By David Meyer
Students taking in one of Madaba’s many mosaics as part of the Walking Tour that kicks off the 2016 season at the Town of Nebo Project
After a long airplane ride and expensive airport food we arrived in Jordan at the Amman Airport. From there we were met by two of our dig leaders, Debra Foran and Steve Edwards, and brought to the house where we would be spending the next six weeks. We arrived late at night and were tired with jetlag so we slept and awaited the following day when our fellow students would arrive. The living conditions were slightly different from what I expected, particularly with regards to water usage, as it is a valuable resource in this part of the world.
Through the day more students arrived, though our excavation supervisors had already been here for the past week preparing for us. On Tuesday the 5th of July we started with a late 10am wakeup and breakfast, and then proceeded to split into our excavation squares, the groups we will be working in on site, to go over the excavation manual and to get to know the people we will be working with better. Later that day we had a short lecture on the Iron Age, the “in-class” portion of our field school. That night we were treated to local shawarma and sat together on the roof getting to know one another.
On Wednesday we were split into one of four separate groups to learn the lab techniques we would be utilizing in the field and in the lab including: pottery drawing, object drawing, baulk drawing and top plan mapping. These are important skills that we will each get a chance to experience throughout the excavation. As there was much to learn these lessons were divided between Wednesday and Friday, while Thursday held the highlight of this week, the walking tour of Madaba, the beautiful and historical city we are staying in.
Before the tour, Thursday started with the students splitting into their square groups to learn more excavation techniques including pottery and object labeling, soil analysis, square measuring, square photography, and GIS reading. These are all important and often daily functions we must complete on and off site during the excavation.
The tour was led by our professor and dig leader Deb Foran and started at the Madaba museum, located just next door to our house. We saw many beautiful mosaics including a large tree of life. The museum also included many types of pottery, figurines, some weapons, and even traditional clothing. From the Museum we then walked through Madaba visiting the Church of the Apostles, Roman Reservoir, The Church of Saint George, The Archaeological Park, the Church of the Martyrs and the Burnt Palace. The Church of Saint George was one of the highlights of this tour as it houses the legendary Madaba Map laid into its floor. This is a map of the surrounding Jordan area and beyond including Jerusalem, Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem, Gaza and more. The church also housed many other beautiful mosaics which adorned their walls. Once the walking tour was over we returned for lunch, prepared by our chef Jalal who makes delicious lunches for us every day.
On Friday we returned to finish our lessons before getting the rest of the day off. That night we had a small party to end the week and had the entire of Saturday free to relax by sleeping in, going swimming and touring the local shops. After this day of rest, we go to bed early tonight to prepare for our 4:30am wake up. Yay. And our exciting first day on site.