We started off the bright and sunny morning (after napping on the bus) in Beit Guvrin, a very intriguing archeaologist's site. Both the site AND the archaeologist were intriguing! (what was his name again? email me!)

Anyway, this guy demonstrated exactly what a "tel" was by piling up several hats on Adam Perry's head. Each layer corresponds to a new group that move in above the ruins or remains of the previous area's inhabitants.

Here's a view of the tel behind us. It's like a symmetrical hill, flat on top. There are hundreds of caves and tunnels in this area.

And here's Daniel Wolfe descending into the dark abyss!!

Some people, like our armed guards, didn't take part in the excavations. Scared of the dark, maybe....

The rest of us lined up and waited our turn to go down.

Our guide told us the whole history of these man-made caves. In short, they were excavation sites where people dug out soft limestone bricks to build strctures above ground, then, when the holes got big enough, people moved in!

The we heard how the the non-Jewish Maccabean king, as a vassal of the Greek Empire, decided that all people living in the area designated for Jews should be Jewish. Either convert or move out. So, the inhabitants of this area moved out, but destroyed their homes and filled up the caves with dirt before leaving.

And that's what we are excavating!! Here, Gena Bofshever demonstrates the technique - put a bucket between your feet, and hoe away!

Nancy Bayewitch, Debby Meyer, Jessica Aaron, Chris McGuire, (I think that's Corey in the back), Leor Samuels, Jordana Cotton and Gena pose in the cave, hoes in hand.

Finished with the excavations, we move off to another cave system for some spelunking.