Information about the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Program

by Daniel Xu

By Daniel Xu…

As an Econ major student, I have never imagined myself working on a archeological site in Israel. But, here I am. In this program, I have had so much fun and met so many interesting people. Meanwhile, I also experienced confusions and troubles. I would like to share my experiences here with those future participants who have only limited knowledge about archeology and excavation, and hope this information can help these participates to better prepare themselves for the program. The experiences shared are very subjective, and may be totally different for different people.

1. This program involves great amount of physical work. Working on the site can be especially strenuous under the summer heat.
2. There are a number of things you can do on the tel. Although they are mostly repetitive, there is much space for job rotation. Boredom is totally avoidable.
3. Most people you are going to meet in this program are extremely nice, and you are going to make a lot of friends. However, as the participants are from all over the world, you should prepare yourself for cultural and personal differences and be as open-minded as possible.
4. Due to the amount of physical work involved, the working environment on the site, the heat and the extremely efficient or inefficient AC system of the dorms, you may experience unfavorable physical conditions, the most common of which are dehydration, cold and allergies, remember to bring some basic medications and pay more attention to your health.
5. Excavation-related works and lectures would take 70% time of your day, and you will very likely be exhausted. Although fun excursions take place at weekends, they cannot provide a full view of the beautiful culture of Israel. If you want to see more,  travel before or after the program.
6. The lectures during the program are mostly drastically interesting, but many of them require basic knowledge about archeology and history of the region. They can be confusing.
7. Life is full of changes and bad things may take place anytime. If you encounter any trouble during the program, you can always talk to people around you and you would definitely get help.