Tel Akko (2012)
The site at Tel Akko, Israel has been an important site throughout history due to its positioning on an inlet around a natural bay which is located on the Mediterranean Sea. This location enabled Akko to be a highly important trade hub and strategic city throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East, and across history. As a sixteen year old high school student I was, by far, the youngest attending the field school at Tel Akko and sat in classes amongst, and interacted closely with, college students and their professors.
In addition to being the youngest, this was the first time I was taking college level classes. Though I was nervous at the beginning, throughout the five weeks during which I worked on the excavation, I learned that not only could I manage the level and amount of coursework attributed to collegiate level courses, but I also greatly enjoyed being a part of the camaraderie and experience of working on the excavation and learning from some of the best in their fields. The weekend trips throughout the old city as well as to Jerusalem, Haifa, King Herod's palace, and the Mediterranean coast, in addition to many others, were also just as wonderful in enabling the students to see regions which have contributed greatly to the rich history of the Middle East throughout history, in addition to steeping ourselves in the culture of Israel and its people. I could not be more happy that I took a chance on this experience, and am even more grateful that I had the opportunity to return to the excavation during the summer of 2016, and take an archaeometallurgy class in order to learn even more about the region, its archaeology, and its rich history.
In addition to being the youngest, this was the first time I was taking college level classes. Though I was nervous at the beginning, throughout the five weeks during which I worked on the excavation, I learned that not only could I manage the level and amount of coursework attributed to collegiate level courses, but I also greatly enjoyed being a part of the camaraderie and experience of working on the excavation and learning from some of the best in their fields. The weekend trips throughout the old city as well as to Jerusalem, Haifa, King Herod's palace, and the Mediterranean coast, in addition to many others, were also just as wonderful in enabling the students to see regions which have contributed greatly to the rich history of the Middle East throughout history, in addition to steeping ourselves in the culture of Israel and its people. I could not be more happy that I took a chance on this experience, and am even more grateful that I had the opportunity to return to the excavation during the summer of 2016, and take an archaeometallurgy class in order to learn even more about the region, its archaeology, and its rich history.