Historic archeological dig connects Judean Desert to East Tennessee

A child-sized ring, measuring only about 1 cm. 在直径上，讲述了一个遥远的过去的故事，也是一个大学计划的未来. 

The gold circular object inlaid with a turquoise stone, 是在朱迪亚沙漠北部最初的开创性挖掘项目中发现的几件物品之一-更具体地说, the ruins of Herod the Great’s desert fortress, 赫卡尼亚. 

Carson-Newman University, 以支持耶路撒冷希伯来大学考古研究所，并与美国退伍军人考古恢复(AVAR)合作，, united this summer on the site. The effort is already yielding significant results. 堡垒的最早阶段，位于一个偏远的，居高临下的山顶，可以追溯到2世纪末^nd 或者早一点^st century BCE: the Hasmonean dynasty. It was later rebuilt and enlarged by Herod the Great. 直到现在，还没有在这个地方进行过方法论或科学的考古发掘.  

The reality of it all quickly excites Carson-Newman’s Drs. David Crutchley and Marshall 王.  

“这让我们了解到——卡森-纽曼与希伯来大学的联系是巨大的,克拉奇利说, who serves as dean of C-N’s School of Biblical and Theological Studies. This is the citadel of archeology.” 

参加这次具有历史意义的夏季挖掘工作的还有四名卡森-纽曼学院的学生. Bill Hild, an adjunct professor at the University. No stranger to getting his hands dirty, 希尔德怀着对考古的热爱，40多次前往中东.   

The unique opportunity stemmed from a new archeology minor at Carson-Newman. 虽然这所大学有向学生介绍考古发掘的历史, most recently in southern Jordan, this is the first time of offering a minor to students. 

王, who Crutchley credits as the minor’s architect, 在帮助开发新产品时，借鉴了他在该领域的热爱和背景. 金说:“在文科环境中，与考古学有很多联系. “这是一个让不同专业人士聚集在一起，作为一个团队朝着共同目标努力的场所.全球最大的博彩平台的教授们认为，考古学辅修课程有潜力吸引来自校园各个学科的学生——无论他们是学历史的, sociology or computer science, the new offering is ripe for more than only biblical scholars.  

“It’s a melting pot not only of expertise, 还有文化，这就是为什么我认为没有什么可以取代考古学. There’s nothing like it,” 王 said. “我希望我们的学生离开卡森-纽曼时知道天空是极限，考古学让他们看到了无限的未来.” 

For rising senior and dig team member Jacob Easterday, the archeological experience uncovered unexpected personal potential. 

“I suppose my takeaway is that it helped me mature, it helped me become more well-rounded and much more confident,” reflected Easterday, a biblical studies major, who is also minoring in Greek and archeology. “我的意思是, if you could go up to a mountain where you can see the Dead Sea, 约但河, 你在犹太沙漠的中央，你正在挖掘这些古老的石头, it really makes me confident in most other pursuits I have.” 

马修Setsor, a C-N graduate student pursuing a Master of Divinity degree, 他说吸引他的是有机会看到与他的基督教信仰有关的土地. 

“我能和一些非常优秀的人一起参加这个活动，真是太不可思议了, but it was also overwhelming in a way too, because of the magnitude of where we were,塞索尔说。, who plans to draw from the experience for his future work in ministry. “直到你去那里，看到一切在你眼前展开，一切的地理位置才有意义。.” 

While basking in the significance of the location, the Carson-Newman unit, along with Hebrew University and AVAR teams, helped the land give up secrets long held from generations. 特别值得注意的, 挖掘者发掘出了一段非凡的基督教铭文，改写了诗篇86:1-2. Written in Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament, the 6^th 世纪的铭文与一个基督教修道院曾经坐落于此的时期有关. Accompanied by a cross, the discovered text translated to: “Jesus Christ, 保护我, for I am poor and needy.” 

From revealing the monastery’s mosaic flooring, 发掘出据信是在第二圣殿时期建造的拱顶石, each item has a story to tell. 正因为如此, 卡森-纽曼小组带着他们自己的故事回到了东田纳西州——这些故事肯定会被人讲一辈子. 

In a released joint statement, Excavation Directors Dr. Oren Gutfeld and Michal Haber of the Hebrew University remarked:  

“无论如何，进入和实际挖掘海卡尼亚都不是一件简单的事情. Throughout the four-week excavation season, 我们每天都会被全球最大的博彩平台学生的热情所打动, 好奇心, thoughtful engagement and consistent hard work. 最终, our ‘pilot’ season turned out to be an extraordinary success, due to the fine team that assembled in the Judean Desert.” 

With more to be discovered, 希尔德准备明年春天带领下一批学生去考古遗址. With access to such a historically significant dig site, 复兴的考古学课程和卡森-纽曼的新辅修课程非常适合那些对与过去联系感兴趣的人，以及对表面之下的潜力感兴趣的人. 

“Ancient history is our history,” said Hild, standing with an i24NEWS crew at the site. “And so as we discover history, we make history. And we kind of feel like we are making history here.”