Strata

Whither Golan Archaeology?

Gamla Excavators Want to Keep Digging

The on-again off-again peace talks between Israel and Syria have cast an air of uncertainty over archaeological excavations in the Golan Heights—the disputed region northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologist Danny Syon of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is reluctant to mix politics with archaeology, but after three seasons of renewed excavations at Gamla, which have revealed two impressive first-century A.D. buildings, Syon wants to keep working.

Previous excavations at Gamla, a dramatic mountaintop outpost in the southern Golan, uncovered evidence of a key battle between Jewish rebels and Roman soldiers in 67 A.D., as well as remains of one of the earliest ancient synagogues ever found.^a Syon, who has renewed excavations with Zvi Yavor, a veteran of the earlier dig, said he did not know how the peace talks would affect their dig, but he was keeping an optimistic outlook. He plans to be back in the field this spring if he can obtain financing: “The only thing I am able to say with a reasonable amount of security is that no matter what happens we will continue to work on Gamla. The only thing is that we might need passports. That’s what peace is all about, isn’t it?” Syon said.