General Information for Team Members

What we offer:

• Coffee, tea, water in the field. If you have special dietary needs, please take this into consideration.
• Field trips once a week. These will consist of bus tours to archaeological sites and to ongoing excavation, as well as walking tours to sites within Jerusalem (e.g. Pool of Siloam dig) and its vicinity (e.g. Ramat Rahel and John the Baptist Cave). These field trips are compulsory for credit students. Unless you are on a credit program, please let us know two days in advance if you would like  to join a field trip.
• Lectures will be given twice a week on topical (e.g. the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem) as well as on technical subjects (e.g. methods of scientific excavations). The lectures are compulsory for students participating in the credit program, but are also open to team members.
• Recreation time. Since the excavation is in the heart of Jerusalem, you will be in a unique position (unlike most team members in other excavations) to go places within the modern city, to drink a cup of coffee or have a good meal within walking distance of your hotel, or to see a movie at the local shopping mall. The proposed hotel has satellite TV in the rooms with all major American and international networks, as well as internet access.
• Adopt a digging square. As you will see, the excavation will be laid out in a grid of squares. All team members will work in groups of about five within each square. Depending on your enthusiasm and your interest in acquiring digging experience, you might very well be promoted to „team member square supervisor“. 
• International team. This will be your  chance to link up with the world. The Mount Zion team will be truly international, with archaeologists, scientific consultants, surveyors, and staff members working at the site, who come from different parts of the world: England, America, Israel and Palestine, and Germany. From past experience, team members find the digging experience an excellent opportunity to form bonds of friendship, and to find out about different customs. Many team members return to dig with the same people that they have dug with before.
• Training.  On-site training in archaeological digging methods and artifact identification will take place in the field at the time of the excavations, but lectures will also be given in the evenings on the history of archaeology, techniques of scientific excavation, specific ancient cultures and sites of interest. We hope that you will leave the excavation with a good experience, and with knowledge about why one excavates, and what one can learn about the past. At the same time, there will also be exiting moments of discovery...

What we expect:

• All team members need to be ready to work from 6 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. five days a week. It is emphasised that the work requires physical labor. However, we do try to adapt dig activities according to your physical abilities and interests.
• Since excavation is all about mutual team activity, it is vital that everyone keeps to the time schedule, otherwise delays in getting up in the morning or not appearing at meetings can hinder the progress of the excavation. Goodwill is what we all strive for on a dig.
• If you feel ill at any time at any time during the excavation, please contact a member of staff. Do not hesitate to do so. If you are ill in the hotel, please let another team member know or contact a member of staff directly, otherwise we will get worried if you do not appear on the dig.
• We expect you to drink water at all times during the dig, otherwise you might become dehydrated.
• Please make sure that you wear the right clothing and shoes appropriate for an excavation.
• Students who enlist for the credit program are required to participate in all lectures and field trips.