Let the dig begin

I stopped by Rome on my way to Jerusalem and got some pics of the Ara Pacis.

The Ara Pacis in Rome

Saw something I hadn’t seen before. The sculptor was having a bit of fun.


I am sorry sir, that will be 50 euros…

Can you give me 10 minutes? It will fit.

It is these small victories in life…


We are a week into the excavation at Et-Tell. Here are a few pics of the preparations for the dig.


The storks were migrating south for the winter during our first day of digging. You can just make them out in the exact center of the frame. They flock in v-shaped patterns like geese, but very high up, and they make a distinct cackling sound that makes them seem as though they are much closer than they really are. They fly as far south as South Africa, but unlike the tern, they do not like to fly over water.

Migrating storks

The Hebrew word for stork is chasida. It shares the same root with the word for ‘goodness’ or ‘kindness’. A swan is elegant, a duck is comical, an eagle is regal, a peacock is proud, and the stork is a good and righteous bird. The stork in the heavens “knows her times”, says Jeremiah, but “my people know not the rules of the LORD.” (Jer. 8:7) We, unfortunately, do not have an instinct for goodness.