Memoirs from a donkey's jaw bone

The morning came too soon, but the day held great promise. The sun would rise and cross the sky, the west winds would build and gust over the Sea of Galilee, food would be offered, water would be guzzled and the moon would hold its silent vigil at the end of it all. Somewhere betwixt an ad hoc assembly of tired people would gather and work and rest. Quite the grind.

I think that this was the day the angled floating wall in E0 got dismantled. After defending its significance through the initial waves of doubt and passively resisting the orders to pull it apart as we excavated, I rested in the knowledge that a wall number was assigned to this controversial feature… and I couldn’t help being smug about it all. I got to see, first hand, how readily people cling to their own expectations even in the face of new information or a fresh perspective. We hear how good it is to have someone introduce new ideas that challenge the status quo (or the prevalent theory) – but do we truly welcome the new when it encroaches on the tradition? The wall may be coming down, but an instructor learned from a student teaching. The question is “How readily will the lesson be reapplied?”

Today was the end of the E0 chapter. Earlier last week, I found an upper jaw segment from an animal embedded between some stone close to the outer perimeter of our square. I was almost through the process of getting it out before it was deemed of no value. You could say that I had a bone to pick – on a couple different levels. I left it, intending to finish up during a water break or after breakfast but it mysteriously vanished. Hmm… now on the surface it would appear to be an act of subversion or sabotage, but I know that it was just those kibbutz dogs boning up on their archaeological skills that day.

Pottery cleaning started a half hour early today because there is no pottery washing on Thursday (don’t know why). I offered to wash pottery while everyone was gallivanting around Jerusalem, but nothing came of it.

As I reflected on the day, the heat seemed rather distant – like background noise. I still tended to my morning blister regiment, sunscreen application and regular water breaks (my requirements exceeded once per 20 minutes) – but the day was more tolerable. Must not have been as hot. BTW: Darryl checked the temperature at 4PM last week. He got 112F (44C) in the sun and 98F (37C) in the shade. How does that grab you?

I think I’ll build an inukshuk before the week is over.

That’s what kind of day it was.

In Christ,
'o δοuλος