Summer in Israel. Students uncover history in new archaeological locations ****************************************************************************************** * Summer in Israel. Students uncover history in new archaeological locations ****************************************************************************************** Six students of the CU Protestant Theological Faculty [ URL "http://web.etf.cuni.cz/ETFENG been given a unique opportunity to travel to Israel in the summer, together with CU Vice R Martin Prudký and Dr. Filip Čapek, and participate in research at the Tel Azekah archaeolo is organised by the Lautenschläger Azekah Excavation Project consortium. After a break of more than a hundred years, archaeological research was last year restarte Azekah locality in the western Shephela region in Israel, where, in Antiquity, there stood strategic border point and economic centre of the Kingdom of Judah (10th to 6th century BC The site was the focus of interest for archaeologists as far back as the end of the ninete when then-current techniques helped to uncover part of the tel (artificial hill created th building, settlement and fortification of the relevant site). Their successors did not ret until 2009, when a preliminary survey took place. Excavation work started last year. “The existence of Azekah is known from ancient Assyrian and Hebrew texts. It is believed t destroyed by the Assyrians at the end of the eighth century, and then again by the Neo-Bab start of the sixth century BC. What is surprising is that not a lot from this period has b Azekah. However, a number of items from the preceding and subsequent periods, that is from late Bronze Age, and then the Hasmonean period, have been found,” outlined Dr. Čapek progr dig. Dr. Čapek and his team will join the project in the second half of July and will work a period of four weeks. The team will be joined at the site by experts and students from various institutions from world, including Australia, Asia and North America. Charles University is, through contact by the CU Protestant Theological Faculty, the first Eastern European institution to partic project. All participants will be subject to the normal daily routine in the Middle East; due to th the working day on-site will start around 4 a.m., with a siesta following between 2 and 4 In the late afternoon, participants will examine the items found, with talks following lat evening. “Talks are given by experts from all over the world and focus on archaeology, geo history and the interpretation of ancient texts,” said Dr. Čapek. Students will have time evening till Saturday evening, during which time they can visit, for example, Jerusalem, w away. The team of CU students going to Israel was chosen via a selection process that took place half of the year. “Preference was given to students at the master’s or doctorate stage of who had a focus on Bible studies and knowledge of Hebrew. A condition of participation was the prescribed literature. All students selected had very good knowledge of the field, and participated in archaeological projects in the past,” added Dr. Čapek. Six students were eventually selected, including RNDr. et Bc. Jana Křížová, who is current a master’s in Evangelical Theology at the University’s Protestant Theological Faculty, whi doctor of science and expert in magnetometry (geophysical method used in archeology). She knowledge at the dig in Azekah, where she will make follow-up measurements using instrumen the Czech Republic. Participating students will subsequently present their findings at a seminar at the CU Pro Theological Faculty, to be held during the winter semester. The head of the entire project Lipschits from the University of Tel Aviv, will be a guest at the seminar.