Saturday, August 27, 2016

More on that Philistine cemetery in Ashkelon

INTERVIEW: One on One with…Adam Aja, museum curator and senior staff member of Ashkelon dig (Wayne E. Rivet, The Bridgton News).
Adam Aja knows what it is like to find a needle in a haystack, sort of.

Working several summers in Israel as an Assistant Director of Field Operations at Ashkelon, the former Bridgton resident made a startling find at the end of one dig period.

Through the help of a co-worker using an excavator, Aja uncovered a Philistine cemetery, the first major burial site discovered in the area, ever. Further excavation over the next year resulted in unearthing 200 fully-articulated skeletons laid out in burial positions, as well as some weapons.

In an i24 television interview, Adam talked about the moment of discovery. The crew was approached by a surveyor, who had found some human remains. He wondered why no one had continued work there.

[...]
The story of the discovery and an interview with Aja about the Ashkelon excavation follow.
“It was a crazy two days,” he added. “We just kept finding body after body.”
Background here and links.