Carson-Newman students, faculty return home after dig trip in Israel turns dangerous

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (WVLT) - A group of Carson-Newman University students, faculty and chaperones have returned to the United States after escaping escalating conflict in Israel, where they had traveled to participate in an archaeological dig.

The group arrived in Jerusalem to study and excavate ancient sites.

Sophomore Audrey Wood said they had been on the dig site for about two days before Middle East tensions escalated.

“The first air raid siren goes off,” Wood said. “That was shocking because we never heard that before.”

Sophomore Davis Bigelow said the group took shelter routinely during the ordeal.

“Just having to hear those sirens and having to go into the bomb shelter routinely — probably about every 30 minutes for about two days straight,” Bigelow said.

He added the stress was exhausting, but the group leaned on each other, saying humor helped the group cope during the most difficult stretches of the evacuation.

“At least for me, humor was definitely the best way — whether it’s for you or for the people around you,” Bigelow said.

The university moved to evacuate the group, routing them through Egypt and across five airports over a journey that stretched multiple days.

Assistant Professor Marshall King, who said it was his fourth time in Israel during missile strikes, led efforts to keep the group together during the evacuation.

“It was important to us that the students felt a sense of security and safety,” King said.

The students said they were disappointed they could not finish the dig. King said the program will continue at a different site.

“We’ll find a place for the students to excavate and get to the floor like they’ve been dreaming about,” King said.

Bigelow said the experience left a lasting impression.

“It gave me a certain level of empathy that I didn’t — I couldn’t fully process before,” Bigelow said. “I knew that people lived like that, but just having to experience the little that I did, it really broke my heart — not only for people in Israel but all over the Middle East.”

Most of the students are now back on campus adjusting to their regular schedules and catching up on assignments.