in the middle east

The last two weeks I've been able to take some outstanding field trips with the Albright Archaeology Institute. I know some of you may not be interested in ruins and dirt, but I think it's fascinating and thought you may be interested. The first trip was to the central coastal hills, where we saw two sites, ancient Gezer and Gath. Gezer was a major Canaanite and later Israelite city, built high on a hill that overlooks the entire coastal plain. Here was found the oldest complete Hebrew text (the Gezer Calendar, to see it click here). The city of Gath was an ancient Canaanite, later Philistine, and later Israelite city. It is most famous as the home town of Goliath. Last of all, we went to the ancient city of Ashkelon. It was a major port town in the Canaanite and Philistine periods, where they exported purple-dyed cloth, wine, olive oil. It was apparently the Paris of ancient Canaan. All three sites were large, impressive, and filled with ancient history and significance. The views that these large Tels (tel = mound) offered up and down the coastal plains were outstanding. Take a peek if your interested. Click Here.