Video: Digging up a 4,000-year-old house near Jerusalem

Halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a team of archaeologists try to uncover the old city of Tel Gezer. And by old, I mean VERY old: Tel Gezer was a city-state 4,000 years ago.

American archaeologists Steve Ortiz and Sam Wolff led a team to dig up an Iron Age house in the Judean mountains. The house is so much bigger than the other houses around it that Ortiz and Wolff believe it belonged to someone important; perhaps a governor or a wealthy person.

I came along with them to help dig and watch their discoveries in action.

The scientists thought this skull came from modern times, though they had no idea what animal it belonged to. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)

Lots of local people came by to watch the dig. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)

It was springtime, so flowers were in bloom. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)

Everyone got covered in dust during the dig. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)

These ancient pillars may have been a gate of some sort. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)

The team used lots of different tools to uncover the floor of the house. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)

This lush region has been used to supply water to nearby areas for millennia. (Photo: Ilana E. Strauss)