Day One at Megiddo

This week we begin excavations at Megiddo.  On the first day, that involves preparing the shades for the areas to be excavated.  Not all excavations put up shades for the diggers, but in Israel they are typical.  The first day involves quite a bit of cleaning as well.  The Megiddo excavations are bi-annual, which means that most areas we are excavating this year have not been cleaned since 2012.  In some areas, that means that there is a lot of brush to be cleared and a lot of debris that has washed into the excavated areas that must be removed before excavation can resume.  The first day is also when equipment is set up and tested.  For example, in the photo below, you can see the yellow total station (more on those here), used to record coordinates and elevations, which was recently set up.  In the foreground, volunteers can be seen cleaning the area and preparing it for excavation.