"'It's a work of art,' Cullinane admitted grudgingly, 'but of no archaeological value.' He pushed it away, unaware that it was to become the most notorious single object that would be found at the dig. 'Damn,' he growled. 'A bullet, a gold coin nearly a thousand years too old and a menorah. All in the wrong levels at the wrong times. What kind of dig is this?'" (The Tell, pp. 31-32)

"The family had not been in the house long when Ur's son discovered that the springtime planting of wheat need not be left to the chance scatter of autumn grains. By holding back some of the harvest and keeping it dry in a pouch of deerskin, the grains could be planted purposefully in the spring and the wheat could be made to grow exactly where and when it was needed, and with this...