One field in particular must be mentioned today. Continuous work by American and Israeli archaeologists since the 70ies in Roman Galilee has brought back to our minds the history and culture of a region which is at the core of Christian mind and spirituality. It is in this environment, that we just saw, where Jesus preached and won his first disciples. It is walls, pots, lamps, coins, and above all, the careful analysis of soil layers and their contents. It is hard to conceive that, because archaeologists deal with concepts and theories, that are only valid for a limited time until somebody else comes up with a theory better designed to explain our finds.
All archaeological results are preliminary.
So the archaeological quest is not directly for religious truth, it is the attempt to reconstruct an all-encompassing picture of the cultural environment in which Biblical stories play. And every archaeologist is very well advised not to confuse theories with facts and religion with history. Nothing is more appalling and embarrassing than to see once more an expedition go out with much confidence and publicity to find Noah's Ark or the Ark of Covenant and return without any result and with ridicule and frustration. But that cannot be all, and I am grateful that my class has not given up pressing me about the relevance of archaeology for our quest for truth. It is here, in the life of ordinary people, where Biblical religion first took shape, here where it developed, and here where people related their lives to their God.