Digging Through History

Digging through History follows rabbi and archaeologist Richard Freund's journey through some of the most fascinating archaeological sites of human history--including the mysterious Atlantis, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the long-buried Holocaust camp Sobibor. Each chapter takes readers through a different archaeological site, showing what we can learn about past religious life and religious faith through the artifacts found there, as well as what has given each site such strong "staying power" over time. Richard Freund and the research in Digging through History are featured in the National Geographic documentary Atlantis Rising, which premieres on National Geographic on Sunday, January 29, at 9/8 central. The documentary follows Oscar-winning executive producer James Cameron and Emmy-winning filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici as they investigate the myths and realities of Atlantis. Digging through History is the only book that details Freund's groundbreaking research on Atlantis that is featured in the film. A free app, "Archaeology Quest: Atlantis" is also available for iPhone and Android users who want to explore Freund's newest information on Atlantis.

This book offers insight into the fascinating field of archaeology. It examines what archaeologists do and what they have learned about past civilizations.

Positioned along the legendary Southwest Trail, the town of Washington in Hempstead County in southwest Arkansas was a thriving center of commerce, business, and county government in the nineteenth century. Historical figures such as Davy Crockett and Sam Houston passed through, and during the Civil War, when the Federal troops occupied Little Rock, the Hempstead County Courthouse in Washington served as the seat of state government. A prosperous town fully involved in the events and society of the territorial, antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras, Washington became in a way frozen in time by a series of events including two fires, a tornado, and being bypassed by the railroad in 1874. Now an Arkansas State Park and National Historic Landmark, Washington has been studied by the Arkansas Archeological Survey over the past twenty-five years. Digging for History at Old Washington joins the historical record with archaeological findings such as uncovered construction details, evidence of lost buildings, and remnants of everyday objects. Of particular interest are the homes of Abraham Block, a Jewish merchant originally from New Orleans, and Simon Sanders from North Carolina, who became the town’s county clerk. The public and private lives of the Block and Sanders families provide a fascinating look at an antebellum town at the height of its prosperity.

Digging through History follows rabbi and archaeologist Richard Freund's journey through some of the most fascinating archaeological sites of human history—including the mysterious Atlantis, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the long-buried Holocaust camp Sobibor. Each chapter takes readers through a different archaeological site, showing what we can learn about past religious life and religious faith through the artifacts found there, as well as what has given each site such strong "staying power" over time. Richard Freund and the research in Digging through History are featured in the National Geographic documentary Atlantis Rising, which premieres on National Geographic on Sunday, January 29, at 9/8 central. The documentary follows Oscar-winning executive producer James Cameron and Emmy-winning filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici as they investigate the myths and realities of Atlantis. Digging through History is the only book that details Freund’s groundbreaking research on Atlantis that is featured in the f

This book follows renowned archaeologist Richard Freund's journey through some of the most fascinating archaeological sites of human history—including the mysterious Atlantis, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls caves, and the long-buried Holocaust camp Sobibor. Each chapter takes readers through a different archaeological site.

When people think of archaeology, they commonly think of unearthing the remains of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Rome, Central or South America. But some fascinating history can be found in your own New Jersey backyard 3/4 if you know where to look. Richard Veit takes readers on a well-organized guided tour through four hundred years of Garden State development as seen through archaeology in Digging New Jerseys Past. This illustrated guidebook takes readers to some of the states most interesting discoveries and tells us what has been learned or is being learned from them. The diverse array of archaeological sites, drawn from all parts of the state, includes a seventeenth-century Dutch trading post, the site of the Battle of Monmouth, the gravemarkers of freed slaves, and a 1920s railroad roundhouse, among others. Veit begins by explaining what archaeologists do: How do they know where to dig? What sites are likely to yield important information? How do archaeologists excavate a site? How are artifacts cataloged, stored, and interpreted? He then moves through the states history, from the contact of first peoples and explorers, to colonial homesteads, Revolutionary War battlefields, cemeteries, railroads, and factories. Veit concludes with some thoughts about the future of archaeological research in New Jersey and with suggestions on ways that interested individuals can become involved in the field.

In Digging through Darkness, Carmel Schrire interweaves art and fact to recreate a distant world. She combines autobiography, historical archaeology, and fictional reconstructions to explore the roots and consequences of colonial conquest in Africa, Australia, and the Pacific. The book takes its unique shape from Schrire's intimate connection with her subject - she is a native white South African, the Jewish descendant of a colonist who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope over a hundred years ago. Tracking the broad sweep of European expansion into Africa, Australia, and the Pacific, Schrire focuses on the evidence unearthed in archaeological sites, leading the reader through a wealth of strata and artifacts, to see how inferences may be drawn from heaps of broken bones and stones. These findings are then interwoven with historical sources to present an integrated picture of the past. When evidence is insufficient to propel the inference, the author constructs a fictional account, inventing scenes that relate archaeological sites to historical documents. This interweaving gives voice not only to the literate colonists but also to illiterate native people who endured dispossession in silence.

For more than 200 years, archaeological sites in the Middle East have been dug, sifted, sorted, and saved by local community members who, in turn, developed immense expertise in excavation and interpretation and had unparalleled insight into the research process and findings—but who have almost never participated in strategies for recording the excavation procedures or results. Their particular perspectives have therefore been missing from the archaeological record, creating an immense gap in knowledge about the ancient past and about how archaeological knowledge is created. Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent is based on six years of in-depth ethnographic work with current and former site workers at two major Middle Eastern archaeological sites—Petra, Jordan, and Çatalhöyük, Turkey—combined with thorough archival research. Author Allison Mickel describes the nature of the knowledge that locally hired archaeological laborers exclusively possess about artifacts, excavation methods, and archaeological interpretation, showing that archaeological workers are experts about a wide range of topics in archaeology. At the same time, Mickel reveals a financial incentive for site workers to pretend to be less knowledgeable than they actually are, as they risk losing their jobs or demotion if they reveal their expertise. Despite a recent proliferation of critical research examining the history and politics of archaeology, the topic of archaeological labor has not yet been substantially examined. Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent employs a range of advanced qualitative, quantitative, and visual approaches and offers recommendations for archaeologists to include more diverse expert perspectives and produce more nuanced knowledge about the past. It will appeal to archaeologists, science studies scholars, and anyone interested in challenging the concept of “unskilled” labor.