Archaeology dig brings Bible to life
By Nick Hytrek, Journal columnist | Posted: Saturday, October 18, 2008
For three of the past four summers, Nancy Endicott of Wayne, Neb., has traveled with a group of volunteers to Israel to help excavate the ancient city of Hippos next to the Sea of Galilee. (Photo by Nick Hytrek)
WAYNE, Neb. -- Think back to all those Sunday school Bible stories that you heard countless times growing up.
Who among us can't rattle off the geography of Israel: Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee.
The stories associated with those places seem like just that -- stories. Things that happened long ago in a faraway place.
Nancy Endicott felt a lot like that, too. But now that she's spent parts of three of the past four summers volunteering at an ancient excavation site in the heart of Christianity's foundation, the Wayne woman can really identify with the scriptures she hears in church on Sundays.
"It brings forth the reality of these stories you kind of have a romantic notion of," Endicott said. "They're real places. It's not just a story. It happened, because these places are there."
Fascinated with archaeology since she was a little girl, Endicott learned about the volunteer archaeological dig by reading about it in her church bulletin one Sunday in 2005. Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn., was looking for volunteers to take part in the excavation program with the University of Haifa in Israel. Endicott joked with her husband, Don, about going, but blew it off. A month later she saw a story about it in a magazine. This time she applied.
A few months later she was scooping dirt, uncovering the walls of the Northeast Church in the ancient city of Hippos near the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The hard work occupied most of her mind at first. Once she settled in, however, the reality of her surroundings began to sink in. Especially as she was washing pottery shards in the same Sea of Galilee that is mentioned so many times in the Bible.
"It's still the same water that Jesus walked on," Endicott said. "Just to be able to touch the water, touch those rocks. How many kids grow up thinking they're going to experience those things?"
She toured the ruins of the temple in Jerusalem. She sat on those same temple steps that Jesus would have walked upon. That thought alone helped bring Endicott's faith alive.
"You almost can't put it into words. You're touching something that Jesus touched," she said. "It's a connection that brings home the reality of Jesus' life.
"I really like the idea of working in a church in the Holy Land. To be working on a Christian church in an area where Christ worked was very meaningful to me."
That connection to her faith has made the sweat and other hardships of working in the hot, dusty conditions worthwhile, Endicott said.
The history buff inside has kept her going back. How many times in your life do you get to uncover a city that was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 and hasn't been inhabited since? How many people get to help restore colorful mosaics, piece by piece, on the floors of ancient churches?
"I love the idea of touching something that was built 1,300, 1,500 years ago," she said. "It's just a connection with history that I find is breathtaking."
It's been an exciting adventure. One that Endicott hopes to continue in coming years. The trips have helped deepen her interest, her appreciation for history, and her faith.
It sure is a little more in-depth than reading Bible stories in Sunday school.
Find out more
Read about all of the details of the excavation of Hippos by visiting www.virtualdig.org.
Who among us can't rattle off the geography of Israel: Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee.
The stories associated with those places seem like just that -- stories. Things that happened long ago in a faraway place.
Nancy Endicott felt a lot like that, too. But now that she's spent parts of three of the past four summers volunteering at an ancient excavation site in the heart of Christianity's foundation, the Wayne woman can really identify with the scriptures she hears in church on Sundays.
"It brings forth the reality of these stories you kind of have a romantic notion of," Endicott said. "They're real places. It's not just a story. It happened, because these places are there."
Fascinated with archaeology since she was a little girl, Endicott learned about the volunteer archaeological dig by reading about it in her church bulletin one Sunday in 2005. Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn., was looking for volunteers to take part in the excavation program with the University of Haifa in Israel. Endicott joked with her husband, Don, about going, but blew it off. A month later she saw a story about it in a magazine. This time she applied.
A few months later she was scooping dirt, uncovering the walls of the Northeast Church in the ancient city of Hippos near the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The hard work occupied most of her mind at first. Once she settled in, however, the reality of her surroundings began to sink in. Especially as she was washing pottery shards in the same Sea of Galilee that is mentioned so many times in the Bible.
"It's still the same water that Jesus walked on," Endicott said. "Just to be able to touch the water, touch those rocks. How many kids grow up thinking they're going to experience those things?"
She toured the ruins of the temple in Jerusalem. She sat on those same temple steps that Jesus would have walked upon. That thought alone helped bring Endicott's faith alive.
"You almost can't put it into words. You're touching something that Jesus touched," she said. "It's a connection that brings home the reality of Jesus' life.
"I really like the idea of working in a church in the Holy Land. To be working on a Christian church in an area where Christ worked was very meaningful to me."
That connection to her faith has made the sweat and other hardships of working in the hot, dusty conditions worthwhile, Endicott said.
The history buff inside has kept her going back. How many times in your life do you get to uncover a city that was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 and hasn't been inhabited since? How many people get to help restore colorful mosaics, piece by piece, on the floors of ancient churches?
"I love the idea of touching something that was built 1,300, 1,500 years ago," she said. "It's just a connection with history that I find is breathtaking."
It's been an exciting adventure. One that Endicott hopes to continue in coming years. The trips have helped deepen her interest, her appreciation for history, and her faith.
It sure is a little more in-depth than reading Bible stories in Sunday school.
Find out more
Read about all of the details of the excavation of Hippos by visiting www.virtualdig.org.
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