The City of Magdala in the Light of Recent Archaeological Excavations is the title of the latest conference, which Archaeologist Marcela Zapata Meza gave in the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid on September 27, 2018. The conference came following the latest archaeological work being done on site in Magdala and as the title suggests touches upon what archaeology is all about; bringing to light the history of a site which archeologists are continuing to closely piece together.
The work of archaeologists is not always easy to understand. At times they may be seen as hopeless romantics enchanted by the past, adventurous explorers, or simply scientists analyzing data and artifacts. In truth, an archaeologist needs to be a little bit of each (and even more) to successfully bring a new archaeological site to light. In the search to further uncover the history, archaeologists branch out to the wider scientific community to showcase new discoveries and theories about a site, and in turn get feedback from colleagues across different areas… to brainstorm, to be enlightened and get new theories on what could have been and happened on site.
Magdala Chief Archaeologist, Marcela Zapata Meza, is currently sharing with the international scientific community, academics and students, the latest work that has been done in Magdala after eight years of excavations, material analysis, and diverse studies. In addition to the conference in Madrid, Marcela will also give further conferences on Magdala, primarily, “Written sources vs. Archaeology: Magdala as a Crossroads of Interdisciplinary Study” in the university of Valencia and “Magdala, Histo-archaeological Encounter between Judaism and Christianity during the First and Second Century in the Galilee,” at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in the Faculty of Hebrew studies and the Institute of Religious Sciences.
What occurs after an archaeological excavation is as interesting as the discovery itself as we begin to analyze all information available possible. It is about transforming every single detail, piece of ceramic, metal, bone, coins, or stones in data that can be analyzed and transformed into information from which answers about the lives of people in the past can be reconstructed. Moreover it is important to consider the opinion and knowledge of many experts across the world. In Magdala we are continuing to work so that each piece of history that is being excavated can shed further light into the possible theories of what happened on site. We continue to share this with the international scientific community and piece by piece reconstruct the history of Magdala for our visitors. It’s a constant dialogue between the past and present that is ongoing and will continue for years to come.
