Just before Tisha B'Av, seminary students in the Land of Israel and archaeology studies track have dug up coins dating back to the time of the destruction of the Second Temple at an excavation in Beit El.
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The students' finds include coins minted in the time of Alexander Yannai and Agrippas, as well as shards of bowls and jugs that were used for everyday purposes, indicating that a Jewish community existed at the site not only in the Second Temple era, but also under the Byzantines and the Umayyads.
The budding archaeologists are 11th and 12th grade students at the Raya Ulpana in Beit El, the Kochav Yair Ulpana, and Ulpanat Hamara in the Jordan Valley, all of whom are studying for their five-point matriculation exams in archaeology and Land of Israel studies.
The excavation itself is part of the curriculum and is being conducted in cooperation with the Civil Administration's Archaeological Unit, which works to preserve the antiquities of Judea and Samaria.
In recent years, the Education Ministry has been promoting dozens of similar cooperative projects with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Archaeological Unit in the Civil Administration, hoping to allow students to "feel history with their hands" and deepen their connection to the Land of Israel while acquiring practical experience in scientific archaeology.
Education Minister Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton said, "Israeli society draws its strength from the history that unites it, while also learning an important lesson about its weak points.
"The exciting Second Temple-era finds open the glories of the past, the high and low points of our history, chillingly close to Tisha B'Av," Shasha-Biton added.
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