Long ago and far away, I traveled to a magical place. A mild breeze came off the Mediterranean and tossed back my hair. The jet lag of an overnight flight and time difference was forgotten as I looked at the ground and realized I was in Israel! I, along with 20 other students, had come to the ancient city of Caesarea Maritima to see one of Herod the Great's most spectacular accomplishments; a port literally built from scratch in a place where there was no harbor to begin with. Herod not only had a palace here, he also built a hippodrome for horse and dog races, a massive theater for the arts and civic affairs, an aquaduct system for water and viaducts for sewage disposal. While I wandered along the beach where Herod's palace once stood, I kept my eyes open for bits of pottery and mosaic pieces which were known to wash up on shore. I did find little bits and pieces of pottery at first, but nothing truly worth keeping. Then I saw a larger piece in the sand, probably from the side of a storage pot judging from the ridges on it. I picked it up and turned it in my hands. Who made this? Was it made by a craftsman or a servant in Herod's palace? Did this person put the lines on it for practical reasons, perhaps a better grip; or did the design become a silent testimony of authorship like an artist's signature on his latest masterpiece? It really struck me that I was holding a piece of someone's history in a time they barely knew would exist! I also found some small chunks of mosaic tiles that had washed ashore. One piece looked like a pack of Chicklets Chewing Gum, so I brushed off the sand and stuck it in my pocket with the pottery shard. While looking out over the sea, I imagined the meticulous grinding, sanding and piecework that went in to making a floor in those ancient days. "My goodness, these artifacts are old!" I thought, "I feel as if I am holding time in my hands." A piece of pottery, a section of floor, each almost a thousand years old! In that moment the artifact was no longer an ancient souvenir, but a piece of someone long ago, forgotten by time, ravaged and crushed by the sea, but now remembered by me. And even today as I pull them out of my keepsake box to set them up and take a picture, they speak to me and cause me to imagine and wonder. Such stories these collectibles tell! And after I've thought about them for a while, I come to this conclusion: Artifacts, in a way, are advocates of memory and meaning. If you are willing to place them in your hands, give them a turn and listen to the stories they tell, you will feel a connection to long ago and it will no longer seem so far away.
@httpgeffed Thanks Colleen! I have all sorts of stones and stuff from my trip- even a branch of an olive tree cut by one of the master gardeners who oversees the Garden of Gethsemane (but the stones made a better shot). @kerristephens Thanks Kerri!
Brilliant - I just love the story and can completely empathise... I have a few roman coins and wonder where they were made, who had them, what did they buy with them? (food, a slave, their freedom?) and how did they lose them.... precious history we'll never know, but holding a little of it in our hands makes it come to life somehow. Wonderful
"I feel as if I am holding time in my hands." my writing mentor, if he was alive, would have loved this line. that was brilliant. whenever i read an unknown writer's beautiful words, i feel so inadequate yet honoured to have read it because it would be a pity to not have it published and read by many, but at least it was read by someone who appreciates its value and meaning. you, my friend, are first rate! i'm not writing anymore.
thank you for sharing this "piece of history" (pun unintended). i like the shot, but i love the essay more. :-)
That's the miracle of history, and old thngs like this. I so love to witness it, and to touch things like that. Your mind can be transported back in time. It is so fascinating.
@filsie65 Thank you Phil! My one extravagant souvenir from Israel is a Roman coin from the time of Jesus which was made into a pendant- all documented and certified by the Israel Antiquities Authority- woohoo! I just love it. And often think the same things when I hold it in my hands. Who made this? Who used it? What did they buy, or did they use it to pay taxes? Fun imaginings! @woot Thank you Davide! It started out as a black and white, but when I added the daugertype effect it went to sepia, so I faded the b/w back in a bit to get rid of the creamy brown and make it more gritty. @la_photographic Thank you Laura! @twinsplusone Thank you Sharon! @tklein Thank you Tina! @annaluceya Thank you Ana! It's filled with little bits and pieces of every place we stopped on the trip! @summerfield I thank you so much Vikki and truly appreciate your encouraging words. I have begun the arduous journey toward publication and sent an entry in to a literary competition. I don't know if anything will happen or not, but it's a start. I may not be published in a trade, but the things which I write weekly for my church and the little musings I write here, have brought me to consider it more than ever before. And I do believe you played a major role in that turnaround- so thank you once again! @sarasdadandmom Thank you Terry! @kimmistephens Thank you Kimmi! @digitalrn Thank you Rick!
Thank you all so much. This was certainly a creative word for me! I loved choosing which pieces to use and I'm glad they sparked your imagination like they have mine.
@sangwann Thank you Dione! @peterdegraaff Thank you Peter!
It was a wonderful trip which comes alive again when I remember my travels there. I guess that came through in my writing!
Lovely capture of your special treasures. Sometimes those objects make my hair stand on end or give me chills when I think back to how old they are! I used to have a fossil dinosaur bone that made me wonder the same things too :)
@allie912 Thank you so much Allison. There are some days when I sit down and the words just pour out. Other days, it takes much longer. But I do enjoy when I have the time to add a narrative to the shot. I am glad you enjoy them so much. I do love to tell a story!
@kerristephens Thanks Kerri!
thank you for sharing this "piece of history" (pun unintended). i like the shot, but i love the essay more. :-)
@woot Thank you Davide! It started out as a black and white, but when I added the daugertype effect it went to sepia, so I faded the b/w back in a bit to get rid of the creamy brown and make it more gritty.
@la_photographic Thank you Laura!
@twinsplusone Thank you Sharon!
@tklein Thank you Tina!
@annaluceya Thank you Ana! It's filled with little bits and pieces of every place we stopped on the trip!
@summerfield I thank you so much Vikki and truly appreciate your encouraging words. I have begun the arduous journey toward publication and sent an entry in to a literary competition. I don't know if anything will happen or not, but it's a start. I may not be published in a trade, but the things which I write weekly for my church and the little musings I write here, have brought me to consider it more than ever before. And I do believe you played a major role in that turnaround- so thank you once again!
@sarasdadandmom Thank you Terry!
@kimmistephens Thank you Kimmi!
@digitalrn Thank you Rick!
Thank you all so much. This was certainly a creative word for me! I loved choosing which pieces to use and I'm glad they sparked your imagination like they have mine.
@peterdegraaff Thank you Peter!
It was a wonderful trip which comes alive again when I remember my travels there. I guess that came through in my writing!
@alia_801 Thank you Alia! A dinosaur bone sounds cool!