Story by Jessica Snouwaert
Video by Chip Sweeney
Photos by Will Melfi
HUQOQ, Israel – Chloe Scattergood gingerly wraps fragments of ancient plaster into a paper towel. She works meticulously at a wooden folding table, placing newly uncovered artifacts into boxes.
Robert Rhinehart walks up and shoves his face across the table toward her with a goofy expression.
Scattergood glances up, “You’re fired, Robert!” she says.
The two burst out laughing.
Scattergood, 21, of Cary, N.C., is an archaeology major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She joined the dig site in Huqoq in May 2018, where archaeologist Jodi Magness and her team excavate a fifth century synagogue.
The project began in 2011, and continues to reveal mosaic depictions of biblical stories unlike any seen before.
Scattergood is one of the registrars on site, charged with entering into a database all of the finds in her section of the dig, from pottery and glass, to charcoal and bone.
Her job is essential, because the publication of the findings relies on her work tracking and recording the finds. Without publication, there is no point to digging she said.
Scattergood joined the dig in May 2018 and was surprised to earn the position of registrar during her second year on site. But for Scattergood, the decision to return a second year was driven as much by the friendships and the community she found at Huqoq, as it was by archaeology.
Rhinehart is one of Scattergood’s close friends on the dig.
During her first year, she and Rhinehart worked together excavating a deep pit.
In the early hours of morning, the two would descend ladders into a pitch black hole.
“We were sweaty and gross, but it was so much fun,” Rhinehart said. “Chloe’s definitely been a big part of my dig experience all around and why I’ve had such a great time.”
Rhinehart and Scattergood both attend UNC-CH, but it took a trip half-way around the world for them to meet.
“I guess it was a good bonding experience for me and Robert being trapped in a very small, dark, hot space for a number of hours,” Scattergood said, laughing. “I love working with Robert.”
Brad Erickson, a 3D imaging specialist on the Huqoq dig, also works closely with Scattergood, sharing in the challenges and triumphs of daily life on the dig.
“It’s really important to be able to step back and laugh at situations,” Erickson said. “She’s really good at doing that, which makes everybody in the area, including me, more relaxed and able to focus on the job at hand.”
Scattergood found the sense of community with these students and faculty at Huqoq, deely fulfilling. She also found the cultural lessons of living in an unfamiliar country valuable.
Two weeks into this summer’s trip on the kibbutz where the archaeology team stayed, members of the community came together to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Shavuot with a parade, songs, dance and food.
The contrast between life in the U.S., and the small Israeli kibbutz is stark, Scattergood said.
“I think we generally are more individualized and keep to ourselves,” she said. “But here, everyone’s more part of a community and more tied to their past and to each other.”
Whether it is joking with friends, celebrating with strangers or excavating a pit, for Scattergood, it’s all part of the Huqoq experience.
