Fodor's Expert Review Dig for a Day

Archaeological Seminars, in Jerusalem, runs this program at Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park. The three-hour activity includes supervised digging in a real excavation site inside a cave, into which local inhabitants dumped earth and artifacts 21 centuries ago. Participants then sift the buckets of dirt they have hauled out of the cave, looking for finds. Some museum-quality artifacts of the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC (Hellenistic period) have been uncovered here. (No, you can't take home what you find!) You are then led on a fun 30-minute exploration through caves not yet open to the public. This involves crawling, because some spaces are too tight or too low for walking upright. The tour ends with a short talk in the pottery shed about how clay vessels are reconstructed. You must reserve ahead, and tours are available in English.