An interview with Col. Sharon Shoan, Commander of Megiddo prison.

Col. Sharon Shoan.

Co. Shoan, Please tell our readers about Megiddo prison. 

Megiddo prison is a maximum security prison that is restricted for terrorists, and is  the second largest prison is Israel.

 

Megiddo prison has been run by the I.D.F (Israeli defense forces) for more than 20 years. On February 2005, the responsibility was transferred from the I.D.F to the Israeli Prison authority (Shaba"s).

Since then, the Israeli Prison authority has been upgrading the prison in all the aspects- increasing the security, constructing new wings, introducing new staff. In 3-4 months we are planning on adding 200 prisoners to a total of 1400.

 

How did the archaeological event start?

 

The archaeological excavations were the natural outcome of the innovation in the Megiddo prison after it was transferred to us by the I.D.F. We have planned the innovations meticulously- we have planed a drastic change of all the facilitates, and spread the tasks throughout the whole year. We are just on schedule- as we have built 8 new wings.

 

Until the construction work started, the prisoners lived in tents, and this fact dictated the prison's guarding and building concept. The army had built inward-facing watch-towers that guarded the tents. The watch towers are made of concrete, and they required quite some digging.

 

As the Megiddo region is rich in archaeological findings, the building and construction work was supervised by the I.A.A (Israeli Antiquity agency).

 

 Until now the construction work was pretty much as a usual archaeological site- every finding, a small pottery, statuette, or coin received the proper documentation, and we kept the work going.

 

When you say, "we kept the work", whom do you refer to? The maximum security prisoners of Megiddo?

 

God forbid! In the construction work, only criminal prisoners were allowed to work, and among them we have chosen only prisoners who are regarded as "good" prisoners, such as prisoners  who were about to finish their sentence, or who were on a special out-of-prison program. They have even received money for their work, more than what they would earn in the prison.

 

Do you regard their work as an educational value?

 

I sure do. I regard it as an integral part of their rehabilitation process. The prisoners can get a lesson of responsibility, of hard work, earning

their own money, and experiencing the joy of self-reliance.

 

I must confess, that in the beginning, the prisoners failed to see the hard work in terms of self improvement, and were not, to say the least, very enthusiastic about it. The first weeks were pretty hard for us all- the long journeys (from other prisons-S.C.), the hard work, and all the logistics.

 

But after a while, the I.A.A personal started explaining the importance of the work, showing them the findings, and as the work went on, the prisoners started to show a growing interest in the excavations. At some point more small "treasures" have started to emerge- coins, rooms, and a "miqeweh". These findings really helped to boost the enthusiasm.

 

The construction work in the last wing was where the big change took place. One of the prisoners uncovered a small part of the mosaic. The I.A.A. was immediately called for, and they were given new instructions.

 

Up to the finding of the mosaic, the tools used in the digging were the pick and the shovel. But afterwards, only the most delicate tools were used, and the work went on really slow, inch by inch.

When we found the inscriptions, everyone realized that the archaeological importance of the finding was immense, and the rest is, well, history. 

 

What did you feel when you understood the importance of the finding?

 

I must say that I had mixed feelings about it. On one side, there is a lot of excitement, being part of such a rare and valuable finding, but on the other hand, as the commander of the prison, I have a huge responsibility- taking care of the well being of hundreds of maximum security prisoners and dozens of prison staff members. And let us not forget the set back in the construction work and its implications.

 

What can you tell us of the importance of the findings?

 

Well, I am a military man in my training, and I served many years in the I.D.F. -the Israeli army, so I am not much of an archaeologist. However, I do know that the mosaic is from the 3^rd or 4^th century, many years before the official recognition of Christianity. There is also a mentioning of Jesus as a God, the lack of a Cross, and the fish in the mosaic- all point to a very early era of Christianity.

 

It seems you are quite knowledgeable in archaeology…

 

I have to confess- it is all quite exiting. It is quite unusual for the commander of a high security prison and all its staff to become a part of an historical event of this magnitude.

 

The moment it was understood, that the findings might be the most ancient Church or Chappell in the world, all the reporters in the middle east dropped everything they were working on, the occupied territories, the fighting and the shooting, and swarmed to Megiddo prison. One can understand The importance of the finding can be reflected by the gift the President of Israel offered his holiness the Pope- a picture of the mosaic.

  

I guess the archaeological excavations pretty much disrupted your day-to-day work?

 

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to use the word "disrupt", but they have definitely made us change our daily schedule. The I.A.A. personal enter the excavation almost every day, and we receive at least twice a week delegations of scholars, reporters and representatives of religious orders from all over the world. So we work a little bit harder, after all, it is no usual finding.

 

I can only count our blessings, as the Israeli Prison Authority the public relation wing has experienced a huge upgrade during   the reorganization I mentioned earlier, and today we are much more media-oriented. The I.P.A upgraded public relation has certainly eased our job.

 

What about the relation with the Israeli Antiquity Authority (I.A.A)?

 

They have been really helpful- The cooperation between us was extraordinarily well. Regarding the future, Megiddo prison is not a private entity. I guess the decisions will be made by the government. We have our local agenda, and the government has the national agenda. For the meantime, we have postponed the construction of the last wing, and we have found an alternative solution.

 

Could you tell us about possible solutions?

 

Basically, there are three major ones- the first, and easiest, is removing the mosaic from the prison, and exhibiting it elsewhere. The second is creating a barrier between the excavation and the prison, either by a high wall, or fence of some kind. The last solution is evacuating Megiddo prison. This option is the most complicated and expensive. Please keep in mind, that we are talking about 1400 dangerous terrorists that must be relocated. There is a real need for the Megiddo prison facilities.

 

Do you have any kind of estimation, how much money it can take?

 

As I mentioned earlier, the decision regarding the mosaic's future, will be made by the suitable authorities. I don't want to wave any numbers, but as a very non-accurate estimation, I would guess, at least several hundreds of million Shekels (4.6shekels=$1). And I have to repeat and say again, that we are talking about 1400 maximum security prisoners, 1400 terrorists. And, anyway, the prison will lose quite a large area, which is necessary for building the new wings.

 

Can you share with our readers a lighter side of your experience?

 

Frankly, there are quite a few. Since the Megiddo prison became famous, strangers started approaching me on the street, and sharing with me their opinions and advice- It seem every one has the perfect solution. Also, I can't recall a weekend in which at least one family car didn't stop by the gates of Megiddo prison, and ask to enter the ancient church or peek at the 3^rd century mosaic. The fact that Megiddo is a maximum prison facility apparently doesn't really bother them. 

 

But there are also moments of wonder. We have a Christian jailer, whose brother is a priest. The jailer goes every day to the ancient church to pray. Can you imagine the awe he must feel, praying in the oldest church in the world? It is so beautiful. 

 

Perhaps the funniest story is about the prisoners who worked in the excavation. Two of the prisoners have been arguing who was the first to have found the mosaic. Each one declared he was the first. At last one of the prisoners had managed to become the "official" finder, but the media chose to interview the other prisoner. And the poor "official" finder practiced giving interviews all night, by using a broom-stick as a microphone!  

 

There are some light sides in Megiddo prison, but basically it is a very serious place, and the daily work is by no means easy.

Every day we have to take and return 60-80 prisoners from 2 other prisons, while looking after them as they work in what might be the most supervised archaeological excavation in history. It is a complicated feat, but we can handle it.

 

I understand  the world's sudden interest in Megiddo prison, but soon the restoration work will be finished, the future of the prison and church will be decided upon, and everything will return to normal, and we will continue what we do best- Managing Megiddo prison. 

 

Posted on 21-5-2005, translated from Hebrew by Sahar Cohen. 

 

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