David and Solomon.

Do me a favor and read this National Geographic article on the archaeological background to David and Solomon. It has all the players. I sit in Israel Finkelstein's graduate seminar class twice a week. It is a marvelous experience because twice a week I am brought face to face with my own inadequacies and lack of knowledge. My problem is I have no opinion, and in a class full of very opinionated and knowledgeable students, I must just sit back and watch and listen. It is a privilege and I value the experience deeply.

The article above covers a lot of the in class discussion, all about "Text and Archaeology" where "text" really means the bible. We have spoken about the copper mining and smelting site at Hirbet El-Hahas. Finkelstein likes Tom Levy. We have covered Hazor, Tel el-Ful just outside Jerusalem and Kadesh Barnea in the Sinai. Each lesson is filled with vigorous argument, disagreement and lively discussion and helps me accept just how much there is to learn. Computers are so much simpler.

There is another article in the news section of the journal Nature, about science and archaeology at Megiddo. I spent a day digging with the scientists. It was big fun.