IAA organizes activities across Israel in celebration of Sukkot
This Sukkot, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has organized a number of activities for the whole family. Several IAA excavation sites across Israel will be open to volunteers, and a number of workshops will be held at a various antiquity sites.
Recently, the IAA announced the exciting discovery of a 5,000 year old city whose size and strategic planning changes what we know about urbanization in the Early Bronze Age. Volunteers are welcomed to join the IAA’s excavations at Tel Asur on the 15-16th of October. Other excavation sites welcoming public volunteers this Sukkot include Tel Yavne and Usha. Yavne, and later Usha, were both home to the Sanhedrin after the fall of Jerusalem.
Youth volunteering at the Ein Asawir archaeological site. Photo: Yaniv Berman, Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Visitors are also welcomed to the Ein Keshatot (Um El-Kantir) National Heritage Site in the southern Golan. Several opportunities will be available including guided tours for the whole family, workshops for children, and an opportunity to excavate with the IAA. Ein Keshatot is one of about 30 Jewish villages that existed in the Golan during the Talmudic Period. At its center is a magnificent synagogue from the 6th century C.E. The synagogue was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 C.E. but after 15 years of modern excavation and reconstruction the synagogue stands today at the height of one full story. Visitors can enter and explore the 1,500 year-old structure.
Beit Shemesh will be hosting events for visitors including art workshops and tours given in Hebrew, English and Russian. In 2017, the IAA discovered an ornate Byzantine church at Beit Shemesh containing decorative architectural fragments and several colorful mosaics. Other workshops orchestrated by the IAA will be held at the Sarcophagus Yard in Ashkelon, the Joshua Gardens in Tel Aviv, at Carmiel in the north and Ramat Hanadiv.
If you’d like more details about any of the events listed below, please contact us at info@friendsofIAA.org. Chag Sameach from the IAA!
Excavate with the IAA
Tel Asur (Free)
15-16/10, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-2p.m.
Tel Yavne (Free)
17/10, Thursday, 10 a.m.-2p.m.
Usha (Free)
17-18/10, Thursdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Ein Keshatot (Um El-Kantir) (Paid site login)
14/10, Monday, 11am; 1:00 pm; 3:00pm
15-17/10, Tuesday - Thursday, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm (tours every hour)
18-21/10, Friday-Monday, 11am; 1:00 pm; 3pm
Workshops
The Sarcophagus Yard, Ashkelon (Free)
Oct. 15, Tuesday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Carmiel (Free)
16/10, Wednesday, 9a.m-12: 00
Rocks Garden, Joshua Gardens Tel Aviv (Free)
10/22 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m.-13:00
Tel Beit Shemesh (Free)
Oct. 16, Wednesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m
Ramat Hanadiv (Paid Workshops)
15-16/10, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 am- 4pm