by Kelli Duggan

Field trips are an exciting aspect of our expedition in Israel. One of our weekly Wednesday field trips was to Nazareth. To me, the most exciting part of this trip was a tour of the First Century Nazareth Village. The reconstructed village actually functioned as a terraced field during Jesus’ life and now continues to grow olive trees and produce olive oil, wool, and woven textiles for tourists.

We were given a walking tour of the site and saw many aspects of life and activities in the first century. I found it fascinating to learn about first century technology and architecture that was reconstructed and is still used in the village today.

The “villagers” gave the tour a lively atmosphere, while the guide was knowledgeable and catered to our archaeological questions. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget.