Tel Burna in the Spring

This photo was taken in 2011 and is what we expect to see in 2 1/2 weeks. That year we were witness to huge flocks of migrating storks. Maybe they’ll be passing through this year as well. (Photo by Amit Dagan)

2013 Season is About to Begin!

In just over two weeks we will be in the field for our Spring Season! With the warmer weather (although at the moment winds are blowing and it’s been raining on and off all day in Jerusalem) ‘Dig Fever’ is in the air and archaeologists everywhere are already dreaming of the discoveries just waiting to be revealed.
We will have over 40 volunteers for our Spring Season, April 21-25, and look forward to working with all the new volunteers and many of our a well seasoned returning volunteers as well.
There are a few more places are left for our Summer Season in June – the Deadline is for May 1st – so if you plan on joining us in the Field this Summer don’t miss this opportunity!
See you all soon.

Congratulations Aaron Tugendhaft!

Way to go Aaron! (HT: Jack Sasson)

Aaron Tugendhaft is the Winner of the Jonas Greenfield Prize For Younger Semitists in 2012

On behalf of the American Oriental Society, the selection committee
announces that it has awarded the Jonas Greenfield Prize For Younger
Semitists to Aaron Tugendhaft, New York University.

The American Oriental Society honors the memory of eminent Semitist
and American Oriental Society member, Jonas C. Greenfield (October 30,
1926-March 13, 1995). The Greenfield Prize carries a cash award of
$5000, and is granted every three years to a younger scholar for the
best article in any area of Semitic studies that has been published
during the most recent two-year period.

The current competition for the Greenfield Prize covers the period
from June 2010 through May 2012. According to the stipulations of the
donor, candidates for the current competition were forty years old or
younger by June 1, 2012.

The selection committee hereby awards the Jonas Greenfield Prize For
Younger Semitists to Aaron Tugendhaft, New York University, Hebrew and
Judaic Studies, and the Albright Institute, Jerusalem, for his article
“How to Become a Brother in the Bronze Age: An Inquiry into the
Representation of Politics in Ugaritic Myth”, Fragments, Volume 2
(2012) pp. 89-104.

The Greenfield Prize Committee recommended his contribution for its
(discovery and) innovative treatment of a problem in the Ugaritic
mythological texts, coupled with a well-informed thesis drawing on the
political tropes of the times. It represents the sort of serious
philological competence and scholarly erudition that makes it shine
amongst the many other worthy submissions in the competition.

The Greenfield Prize Committee:
Randall Garr, Chair (University of California Sanata Barbara)
Stephen Kaufman (Hebrew Union College)
Daniel Fleming (New York University)
Na’ama Pat-El (Ex Officio; University of Texas)

Aaron Tugendhaft excavated with us last year at Tel Burna and now he has a won a major, prestigious academic award! Coincidence?

2013 Maryland Summer Course at Tel Burna

Reminder: The University of Maryland is offering a for-credit summer course through our summer excavations. This is a great opportunity to get academic credit, while doing nothing more than digging up amazing, 2700-3300 year old treasures – that were last touched by a Canaanite or an Israelite! 

Where should you sign up, you ask? Good question – see here. :) 

Shushan Purim on the Tell

Today, on the holiday of Shushan Purim, the Shai Family enjoyed some time on the tell!  The holiday of Purim is the celebration surrounding the story of the Scroll of Esther, which tells the story of how Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai undermined an evil plan to wipe out all of the Jewish people living in the Persian Empire, after the exile of the first temple.  the holiday is celebrated on two separate days – one for unwalled cities, and the other one for walled cities – like Tel Burna!

Anyway, the tell is in good condition, despite the heavy rains of this winter – here are some pics of the wall, with some great models in front of them!

 

Tel Burna Featured on ASOR Blog

The ASOR blog has a very nice blog post (and pic) on our excavations at Tel Burna – written by none other than our very own Joe Uziel! Go check it out here. (See below for excerpt). 

 In 2009, Dr. Itzhaq Shai and I initiated a long-term archaeological project at Tel Burna.  The site is located in the Judean Shephelah on the northern banks of Wadi Guvrin.  While described by a number of scholars over the years as a prominent ancient site, it is one of the last tells in the Shephelah to be excavated.  Since 2009, an ongoing survey, including several different methods has been conducted alongside excavations.  Thus far, 21 squares have been excavated in three different areas, uncovering a sequence of five strata spanning the Late Bronze Age IIB through to the Persian period.

2013 Spring Season

This spring (April 21-25), the Tel Burna expedition will kick off its 4th season of archaeological investigation. We will be joined by a group of around 30 students from The Master’s College and hopefully a few others. Our focus will be on the two areas on the tell – areas A and B.

In area A, we will be opening several new squares in order to further expose the large Iron Age IIb (time of Hezekiah) level in the center of the tell (A2) and the large fortifications on the eastern side of the tell (A1). These fortifications date to the Iron Age II – one of the goals of the 2013 season is to provide a more accurate date for these walls, as well as, outline the large northeastern tower built into these fortifications.

The 8th Century Architecture in Area A2

The fortifications, silos and 9th-8th Century architecture in Area A1

In area B, we will continue to expose the large Late Bronze Age building that has previously produced very interesting artifacts of a cultic nature (ritual masks and chalices). Our goal for this area is to trace the contours of this building. We are also excited to be using GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) in an attempt to locate more structures on the lower platform of Tel Burna (i.e. Area B).

The Late Bronze Age Structure in Area B

We hope you are able to join us for what should be an exciting spring season!

New Blog Features

Check out the new blog features! On the above menu-bar you will find the new sections – Publications and Staff. The “publication” section includes a bibliography of papers and articles about Tel Burna, whereas the “staff” page gives some background to the core participants in our project. In addition, our “pics” section has been updated with new pictures from this past 2012 season.

Also – check in on our “Join Us” page for application details and scholarship/fellowship opportunities.

Scholarships for Summer Digging

For those of you who want to join us in the summer at Burna, but need some financial assistance, here are two fellowship opportunities to try for:

http://www.archaeological.org/grants/708

http://www.asor.org/fellowships/casor/marylouise.html

 

Hoe to see you this summer at Burna!!!

 

 

2013 forms

With the appearance of the annual BAR dig issue, we have updated the registration forms, which are available on the link on the left, or right here:

http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/2013_information_registration_package.pdf

remember to fill them out in order to join us this summer at Tel Burna, June 2-21, 2013!!!