Israel.

The temple complex was constructed between 50 B.C.E. and 100 C.E.

The trip is part of Carthage's J-Term program.

Students have found coins, pottery shards, columns, water pipes and other structures more than 2,000 years old.

While in Israel, students stay on a kibbutz, which is a form of communal living in Israel.

The excavation of Omrit is sponsored by Carthage College and Macalester College.

"We're adding to the ancient map of the Roman world. ... We're already getting a better picture of how Rome worked in the East through our work in Omrit.,"
— Religion and Classics Prof. Dan Schowalter, co-director of the Omrit excavation

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