Monday was the day that the Curse of H continued. This curse is where something unique and amazing is found on the last day or week of the dig. In this case, it was sort of a mystery item in one of the other squares. It looked like wood but that would be impossible, because wood would long ago have decomposed, or else it's found as charcoal. Nonetheless, the exact colour looks like fresh wood chips. It was about a foot long and half as wide, and approximately two millimetres thick. No one has any idea as to what it could be. Ivory is the next suggestion but nobody's seen ivory, especially so fragile and easily-splintered, like this.
Tuesday is the day we started cleaning up the area. We would finish straightening the sides of the squares, start sweeping each square clear of loose dirt and taking out tools, the recording table, chairs and anything else that we keep in the area and outside. We start taking these things down to the storage area where they get packed into containers. We clear four feet around the area of dirt, garbage and large rocks. This is all done so that photos can be taken. The large shade that covers the area will later be taken down as well.
I was working on straightening a section when Eran (the area supervisor) comes and tells me I'm to move to the area with the Mystery Thingy and help another student, Elon, with the cleaning in there. He said I'm going in there because he knows I am "very careful" and will be helpful there. What we have to do is clean the rocks around it (it's very unclear what those rocks were - either rubble or remnants of walls; it's a bit messy) and get it looking good enough for detailed photographs and total station points to be taken. It actually looks as though there's a circle of stones around the Thingy, but again, we can't discern the purpose.
Once we clean it up, Adam (an assistant supervisor) takes photographs from every angle, and attaches the camera to a pole so he can also get higher bird's-eye-view pictures. After that, I help him take the total station points of the stones that are around the Thingy.
Once that's done, we can excavate a little more deeply. We remove the circle of stones as carefully as we can and once that's done, it's easier to level the area around the Thingy (I know I keep using this term, but that's honestly what Eran kept calling it.) Time's counting down now until the shade gets removed but we have more work to do first. We have to make preparations to remove the item from the square. We have to carve out a circle of dirt and undercut some inches underneath that so it looks like a small moat. We then have to get gypsum (plaster) and fill that space. Mario, the supervisor of another area, comes to give some advice because he's done this several times before. Once it looks good enough, the gypsum is mixed with water; Eran and Adam fill the moat with the white plaster. It will take a few hours to harden. Eran covers it up with plastic sheeting, an empty sandbag and cardboard so it doesn't get exposed to any disturbances or sun. Some men will return later in the evening to take it out.
Now we can take down the giant shade. We go from the front end to the back, cutting the ropes attached to the poles and gradually fold it up as we go. There are people on either side holding onto the shade and making sure it doesn't collapse. Once at the top, it gets folded, all ropes and poles are collected and the area is now exposed, and ready for photos. There's not much to do left now but clear the area further of tools and debris.
Wednesday is really our last time to be in Area H. We do a final sweep of the the area, each square, all the sandbags and balks. While there's enough shade, the photographer comes by. He walks around attached by steel rope to a medium-sized blimp that has a camera hanging from it. He has a pulley attached to his side so he can make the balloon as high or low as he wants. There is another person who carries the other end of the rope. The photographer also has a screen attached to him so he can see what the camera sees. We find spots to sit some places away from the area so it's cleared of people, though some photos will have people inside the area itself for scale.
We don't have much to do except take down the remainder of tools, buckets and other items to the storage containers, and then it's time for breakfast. After eating, we return to the area and find that we've been Iced. Icing is something that's taken place all season - it's where one hides a bottle of Smirnoff Ice to be discovered by the object of the prank; once the surprise is found, that person then has to drink the bottle on the spot. Adam's been the victim of it a few times, and it's happened many other times in other area. This particular occasion was set up by two girls in the area, and I was half-expecting it to come because one of them mentioned her intention a couple of weeks beforehand. It was actually kind of sweet how this one was done: The bottles were all lined up on a balk and each had a name-tag for the individuals working there. Many photos were taken of people with their bottles, and one group shot of everyone chugging or sipping their drinks. For the record, I chugged mine because that's the rule.
After this, there was nothing left to do in Area H. So we were told to go to other areas and help them with their cleaning. I helped with the sweeping in Area Q, but eventually they had too many people cleaning, so I went to Area K with some others. Here, we helped take down their shade. This area is quite wider than H, so it took some more people and effort. Once that was done, there was no need for extra help, so we wandered back over to H for any final removal of items/garbage and the day was done.
Back at the kibbutz, at 4:00, we helped take items, chairs, tables and boxes to storage containers next to the parking lot.That evening was the wrap-up party, because it was the last night that everyone would be at the kibbutz together. The next day, we would board buses and leave for Tel Aviv. We met up at the pub at 8:00 where there were free bottles of beer (though these went fast, of course.) I actually stayed there for a few hours and finally ended up in bed by 11:30, though the next day we would still wake at 4:30 am as usual.
Thursday would be a shorter day because there's so little left to do. I went to K to help with their final sweeping before their photos were to be taken. I also stood along the edge for scale during the picture-taking. I then went to Area S to help with their backfilling efforts. At breakfast, we learned the day would be over at 11:00. Because H and Q were basically finished with their areas, we were told to go help with S and K. I got sent back to S to help them some more. Some trenches in their area had to be backfilled for security reasons because these particular squares were right inside a main gateway and nobody wanted people walking through or taking anything there. My main job here was to dispense the buckets to people who were using hoes to fill them. There would be another person to collect buckets and take them to the bucket line - the person at the end of the line would dump the bucket into the square. It took a long time and, because there was no shade, it was very hot work. We would take short water breaks to keep hydrated and then get right back to work. The people collecting dirt and in bucket lines would occasionally switch jobs so one wouldn't be doing back-breaking work for too long.
At the kibbutz, there were some final items and boxes to take to the containers and then we were basically done. I had to shower and pack everything. The bus came at 3:00 and everyone boarded it. Some finally goodbyes were said to the people who had their own transport. I shook the hand of Israel Finkelstein, one of the directors of the dig, to thank him and say goodbye. I worked with his daughter in Area H as well, and said goodbye to her. The bus would go first to Ben Gurion airport and drop people off there, then it would go to a bus station in Tel Aviv proper. I took a taxi to my hotel (and couldn't share with anyone else because my location was a little further off but it wasn't very costly anyway.)
I selected the Diaghilev Hotel near the cross-section of main streets Allenby and Rothschild. I wanted a place to myself, because I'd been sharing rooms and bathrooms with people for two months. The hotel was very nice, and when I checked in, they gave me a free glass of champagne and candy because it was the Israeli Valentine's Day (Tu B'Av). My suite(!) had a living room, kitchenette, very nice bathroom and small bedroom. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the accomodations. The staff there are really friendly and welcoming as well.
As soon as I dropped off my luggage, I took a sherut to a restaurant called Mexicana and met up with other Megiddo folks. It's always nice to have food that's not standard kibbutz/cafeteria offerings and this Mexican restaurant was pretty good. I was at a separate table with five others and when the bill came, there was some confusion because the amount collected from people was less than the amount on the bill but it all seemed correct. After about forty minutes of counting our individual totals and recounting the money, we realized they had charged for an extra drink and this was throwing us off. We alerted the waitress to the error and was brought back a new bill, only this one's total was way less than it should be! This caused further confusion and we spent more time discussing what to do. In the end, we sort of figured it out and paid the amount on the new bill. We left the room and stood with others outside who were finishing off their drinks (because tables inside were reserved and had to be cleared). The waitress again came out and told us we had to pay more. It was really annoying to have to pay twice for someone else's mistake. I'm certain I ended up paying just for my own meal and tip but because three of the group had left early, the remaining people paid extra. Anyway, it ended up being a good night. I took a short walk on the beach with Monica and Chelsea before parting ways and returning to my hotel.
Friday, August 3rd now. I had intended to wake early and be productive with my morning but the bed was so comfortable I stayed in and relaxed. I met up with another Megiddo-ite for breakfast/lunch at a placed called Benedict. It has 24/7 breakfast and I selected the French toast, which came with maple syrup and blackcurrant compote and was delicious. We walked up to the beach and met with a few others. I wasn't wearing my swimsuit but I soaked up as much sun as I could. After a little bit of time there, I went back to the hotel room, showered and got ready for dinner that night. I was going to meet up with the same people for dinner at FU, a sushi restaurant that was supposed to have really good food. Two girls, Jen and Inbar, raved about it so we all met there. It was actually really good, and the fish was fresh. We went to an ice cream place across the way for dessert. I ate a cup with scoops of cookies-n-cream and chocolate, and that was a nice way to end the night. When I got back to my hotel room, there was a bottle of sparkling wine waiting on the table with a note thanking me for staying there and to enjoy the treat. Obviously, I couldn't drink the whole thing but I had a glass while watching the Olympics before I went to bed.
Today, Saturday, August 4th, I didn't do much at all. It's Shabbat and not much would be open, so I slept in as much as I could before having to check out. I took a nice shower and repacked my things so it would fit in as few bags as possible. I went for lunch at Cafe Hillel and had a mushroom pizza with way too few mushrooms on it, but it still tasted decent. I went back to the hotel and have been hanging out there. I'm about to head out for dinner and following that, I will take a taxi to the airport and that will end my time in Israel!
It's been an amazing two months here, and I would love to return someday. Between the rigid schedules of Birthright and the work at Megiddo, I didn't get much free time for travelling, so next time I come, I will make sure to have time to see as much as possible.
It will be nice to return home and see my friends and family. Thus ends my fifth year of excavation and overseas travel. Edit: Currently in a taxi that has wifi access (which is a definite first for me) and now I am en route to the airport. My flight boards at 12:50 am so hopefully I can sleep a bit on the plane. Then twelve hours later, I shall be back on Canadian soil.
