Valerie Schlegel, Judaic Studies Major
2013 recipient of the Shandel Education Plus Scholarship & Florence Kaiserman Memorial Scholarship

My name is Valerie Schlegel and I am a Judaic Studies major and a junior here at The University of Arizona. I am excited to be a recipient of the Judaic Studies Shandel Education Plus Scholarship and Florence Kaiserman Memorial Scholarship. These scholarships are helping to support me on my journey this summer as a participant in an archaeological dig in Israel. I am working for four weeks at Tel Abel Beth Maacah, located in the Hula Valley in northern Israel, as part of their inaugural season.

In this excavation, we are looking at the city of Abel Beth Maacah, which is most prominently featured in 2 Samuel 20:14-18.  It is also mentioned in other places of the Bible. These passages identify it as an Israelite city, but there are also indications that it had Aramaean roots. An initial survey was done in 2012, and it determined that Abel Beth Maacah was occupied from the Early Bronze Age II-III through Iron AgeIIB, the time frame for which we are specifically looking. We are investigating how Abel Beth Maacah functioned as a cultural crossroad and how it played a large role as a prominent northern city.

I am very excited to take part in my first digm in Tel Abel Beth Maacah’s inaugural season. I cannot thank the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies here at The University of Arizona enough for giving me the opportunity to go on this exciting trip, that will greatly enhance my studies.