ASOR FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
ROBERT STARK
Robert working on a project in Egypt.
What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?
The most memorable moment of my excavation experience was working in the crypts. I was involved with the excavation of the Robebus chapel East crypt directed by Dr. Margaret Judd at Mt. Nebo, Jordan. The crypt is subterranean, being ~2 meters below the surface, and is comprised of two low ceilinged (~1 m in height) chambers from which commingled skeletal remains were excavated. The experience of lowering myself down into and excavating in the crypt is the most memorable moment of my time at Mt. Nebo. The odd feeling of being so close to the surface yet contained in an area completely silent, due to the enclosing rock, was both eerie and mesmerizing, a very exhilarating site.
What advice would you give a fellow recipient?
The advice I would give a fellow recipient is to use every opportunity the excavation provides you. There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and to improve skills you already have. Take these opportunities as they come and make the best of your time in the field.
Are you still affiliated with ASOR as a member?
My ASOR membership appears to have lapsed recently. This is not for any particular reason but rather from an uncertainty of if I had renewed or not.
What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?
I am currently a doctoral candidate in biological anthropology at McMaster University.
How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?
I am presently a doctoral candidate in biological anthropology at McMaster University looking at human migration in antiquity using oxygen (d18O) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopic analyses and nonmetric skeletal traits. I have also recently become involved with an ongoing excavation in Egypt examining human skeletal and mummified remains as part of a project in the Theban necropolis.
The Platt Fellowship helped direct me towards the path I am currently on by giving me the opportunity to excavate and analyze human skeletal remains. By being involved in the Robebus Chapel excavation at Mt. Nebo, Jordan my interest in pursuing bioarchaeology as a career path was re-affirmed, providing me with guidance to continue on to pursue a doctoral degree, which I am presently undertaking.
