Israeli teens and their Byzantine church: Community archaeology at the Church of the Glorious Martyr

Abstract

ABSTRACT The excavations at the Church of the Glorious Martyr, located in central Israel, were an extraordinary archaeological project undertaken by the Israeli Antiquities Authority. Beginning in 2017, three excavations seasons took place at the site and the vast majority of the excavators were groups of young adults. The motivation to involve teenagers as the excavation's main workforce was part of a larger nationwide Israeli initiative known as Hanchala (Hebrew for endowment). The movement was developed to increase public awareness, involvement and access to archaeology. During the Church of the Glorious Martyr excavation project, thousands of high-school and post graduate students were employed and more importantly exposed to archaeology. The culmination of the project led to a museum exhibition dedicated to the site that reached the public well beyond the field. This paper will discuss the field setup, logistics, problems and ad hoc solutions implemented for community involvement at the site.