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Tel Dan

Well known from many Biblical phrases, for example, “For a voice declares from Dan, and proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim” (Jeremiah 4:15), Dan is one of the northern sources of the Jordan River. Though no trace has surfaced of the golden calf King Jeroboam set up after Solomon’s death, Tel Dan volunteers have helped uncover many other finds: massive Canaanite ramparts, an Israelite city gate and wall, an open-air sanctuary or “high place,” a Roman fountain house, a Greek and Aramaic inscription “to the god who is in Dan,” and a fully standing Canaanite gate of the 19th–18th centuries B.C. with three complete arches. (See “The Remarkable Discoveries at Tel Dan,” BAR 07:05.)

Volunteers must attend the entire three weeks of the dig, from May 1 through May 22. Spring is beautiful in Israel. The $475 fee covers all costs, including room and board (Monday through Friday). Participants may arrange to stay at Dan on weekends, or they can travel to Jerusalem or other parts of the country. Three credits are available through Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Contact: Paul M. Steinberg, Dan Excavation Program, One West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012. Tel: (212) 674–5300.