Having recently completed a four-week archaeological survey of Tel Goded with staff and students of Bar Ilan University’s Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology department, I hereby present an accounting of the first two weeks. Despite the fact that it was a four-week survey, us archaeology students only actively surveyed one day per week, so this report is summarising two days worth of activity. We started off the first week with a mini-bus ride from the university to the site itself, located just a few kilometres northeast of Beit Guvrin-Maresha, and disembarked.

View from Tel Goded

We looked up at the hill facing us, curious what was in store, as the other members of the team gathered around to meet us beside an old fenced-off well. Prof Boaz Zissu was leading the survey with Dr Amit Dagan and his assistant Shira Albaz, the former specialising in Classical archaeology and the two latter in Bronze and Iron Ages archaeology. Without too much fanfare, the bulk of us climbed into 4×4 off-road vehicles and rode up the hill, the rest enjoying the ascent powered by their own legs.

Dr Amit Dagan and Prof Boaz Zissu

Up top, a shade tent was set up and we all gathered around for a briefing to understand what the day (and subsequent weeks) were to entail. To simplify things, and to preserve the academic findings for the forthcoming reports, I will just touch upon our work very briefly.

Canaanite flint sickle blade

The shape of the hill’s top, three plateaus descending northward, is the site of an old city which crowned the hill from the Bronze age to the Roman times. In 1900 the upper plateau, the old acropolis, was excavated by archaeologists Bliss and Macalister under the watchful eye of the Ottomans, and then covered up as per their instructions.

Anthropomorphic agricultural installation

Our survey’s goal was to examine the hilltop as best as we could, gathering up any evidence that we can find (mainly potsherds) with the addition of measurement- and elevation-takings. It was my duty that day was to scour a particular plot of land with the company of two friends, Avner and the frequently mentioned Itamar.

Surveying the acropolis

We scanned the dry ground, with its dry vegetation, and picked up a fair amount of potsherds. It was relaxing work and there were only a few nature distractions that day, the highlights being a swallowtail butterfly, a harrier of sorts and a juvenile sparrowhawk that flew past me at eye level.

Swallowtail butterfly

At the end of the day, sometime around 3pm, we all gathered together to summarise the day and to examine the finds. The most interesting finds were those of several team members that had been tasked with locating and surveying caves on the hillside. One cave, its entrance hidden by a dense bush, contained in it sleeping bags and empty food cans. This was a base camp for antiquity looters, and they had left behind a fair amount of nearly complete ceramic vessels which excited us greatly. The day ended with a jeep ride back down the tel, and we looked forward to continuing the survey.

My findings for the day

The following week was a rainy one, and the day of the survey was no exception. We arrived at Tel Goded and I decided that this time I’d walk up to further appreciate the site and to perhaps catch some bird or animal unawares for a nice photograph or two. I saw only chukars but, when convening to discuss the daily plan, I was told that I could join the cave-searching team–news that filled me with joy.

Winter day on the tel

I joined my friends Ogen and Eitan and together we set off down the hillside in search for caves, ignoring the occasional drizzling from the heavens. We found caves, which made us ecstatic in our findings. Ancient burial caves, broken into and looted, were found in the most unlikely places, sometimes hidden underfoot.

Searching for caves

It’s difficult to put the sheer joy of “discovering” a burial cave (albeit looted) into words, but believe our enthusiasm when I say we raced from hole to hole eager to slip inside to uncover a hidden world.

Slipping into yet another hidden cave

To make the experience even more exciting, there were some interesting animals to be seen within the caves. A Montpellier snake was spotted in one cave, and two different horseshoe bat species were found in another.

Horseshoe bat

Due to our excitement and perseverance, we ditched lunch and continued in our work, eager to keep exploring. Every minute counted, because when we found a cave we’d have to enter it to take photographs and GPS coordinates. Here’s an example of an empty burial cave that we found several of, each having a specific look or identifying feature:

Within one of the ancient burial caves

At last we had to finish up and meet the rest of the team coming down from the tel, but seeing that we were early, Eitan and I snuck off to the Roman-age ruins, a very popular site for school groups. We found classic Bar Kokhba rock-carved tunnels and a columbarium which was sealed off from the outside, accessible only via the narrow tunnel through which we crawled.

Exploring the inside of a columbarium

Leaving some more ruins to be explored next time, we met up with the rest of the survey team and heard a crazy story about them assisting the Israel Antiquities Authority inspectors in catching two young Arab looters red-handed, searching for ancient coins on the acropolis with a metal detector. After hearing the gripping tale, we took the minibus back to Bar Ilan University, looking forward to return again to this promising hill.