Friday, April 21, 2006

Archaeology and The Goddess

Yesterday was such a fun and inspiring day filled with education as well.

I attended an in service training at Kibbutz Shaar HaGolan, where the oldest pottery known to mankind has been discovered, along with very interesting clay Goddess figurines.

Five different presentations were given on The Feminine in PreHistoric art. Photos and slides from various archeological digs in Israel and the Mediterranean dated from the Iron and Bronze age through to the Hellenistic age were shared. The female figures had many similarities in common. The most interesting and unique figurines were of Ashdoda... a female goddess figure in the form of a chair.

In the late afternoon the museum was opened for all to visit and a ceremony given for the new art piece gracing the outside of the museum facing the fields where the pottery and figurines were found during the archeological digs.

I could just imagine the Yarmukians sitting by the river across from where we sat, making the clay pots from the mud at the banks.

The entire day was fun. It is so incredible to me that I live in a place where I can hop in the car and be at an ancient site where civilization well roamed more than 10,000 years ago. Makes me REALLY feel like part of the family... the human family.

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