Photo by Lydia Aisenberg 

"We, the Jews, never stopped living here." 

Two dilapidated buildings in the Shomria high school of Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek have been converted into an archeological museum exhibiting artifacts that have been unearthed at sites just a short walk away from where they are now displayed in glass showcases mounted on metal stands.

Kibbutz born octogenarian Micha Linn can be described as a very professional ‘amateur’ when it comes to digging up ancient artifacts left behind by his long-gone neighbors,  whilst  forty-something Noam Mamon has been a history buff and avid follower of archeology since he was a child growing up in Haifa.

There may be a 40 year difference between Micha Linn and Noam Mamon but one thing they deeply share in common – apart from living on an almost 90 year-old collective – is their love of learning about those who lived not only in Israel but particularly those who dwelled in the front or back courtyards of their kibbutz many historic generations ago.

When Noam was still a young schoolboy, Micha began to excavate a site between the perimeter of the kibbutz, nestling on the slopes of the Menashe Hills on the lip of the Jezreel Valley, and a hidden cave used as a training site for special units of the Palmach in pre-State of Israel days.  The Palmach Cave was hidden by a thick forest felled in later years so as to stop a tree sickness spreading throughout the Menashe Hills.  Nowadays the cave is an educational center dealing with the heritage of the Palmach, but in Micha Linn’s youth it was a place where local kids went to play.

A large round stone protruding from the deep undergrowth caught Linn’s eye and it was here that he discovered one of the oldest olive presses to be found in Israel.  He also uncovered a large area of the remains of housing, passages, troughs - a story in stone depicting how the people of that time had lived their daily lives. That site in present times is overshadowed by an enormous covered basketball stadium and adjoining kibbutz swimming pool.

Artifacts discovered at that and other sites around the kibbutz – including Geva Parashim (Gaba), the cave entrance and round stones propped up against the rocks clearly seen from the veranda outside the newly opened museum - were stored in a small building that was once a communal shower.  Later the artifacts were moved to a disused bomb shelter, huge slabs of colorless mosaic flooring propped up outside the entrance.

Some years ago Noam and a few other kibbutz members decided to take up the cause of housing the collection in more suitable conditions, and they convinced the kibbutz to renovate disused buildings in Shomria, a historical site in itself being the first regional kibbutz high school in the country that was founded in 1931.

The Department of Antiquities has closely followed the successes of Micha Linn over the years.  Many of the artifacts he unearthed did not remain in the kibbutz in-house collection, but nowadays are exhibited in museums in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  For many years there was a bumpy relationship between the kibbutznik and the Department of Antiquities, but eventually what Linn was allowed to keep on site is an impressive collection in itself and both he and Mamon were highly praised by Department of Antiquities officials who attended the recently held opening of the kibbutz high school-based museum, termed rather tongue-in-cheek by one official as “a difficult birth.”

“For me one of the most important aspects of this exhibition is to show that we Jews never stopped living here in the crucially important junction that the Jezreel Valley has always been,” explained Linn, the name of his kibbutz translating to ‘Guardian of the Valley’ and situated a few kilometers from the ancient mound (tel) of Megiddo-Armageddon.

“Practically everywhere you start digging in this area there is something of the past to be found, whether it be from thousands of years ago or just hundreds,” Linn says with a broad smile.

A graphics designer in the kibbutz industry, Mamon found himself almost alone pushing the project forward as complications arose, meeting after meeting held with kibbutz committees dealing with finance, building and culture bogging down any progress.

Admittedly stubborn by nature, Mamon persevered and eventually the go-ahead was given and he settled down to designing the outlay of the museum together with a professional member of the Department of Antiquities' staff; he also photographed the sites from which the artifacts to be exhibited came and designed the attractive information boards throughout the museum.

“From the historical, cultural and educational perspectives this collection is all-embracing of our connection to this land and a deep sense of belonging, appreciation of what was and what has been accomplished since,” said Mamon as he and Linn proudly stood among the artifacts pulled from the ground around and in their kibbutz abode.

When he was just five years old Mamon lost his father on the second day of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  “Every Shabbat my father used to take me either on a day trip or to a football match,” he explained.  “We would go to places along the shore like Tel Dor and find pieces of glass, shards and so on.  To this day, I am drawn toward reading about history, knowing more about the so rich past and wanting to share that with others.”

Serving in a Nachal unit, Mamon was based at Kibbutz Gshur on the Golan Heights, enabling him to visit many an ancient site such as Gamla, Katzrin and other ancient Jewish settlements during his army service.

“I was living just three kilometers from where my father was killed,” he says sadly before explaining that his father, Moshe, was an experienced tank officer who had served with the famous 7^th Brigade.  He and his tank company were awarded a medal of honor for actions they undertook in the 1956 Sinai Campaign. Last year Noam and his family instigated a memorial corner to Moshe Mamon erected on an outcrop on the kibbutz perimeter commanding a view across the Jezreel Valley from where, on a clear day in the winter, can be seen the snow capped peaks of  the Golan’s Mt. Hermon.

Noam Mamon decided to join his older brother Eran at Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek when he finished his army service.  In his first years he worked in the fields, plowing, planting and harvesting crops and later switched to being a horse-riding cowboy out on the Menashe Hills range with the kibbutz beef cattle.

“All the time I would find ancient coins and other artifacts, especially after heavy rain.  I would check each item in books and go speak with Micha and eventually got hooked on history even more,” he said, laughing.

On the hill opposite the high school building housing the archeological museum, sits a large hill known by the Romans as Tel Shush or Abu Shusha as called by the Arab population who lived there prior to 1948.  It is at the base of this hill that Micha Linn discovered the caves of Geva.

“I am hoping that now we have the museum we can use it as an educational tool to get the kibbutz youth more involved with their historic connections to the place and community where they live,” states Mamon, his eyes drifting across the wadi between the school and road leading up the Menashe Hills to Abu Shusha, knowing that there are many secrets still hidden under the big mound.