DANVILLE – An Averett University professor and student are on their way to the Middle East where they hope to make a potentially historic discovery.
Dr. Ralph Hawkins and an English student, along with over a dozen other professors and religious leaders from around the world, are conducting an excavation in Israel.
Recommended Videos
They'll spend the next month working in the Jordan Valley.
The goal is to find evidence that will help explain where the Israelites originated.
Hawkins has been helping organize the trip for almost a decade.
"If we're able to show that the Israelites did, indeed, come from outside the land as the Bible claims, that would undergird the Bible's historic reliability," Hawkins explained.
If significant artifacts are found, they will remain in Israel for future study.