Barqa Bound

This summer Gilgamesh and I will be traveling to southern Jordan where we'll be excavating a large Iron Age structure in the Barqa/Feinan region of southern Jordan. This will be Gilgamesh's first excavation, and his first trip back to the Middle East since he was born in Jerusalem in 2000. Before the excavation we'll be visiting some friends in Israel and Palestine, and after the dig, we'll be spending a week in Egypt. We're also traveling with a Xavier student, Shavonda, and her mother, Eula. At the dig we'll be excavating with some very good friends and colleagues. The conditions will be harsh, as we'll be living in Eureka tents, and southern Jordan in the summer is very hot. One of my favorite parts of an archaeological excavation is interacting with people in very harsh conditions. People can pretend to be someone else for a few days, but under these conditions all of their cards are soon on the table. During the project I'll regret being there at times I'm sure, but at this point I'm looking forward to it. I hope we unearth some significant finds. Thanks to my friends Russ Adams and Jim Anderson who put this project together.