A Groundbreaking Call for Excavators

After a first, modest appearance under the title “Opportunities for Volunteers” in the 1976 issue, a second call for participants was issued in an equally unassuming piece titled “Able-Bodied Diggers Sought” in the spring of 1977. By 1979, BAR had grown into the bi-monthly publication schedule familiar to our readers today, and the annual Dig Issue was born that year in the March/April issue. The following year, the Dig Issue was published as the January/February issue, and it has been an integral part of our New Year’s ritual ever since.

Today, our Dig Issue has grown from a few paragraphs on a handful of sites to a comprehensive listing of exciting excavations throughout the eastern Mediterranean, led by the top scholars in the field. Articles on new techniques and developments in field work are often a feature in our Dig Issue, as well as compelling and entertaining stories brought to us by our volunteers.