Akko Archaeology, Heritage and History Project

2010 CGU at AKKO: Course Offerings

Archaeological Field Methods

The main component of this course will be the actual work conducted in the field. Students will work in fields that are broken up into squares. Every student will be taught how to record the finds and eventually will be responsible for some of the recording. Recording methods include such things as: taking levels; recording find spots; filling out tags for pottery buckets, soil samples, and special finds; photo records; balk drawing; making top plans; and recording pottery reads. Every student will be responsible for pottery washing and will attend the pottery reading where the pottery from their square is analyzed. Every day there will be a tour of all of the fields and a presentation of the special finds discovered with a preliminary analysis. Each student will spend a minimum of one day at camp working on preservation of finds already discovered.

Akko: Public Archaeology, Conservation, and Heritage (TDNY 402 Z)

This course will introduce students to the city of Akko from numerous perspectives including: history, archaeology, religion, culture, tourism, and city government through a series of lectures presented by the faculty on site, work and tours of the Tel and the country, and guest speakers. The lectures will cover the major historical and archaeological periods represented in Akko and the larger context in which Akko functioned. To better understand the complexities involved in Akko people from the city government and tourist agencies will also talk about the problems faced in dealing with a modern city built directly upon a very ancient one. The first weekend will provide detailed tours of the remains of the many different periods in which the city of Akko flourished. On the second weekend we will travel to other sites in the northern part of modern Israel. The tours on the final weekend will focus on nearby cities and sites to reveal how Akko fit into its historic contexts, functioned as a port city, and yet remains quite unique.

Preliminary Schedule of Lectures

Week 1: History of Akko

Sunday: Early history/Archaeology of Akko 4^th Millennium-Iron Age

Monday: Hellenistic/Roman Period

Tuesday: The Crusades

Wednesday: Ottoman Akko

Thursday: From the End of the Ottoman period-Today

Friday afternoon: Trip to the visitors’ center to see the film and tour the bathhouse and jail.

Sunday morning/ afternoon: Tour the crusader and Ottoman city

Week 2: Uses of Akko

Sunday: Port

Monday: Fortifications

Tuesday: Prison

Wednesday: Stop for Travelers

Thursday: Cultural and study center

Week 3: Religions of Akko

Sunday: Judaism

Monday: Christianity

Tuesday: Islam

Wednesday: Bahai

Thursday: Impact of the religions on each other

Friday: Tour some of the religious centers in Akko

Week 4: Challenges for the Modern City

Sunday Morning: Tour of Nearby Ports

Sunday: Spokesperson about Preservation in Akko

Monday: Spokes person from the Israel Antiquities Authority

Tuesday: Talk by or about Amidar (Israel National Housing Company; owner of abandoned properties in Akko) and/or Spokesperson from the city or Old Acre Development Company

Wednesday: Spokesperson from the Akko Tourist Center

Thursday: Summary