Using the device of an archaeological dig, the author traces the history of a fictional spot in Galilee, building the stories of each successive era around one of the artifacts uncovered. The Focal Point of the magnificent novel is Makor, a site in Israel known in modern times as Tell Makor -a name signifying that this is not a natural mound "but the patiently accumulated residue of one abandoned settlement after another, each resting upon the ruins of its predecessor, reaching endlessly back into history." The framework for the narrative is provided by the archaeologist who came to excavate Makor, uncovering objects which identify, level by level, the various periods of human occupancy that have come and gone since the first man arrived here. The expedition is fascinating in itself, but the main body of the novel is the story of Makor, in its various aspects through the ages.
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