Preparation

The mock dig, while worth the effort, can take a lot of work so it's best if you start off the year with it so you can prepare the site before school starts. Start preparing the site at least two weeks before school to give the dirt time to settle. Make sure you get permission from all the necessary powers that be before you start back hoeing gleefully on the school property.

1.    Using a backhoe to dig your pit. Depending on how many students you have you could have anywhere from four to six squares. (no more though because you'll go crazy!) Dig your pit about four feet deep, allowing room for squares to be about 3-4 meters square. (forget about digging individual squares, it's too difficult)

  2.    Using shovel and hoe, smooth out the bottom and sides of the pit. If you want you can  cover the bottom with black plastic to represent bedrock.

  3.    Start laying down your walls first. I wouldn't create more than around three layers of stuff. Use backhoe to cover with dirt.

4.  For Walls- Use regular bricks or cement blocks or rocks if you are lucky enough to find them. Create an "outer wall" layering everything 34 courses deep. Lay walls on sand to represent "foundation trench."

5.     For Pottery:  Go to any local retail store like Wall-Mart, Big Lots, K-Mart ... and get terra-cotta pots to smash. Buy a few painted ones that the kids can reconstruct.

6.     For "Tabun" (oven):  Place flat bricks in circular formation . Fill with black potting soil to represent ash. Spray paint a few pot sherds black to represent burned pottery.

7.     Plaster Floor:  Lay down a layer of powdered plaster of Paris and lightly spray with water to set. Let harden before covering with dirt.

8.  Alter: Use flat slab or bricks. Surround with "figurines", jewelry, incense, and cuneiform tablets.

9.    Cuneiform Tablets:  Make a plaster slab about one inch thick in a cardboard box. Mix plaster with potting soil and sand to give it an aged look. Carve cuneiform messages that will give clues to a king, god/goddess, war victory, date, etc. Student will have to translate the tablets in post-dig activities.

10.   Jewelry:  Retail stores carry beads and jewelry supplies in their craft sections. For money you can use brass jewelry, coins, or cut your own out of an aluminum baking sheet.

11 - Weapons:   Spear points can easily be made out of disposable aluminum baking sheets,

12.   Threshing Floor:   Dig a shallow pit and fill with dried grass or sawdust and barley grains. Fill with different colored dirt and "goodies" such as jewelry, glass bottles, etc.

13.   Burial: If your school is fortunate enough to have a life-sized plastic skeleton do whatever you can to convince your principal that it won't get damaged and that dirt will wash off. Otherwise call your local hospital and ask if they will loan you one. (Make sure it isn't made out of paper-mache because it will deteriorate). Be creative and stick a spear point in the skeleton's side and sprinkle money around him.

14.   Dig Clothes:  Ask you local hospital if they have scrubs they are willing to rent or loan out. Most will. Get small and mediums. This is a life saver if your school wears uniforms. The kids will get hot and dirty and scrubs are the perfect solution. Each student should be responsible for his or her scrubs during the duration of the dig.

  15.   Make sure every square has "stuff " to find. Only one or two squares can have a burial so other square should have tablets and other "stuff"  to compensate for the excitement of the skeleton.

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