One perfect dig day in the Negev last spring still sticks with me

I was out on a survey with a team near a dry riverbed in the Negev desert, and we had been finding nothing but broken pottery shards for three straight days. Then around 2 PM, I spotted a small carved stone sticking out of the dirt not far from my boot. I called over the field director and she got this look on her face, said it might be an old incense burner from the Byzantine period. We spent the next hour carefully brushing around it, and sure enough it was a complete little altar piece, maybe 6 inches tall, with a tiny bowl carved on top. The whole team gathered around and someone handed me a canteen of water, and I just sat there watching them document it. It was just a small find, nothing museum worthy, but it was the first time I had found something intact on my own. Has anyone else had a moment like that where a little thing made a whole week of work feel worth it?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellymurphy29d ago

Oh man, that's awesome! I love when you're just grinding away and something small but perfect pops up out of nowhere. Totally get how that one find can make all the dusty days worth it.

mark_fisher4829d ago

Right there with you, that feeling is the best! It's like the universe throws you a bone when you're about to give up. You spend hours digging through junk and then bam, something catches your eye that makes your heart skip a beat. That one moment of discovery really does wipe out all the boring, dusty work. It's why I keep going back honestly, because you never know when the next cool thing is hiding.