It all began when the cat died…

    When Dale Manor was 6 years old, his cat died, so the family buried it. A year later, he dug it up to see what had happened. He comments, "I should have left it in the ground a little longer—it was still decomposing!"

    His parents gave him The Complete Book of Marvels by Richard Halliburton when he was in middle school. Halliburton had traveled throughout the world and had visited many ancient sites. As he read it over and over, his interest in archaeology increased. In college he found himself writing almost all of his papers on archaeological topics.

    He first visited Israel as a teen with his parents.

    After preaching in California for a few years, Manor and his family moved to Tuscon, Ariz. so he could attend the University of Arizona and pursue a doctoral degree in Syro-Palestinian Archaeology.

    In 1996 he began teaching Bible and archaeology at Harding University, and in 2000 he became field director with Tel Beth-Shemesh. Each summer he takes groups to work a few weeks at Tel Beth-Shemesh. During the school year his archaeology class digs at Tel Achzib, an artificial tel close to Searcy, Ark.

    Prior to beginning his work with Tel Beth-Shemesh, he worked in excavations at Tel Rehov, Ekron, Dan, Jerusalem, and the Negev Desert.

    Yes, he was wearing the fedora before Indiana Jones, and he has several in his collection.

    No, he was not a consultant on the Indiana Jones films.

    Yes, some people have called him Indiana Manor. Others just call him Dr. Dig.

    Yes, in his classroom he wears a different tie each day of the year!

    Listen to what his students say about him:

    — He's an interesting teacher, gives out good examples and products from ancient times in class.

    — A fantastic teacher! A different tie for every class period. Yes, you must study for tests. Yes, you must READ the Bible. But lectures are extremely interesting, and if you study, you'll do fine.

    — Dr. Dig is the man. He has a good heart, he KNOWS the content, he loves his students, he doesn't mind (relevant) tangents, he gets the job done (you learn A LOT), and he's incredibly quirky and funny (never wears the same tie twice per year. maybe even ever). He's a blast in/out of the classroom--the real-life Indiana Jones.

    — One of absolute best Bible classes at Harding. Not only does the lecture portion bring ancient Israel to life, but this class' lab involves digging in a large, realistic archaeological site. The amount of excitement and hands-on learning can't be matched. Plus, Dr. Manor is a great man and a brilliant archaeologist. Take it!

 


 

Catching Up With Friends…

Dr. Dale Manor (left) visits with Dr. Gabriel Barkay and his wife Esther following Barkay's presentation at Harding University. Dr. Barkay received his Ph.D. in archaeology from Tel Aviv University and has participated in numerous digs. Perhaps his best-known discovery is the Silver Scrolls, two silver amulets that contain the Priestly Benediction (Numbers 6:24-26), which are the earliest recorded biblical verses. Since 2004 he has been director of the Israel Excavation Society Sifting Project, sifting soil from the Temple Mount area. Manor has been friends with Dr. and Mrs. Barkay for many years.

A Shared Interest…

Dr. Dale Manor (left) discusses one of his archaeological finds with Houston attorney Mark Lanier. Lanier and his wife Becky made possible the puchase of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision quadcopter drone which Manor uses at his dig at Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel. Lanier serves on the boards of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the Albright Institute.

Searcy

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Tel Beth-Shemesh