The Magic Of Floating On Water

One of the incidental parts of this trip to Jordan is that the dig site (Tal el-Hammam) is conveniently located at a five star hotel right on the Dead Sea. Since this is the winter, we got a really good deal on rooms…and with that really good deal comes really good food as well!

Today we got newbie-archaeology training in the morning and had the afternoon off to do whatever. Some people went sightseeing but I stayed back, did some schoolwork, went for a run and then watched the sun set over the Israeli mountains while floating on the Dead Sea. It felt like I had the whole Sea to myself.

That picture above is taken from the hotel resort we’re staying at.

I was laying there thinking about how weird of an experience I was having. The Dead Sea is magic. Not hokus-pokus magic, I know how the whole saline density thing works. I just think it’s amazing that over here you can float in the water.

I kept wanting to go to the physics of my experience but preferred to think about the wonder of the “Wow, this is really cool” approach. Sometimes being able to explain something takes away the magic of an experience.

This thought can be developed much more. I don’t have the time to do it nor the desire at this moment. 

All I wanted to say that it was a marvel that I could float in water here and how wish I didn’t know how it happened.

More Updates: The Middle East is just a cool place. 

Yesterday was a “get over jet-lag and wait until more team members show up” day for all the Americans and I. A bus took us to the ancient city of Petra. This is where Indiana Jones was filmed and made BBC’s “40 Places To Visit Before You Die” list. 

I sat on a camel and got a picture while Tebowing on it. I’m sure it will be available on the Internet sometime soon.

Who I’m With

It is amusing to see what kind of people sign up to volunteer at an archaeological dig. There are university professors, many retired couples, a few students, and a few six day creationists who love debating Revelation and where the Anti-Christ will come from.

It’s been insightful to talk to some of the archeologists who have been at this place for 8 seasons and hear their stories of how their findings have developed over the years.

Said one pastor with a PhD in Biblical Archaeology, “Coming here I was about 60% sure this was Sodom. Now I’m 99.999999% sure.” 

A 8 year veteran was telling the progression of their findings. “And it was the ____ year that we got to the one meter deep ash layer…And in season ______, we found the bodies…”

There are many of these stories. I’m looking forward to being on the site myself. I don’t expect to find much myself. Archaeology is slow and tedious. You actually have to tear apart the site in order to discover it. Since nobody can ever dig here after us, we have been trained to be slow and thorough.

That’s me all right, slow and thorough. Got it.

Well that’s for tomorrow’s business.

Today I floated on water and that was cool enough.