17
Jul, 2019

By Jennifer Munro

Why do we wash so much pottery?

Why do we wash so much pottery?

This very good question was being discussed in the pottery washing area one day: why do we wash so much pottery when so much gets thrown away? Why can’t we throw it away on the tel without hauling it down to the Naval Academy to be scrubbed and catalogued? And then this little mask popped up in one of the buckets of dirty water.This tiny treasure would have been missed if it hadn’t been lovingly washed and examined.This is not the only find to come out of pottery washing, of course. Often pieces for restoration can be identified by the experts as belonging to a pot they are working on, and something that seems uninteresting to the untrained eye, can be picked up and treasured by someone else.

It is, perhaps, worth mentioning that while pottery washing seems time-consuming and tedious, it yields  some very important items from time to time.

0
15
Jul, 2019

By Jennifer Munro

Where do all the finds go?

Deep in the bowels of the University of Haifa, there is a large storeroom containing boxes and boxes of finds, going back to the seventies – pottery, iron and stone cannon balls and bones amongst other things. There are some restored pots too, which I find an amazing sight. How can those horrible, grubby bits of broken pottery that we all wash turn into something so beautiful? This is the hard work of Rachel Ben Dov and others who patiently piece it all together like a 3D jigsaw. These are the treasures that tel Akko has given up so far. I wonder how many more there are and where they will go! [/vc_column][/vc_row]

0
15
Jul, 2019

By Jennifer Munro

Khan al-Umdan

Khan al-Umdan is one of four Khans in Akko, and was built by the Ottoman ruler, AhmedPasha al-Jezzar in 1784 on the place of the Royal Customs house of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Due to the many columns, the khan was named Khan al-Umdan which means “Inn of the Columns” or “Caravanserai of Pillars”.It incorporates forty columns made of granite that were taken from Caesarea, Atlit and the ruins of Crusader monuments here in Akko.

Due to its proximity to the port, Khan al-Umdan has always been an important centre of trade. Merchants used the khan as a warehouse while the second floor was a hostel. Camel caravans once brought produce and grain from Galilean villages to the city’s markets and port. In the middle of the courtyard there was a pool made of Nazareth marble, and filled with water from the Kabri aqueduct. 

The khan later gained importance to the Bahá’í Faith (as the Khán-i-‘Avámid) as it was the site where Baha’ullah used to receive guests, and later the site for a Bahá’í school.

In 1906 a clock tower was added next to the main entrance of the khan to celebrate the silver jubilee of the rule of Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II.

In 2001 Khan al-Umdan, together with the rest of Acre’s old city, was designated as a world heritage site.In 2004 Khan al-Umdan was featured on a stamp of Israel worth 1.3 sheqels.Nowadays, the khan is a major tourist attraction open all hours of the day and used as an open-air stage during festivals in the city, such as the theater festival of Acre during the month of October.

In January of 2019, The Orchid Hotels chain won a tender from the Ministry of Tourism and the Old Acre and Nazareth Development Company to develop the site as a hotel. The hotel, which will cover an area of about 5,500 square meters with at least 50 rooms.

0
07
Jul, 2019

By Jennifer Munro

Pottery Workshop

Two of the tel Akko expert ceramicists discuss a small Phoenician juglet found in Area Z.

1
03
Jul, 2019

By Jennifer Munro

Season 2019 is in full swing

And we’re back!

Season 2019 started off well with all the sandbags removed by the second day and a big yellow JCB instead of the usual weed-whacker to clear the undergrowth.

Prof. Michal Artzy gave the students a tour of tel Akko on day one and gave them the benefit of her vast store of knowledge about the tel and the surrounding area.

On day two we have our first special find, courtesy of  Helen, who found a small object (possibly ivory) with markings on it and a hole drilled through  it.

Jihad is back making the best coffee in Israel – or certainly the most welcome coffee, and our students are prepped and primed for a month of hard, dirty work.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

0
25
Oct, 2018
Ümit Güder

By Jennifer Munro

ÜMIT GUDER

I am an archaeo-metallurgist specialized in ancient iron production technologies. I work in the Laboratory for Archaeometric Studies at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey. I search for the traces of ancient metallurgists in excavation sites and try to understand their sources, skills and capacities. Also, I organize experiments to re-construct pyrotechnological settings in the field.
0
18
Jul, 2018

By Jennifer Munro

Is pottery washing fun?

Pottery washing is an essential task in the field school. Can it be fun? Every day we do two hours of it, but can it be productive? Can it be enjoyable?

0
1 2 3 … 9
Why do we wash so much pottery?
Where do all the finds go?
Khan al-Umdan
Pottery Workshop
Season 2019 is in full swing
Monica Genuardi, Darcy Calabria, Jane Skinner for TEL AKKO at the American Society for American Archaeology conference
Tel Akko at the Society for American Archaeology
Ümit Güder
ÜMIT GUDER
Surveying the cult
Is pottery washing fun?
Studying conservation in old Akko