LAKELAND, Fla. -- A few students at Southeastern University just returned from a month-long archaeological dig in Israel.

  • Students, professor visit abandoned central Galilean village
  • Excavation project involved volunteers from around the world
  • Professor hopes more students will take trip next year

They called the excavation project life-changing and were amazed at what they found.

Ancient handles are just some of the things Anna Erekson and her two colleagues and professor discovered while digging in Shikhin, Israel, an abandoned central Galilean village. She also found the bottom of a bowl.

"To find something that they were able to mend and actually able to read and tell what it was, that was exciting because that's what you hope for," said Erekson, a psychology major.  

This was her first time traveling abroad. 

"It was very surreal staying in a town where Jesus used to live and Jesus used to walk. You're trying to figure out if he taught here, if he was in the village that we're trying to excavate and learn more about," Erekson said. 

Erekson said the pottery they found taught them a lot about life and also the economy back then, 2,000 years ago.

 

 

"With the pottery, they can date the time the village used to be active and people used to live, so with the pottery they can get an idea of who used to live there and what time the village was inhabited," Erekson explained. 

The excavation project involves volunteers from around the world. Researchers hope their discoveries will teach them more about the beginnings of Christianity and formative Judaism.   

Southeastern Associate Professor of Archaeology and History John Wineland accompanied his students on the trip. He said it's full of tough work and early mornings, but it's a rewarding experience.

"We're actually teaching the students how to dig and we're teaching the students about the history and archaeology of Israel and Shikhin and so forth," Dr. Wineland explained. 

The students also got to visit historical sites in Israel on the weekends. 

Wineland hopes more students will take the trip next year. He said it's also open to non-students.