The Society for Biblical Literature (SBL), along with the American Oriental Society (AOS) and the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), endorse a proposal to establish a school in Palestine as an overseas research center. SBL initiates the concept in a circular in 1895, which gains the pledge of 11 institutions.
Under the name the “American School of Oriental Study and Research in Palestine,” the organization was born.
ASOR’s first presence overseas is established in 1900 in Jerusalem, with Charles C. Torrey, an Old Testament scholar at Yale University, serving as director for that year. Torrey, supported by the U.S. consul in Jerusalem Selah Merrill, establishes ASOR’s initial headquarters in a large room in the Grand New Hotel inside the Jaffa Gate area.
Torrey begins ASOR’s first archaeological field work project with the excavation of tombs at Sidon.
In 1906, under Annual Director Benjamin Bacon, the school's headquarters were moved outside the Old City to 6 Ethiopia Street.
Image: Doorway of house at 6 Ethiopia Street, Jaffa.
In 1908, another move was made to a house opposite the German Archaeological Institute. In 1909, Director Robert Harper purchased land for the building in Jerusalem. He purchased a vacant property between the Ecole Biblique and Saint George's Cathedral to provide for a permanent residence for the institute. Funds for building construction were not yet available, however, and the school continued to rent space through 1924.
The Bulletin of ASOR (BASOR) publishes its first volume as an interdisciplinary English-language forum for scholars worldwide in subjects relating to the archaeology and history of the ancient Near Eastern world.
William Foxwell Albright was appointed ASOR’s first long-term director in Jerusalem.
Image: The Jerusalem property in 1920 on which the ASOR School was later constructed.
ASOR is formally incorporated in the U.S. and James A. Montgomery of the University of Pennsylvania is named its first President. With the imminent addition of another school in Baghdad, the organization changes its name to “American Schools of Oriental Research.”
Under Albright's leadership, archaeological and other activities expanded and the school's future was secured in a way that had not been possible before. In 1922, he led fellows at the school in excavations at Tell el-Fûl, just north of Jerusalem, and in 1923, he worked at the four mounds of Malhah to Jerusalem's southwest. One of the senior fellows at the School at this time was Melvin Grove Kyle, President of Xenia Theological Seminary (later Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). A friendship developed, and Kyle was able to raise funds to pay for another modest excavation project. Kyle and Albright chose the site of Tell Beit Mirsim, and excavations were pursued in four seasons between 1926 and 1932. Due to Albright's scholarly aptitudes, this project became one of the most significant excavations of the period and established Albright as one of its leading archaeologists. The final reports, published as ASOR Annuals, set new standards for the discipline, especially with respect to ceramic chronology.
ASOR adopts the Egyptian ankh hieroglyph, the symbol of life, containing within it the Babylonian dinger, the eight-pointed star formed by four cuneiform wedges, signifying deity.
ASOR's second center, the Baghdad School, is founded.
Construction on building completed and ASOR moves into the facility. Later named the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, this facility would house 10 rooms for students and visiting scholars.
Image 1: The front of the Albright building and left wing nearing completion.
Image 2: The rear of the building with unfinished right wing in the foreground.
Seasons start at Tell Beit Mirsim, chosen by Albright and senior fellow Melvin Grove Kyle, as an initially modest excavation project that turned into one of the most significant excavations of the period.
Image: Tell Beit Mirsim staff in 1932: Standing (left to right) William Gad (surveyor), Cyrus Gordon (ASOR Baghdad), Henry Detweiler (architect), John Bright (Union Seminary), W.F. Stinespring (Yale University), Rev. Eugene Liggit (Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminar), Rev. Vernon Broyles (Union Seminary), Aage Schmidt (Danish Shiloh Expedition), Front row (left to right) James L. Kelso (Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary), W.F. Albright (Johns Hopkins University), Melvin G. Kyle (Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary), Nelson Glueck (ASOR).
Nelson Glueck succeeds Millar Burrows as Annual Director of ASOR.
Image: Millar Burrows with ASOR vehicle in Jerusalem, July 1936.
The Biblical Archaeologist was inaugurated by G.E. Wright as its editor. Its first editorial board consisted of W.F. Albright (Johns Hopkins), Millar Burrows (Yale), and E.A. Speiser (University of Pennsylvania). It was to be published quarterly at an initial subscription price of 50 cents per year.
Journal of Cuneiform Studies is founded by Director Albrecht Goetze.
The Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts are brought to ASOR for identification and authentication.
Image: Dead Sea Scrolls research was to occupy many scholars at the Jerusalem School through to the end of the century. Prominent among these is John Strugnell of Harvard University, seen here studying the ancient text 4Q394 as an Albright Institute National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow in 1981-2.
During the Suez conflict in 1956, staff were evacuated from the Jerusalem School but returned shortly thereafter.
ASOR scholars were involved in the long-term excavation at Sardis, in western Türkiye.
In 1965, the ASOR presidency and leadership in the U.S. passed from the hands of A. Henry Detweiler to G. Ernest Wright of Harvard. The new ASOR office was located in Boston at Harvard Semitic Museum.
The school in Jerusalem, which was in peril of being sold amid political and military tensions in the city, is determined as unsold as the buyer’s check to Annual Director John Marks was never cashed and the buyer had stopped payment. The property was turned over to the American Consulate General for temporary use while the ASOR Executive Committee contemplated the property’s future.
ASOR's operations move to the U.S. Program activities also continued in Jerusalem at the newly named W. F. Albright Institute; but the focus was radically altered. Casey was succeeded as director by David Noel Freedman in 1968-1970 and by Robert J. Bull in 1970-1971, after which William Dever began a four year term, (1971-1975). Freedman and Dever had both been involved in major excavation projects in Israel proper, Freedman at Ashdod and Dever at Gezer, so connections were quickly reestablished within Israeli professional circles. At the same time some limited follow-up work from the School was continued at West Bank sites including Shechem, Ai and Taanach where Americans had previously excavated. Through the decade new field projects were initiated at Caesarea, Tell Jemmeh, Tell Hesi, Tell Halif (Lahav), Khirbet Shema, Meiron, Tell Anafa and elsewhere.
The Baghdad School closes due to political tensions and becomes the Committee on Mesopotamian Civilization.
A new center is created in Amman, Jordan, to allow scholars to continue working on both sides of the Jordan River. The center is incorporated under the named the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR).
ASOR starts its sponsorship of a series of excavations, financed with U.S. federal funds, at Punic and Roman Carthage. ASOR sponsors a new center nearby, the Carthage Research Institute, as a base for the excavation and survey work at the site.
The Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) in Nicosia was formally established.
Image: The CAARI building, with its flowering “Bottle Brush” tree in the foreground, and the “Camel’s Foot” tree behind.
Establishment of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) was led by Elizabeth Moynihan, who would become ASOR’s first chair of the board of trustees (1984-1986).
Image: ASOR Trustee Elizabeth Moynihan (left) with President James A. Sauer in front of the new ASOR administration office in Philadelphia in 1983.
William G. Dever, former director of the AIAR in Jerusalem, became ASOR’s Second Vice President for Archaeological Policy, and expanded ASOR-affiliated projects through a program that pursued higher standards of timely publication and fieldwork.
Image: In the summer of 1984, the ASOR CAP tour of Middle East excavations visited 45 field projects in Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Cyprus. At the Tall al-Umeiri base camp, tour members examine the object registration system with Madaba Plains Project Director Lawrence Geraty (left) and Umeiri Registrar E.E. Platt (center). Tour members (left to right) include AIAR Vice President Carol Meyers, ASOR First Vice President Eric Meyers, ASOR Second Vice President William Dever and ASOR President James Sauer.
James A. Sauer was elected as ASOR's eighth president in 1982. After assuming the presidency in July 1982, Sauer took immediate action to sustain the momentum in programming that former President King and the planning committee had initiated. He continued the program of NEH grants for excavation project assistance, fellowships, and challenge support. He had previously built strong alliances with federal agencies that had Middle Eastern interests, such as USIA, USAID, and ASHA during his time as Director of ACOR. Sauer also took a professional position at the University of Pennsylvania, prompting the move of ASOR’s offices from Cambridge to Philadelphia. Drawing on his experience at ACOR, he established the new Philadelphia offices. Initially, Sauer envisioned creating a U.S. resident institute modeled on those overseas. He believed this would facilitate scholar exchanges and research, which the University of Pennsylvania could support. At the same time, Sauer assembled a new staff, including Mitchel Rothman as Executive Director, Susan Wing as Assistant to the Treasurer, and Cynthia Eisemann as Development Officer. The early success of initiatives led by this team culminated in the 1984 announcement of a special NEH award for $200,000. This award funded the operation of Summer Institutes in Near East Archaeology, in cooperation with the University Museum and the University of Pennsylvania, with ASOR’s headquarters serving as the administrative base. The first seminar, "The Ancient Near East as the Cradle of Civilization," took place between June 3 and July 12, 1985. Five ASOR leaders, including Sauer, led the seminar, which had nineteen participants. Throughout his term, Sauer led other successful seminars and worked to increase ASOR’s membership. Image: ASOR President James A. Sauer (right) with Trustee Elizabeth Moynihan in front of the new ASOR administration office; 4223 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1987, P. Kyle McCarter, Jr. became President of ASOR. A few years earlier, McCarter had been appointed to the distinguished position of William Foxwell Albright Professor of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. McCarter’s election as President, along with Gibbs’ election as Treasurer, coincided with Chairman Thompson’s efforts to move ASOR’s headquarters from Philadelphia to Baltimore. The Johns Hopkins administration pledged to help provide space near its Homewood campus. In July 1988, with financial support from the Mercantile Trust Company, McCarter established administrative offices in The Rotunda, adjacent to the Johns Hopkins University Press, which by then was handling most of ASOR’s publications. McCarter quickly assembled a new office staff. However, his term faced significant financial and administrative challenges. The growth of overseas affiliates continued to strain ASOR’s resources, limiting its ability to provide them with adequate operational support. Meanwhile, the administrative office became overwhelmed with paperwork as final reports on federal grant commitments came due. Despite these challenges, McCarter began his presidency with great energy and optimism. The staff of the Baltimore Office: Executive Director Susan Foster Krombholz, Administrative Assistant Pam Turner, Kathryn Gould as Accountant, Debra Katz as Administrator of Academic Exchange Services, and Mark Gallagher, Administrator of Grants and Fellowships.
