[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]In light of the global pandemic, ASOR’s Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy (CAP) decided to limited grants and scholarships to proposals that do not entail international travel and can be verified as safe and feasible at the time of application. Thus, excavation grants and fellowships to individuals will look a little different this year.
Grants to Archaeological Projects. ASOR will again be offering Charles Harris Grants (three grants of $2500 each), and a Joe D. Seger Grant (one grant of $2500 in matching funds). Applications for these grants should come from the PIs of ASOR-affiliated projects and applicants for the Seger grant should be prepared to describe their matching funds. For the 2021 granting cycle, the Harris and Seger grants cannot be used to support international travel or fieldwork. Instead, these grants will support any non-fieldwork research, analysis, or publication components of ASOR affiliated projects during 2021. Applications for Harris and Seger Grants will be due February 15, 2021. The project must demonstrate that the proposal is safe and feasible given current conditions and restrictions.
Individual Support (Summer Stipends). For almost 15 years, ASOR has been providing students and volunteers the opportunity to participate in archaeological research overseas via our Excavation Fellowships (Dig Scholarships). In 2021, we plan to continue our support for research participation in non-fieldwork contexts; rather than providing dig scholarships, we will be supporting summer employment for research that is safe and feasible. This year, we will be offering twenty five (25) Summer Stipends of $1500 (undergraduates) or $2000 (graduate students) each to support participation in qualifying non-fieldwork components of ASOR-affiliated research projects. Applications for the 2021 Summer Stipends will be made jointly by students and the PI of the project they intend to work on. PIs should select no more than two students with whom they wish to apply for funding (one graduate student and one undergraduate student). We expect that no excavation project will be awarded more than one Summer Stipend. Ten Summer Stipends will be reserved for graduate students, and ten for undergraduates. In addition, five more Summer Stipends will be dedicated for students from under-represented groups, who identify as BIPOC. Students must be ASOR members to apply, but that requirement will be waived for the five stipends dedicated for BIPOC students. Those who receive a Summer Stipend will also be eligible to apply for a registration scholarship for the 2021 ASOR Annual Meeting. Scholarships for the Annual Meeting will be guaranteed if the students state that they have a financial need. BIPOC students will be eligible for partial travel grants to the Annual Meeting. Applications for Summer Stipends will be due February 15, 2021.
Pp. 200–209: “Adorning and Protecting: Glass Intaglios and the Changing Character of Being a Sardian in the Early Imperial Period,” by Jane DeRose Evans
Glass intaglios found on a hilltop in Sardis, Turkey are dated by archaeological context to the Augustan period. Iconographic details and the state of the intaglios show that they were made in Sardis, very likely near where they were found. The group of about forty gems gives us insight into the changing sociocultural history of the Sardians at a time when they are adapting to new political realities; they also give us a glimpse of favored motifs of the lower classes, in contrast to the magistrates who paid for local coinages and other euergistic projects.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1570041002103{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Isin-Larsa-Monumental-Building-NEA-83.4-TOC.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”500″ crop=”false” hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/708510″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Pp. 210–221: “Rediscovering the Heartland of Cities: Early Southern Mesopotamian States in Their Setting through New Field Research,” by Nicolò Marchetti andFederico Zaina
The 2016–2018 QADIS survey project is a joint Iraqi-Italian initiative aimed at achieving a new understanding of the processes that led to the formation and development of urban centers in central-southern Iraq from the fourth millennium BCE to modernity. The project applied an integrated methodology including a combined set of techniques, from remote sensing to aerial mapping, from archaeological surface collection to test soundings, from geoarchaeological investigation to the study of epigraphic materials. As a result, a more detailed reconstruction of the urban layout of several ancient Mesopotamian centers, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the cultural landscape of the region through time, is now possible.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1570041002103{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Trench-B-NEA-83.4-TOC.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”500″ crop=”false” hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/710097″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Pp. 222–233: “A Newly Discovered Administrative Center of the Late Sasanian Empire: Tappe Bardnakoon, Farsan, Iran,” by Alireza Khosrowzadeh,Aliasghar Norouzi, andHossein Habibi
The two first seasons of excavation at the large settlement of Tappe Bardnakoon unearthed remarkable archaeological material, including huge architectural structures, a large corpus of 559 clay bullae and sealings, and collections of ceramics, gems, and metal and stone objects from the Sasanian period. The acquired data indicate that Bardnakoon is a hitherto unidentified administrative center of the late Sasanian Empire. The space excavated in Trench B possibly locates a repository at this center where the used sealings were kept. Given the location of the site in a region between different Sasanian provinces, its discovery offers new insights into the structural organization of the state. Further examination of the findings may cast light on the onomastica, either personal or place names, beliefs, and interregional interactions in a strategic yet largely overlooked region in the late-antique Central Zagros.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1570041002103{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Cyclopean-Wall-Karum-NEA-83.4-TOC.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”500″ crop=”false” hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/708506″ align=”center”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Pp. 234–247: “New Evidence on Central Anatolia during the Second Millennium BCE Excavations at Büklükale,” by Kimiyoshi Matsumura
The circumstances behind the emergence of the Hittite kingdom remain one of the unsolved questions in Hittite history. In particular, the decades between the end of the kārum period and the establishment of Hattusa as the Hittite capital remain largely unknown. The site of Büklükale, a second-millennium BCE city situated on the banks of the Kızılırmak River in central Anatolia, is a promising candidate for filling this gap. Eleven years of research have revealed a large-scale, fortified city that was settled throughout the second millennium BCE. In the excavations on the citadel area, traces of intensive settlement in the Hittite period and a substantial building constructed using cyclopean masonry in the kārum period were found, indicating continued settlement into the Hittite period. Finds such as a Hattian foundation ceremony, a Hurrian glass bottle, and early Luwian hieroglyphs also reveal the multicultural character of the site. Its multicultural nature may be a clue to comprehending the emergence process of the Hittite Kingdom in Anatolia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1570041002103{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Camper-Practices-Archaeological-Drawing-NEA-83.4-TOC.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”500″ crop=”false” hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/708509″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Pp. 248–255: “Education beyond Preservation: An Archaeological Camp for Girls in Armenia,” by Lori Khatchadourian
Since the early 2000s, public archaeology has begun to ask how archaeological education can be unfettered from preservation and stewardship, instead responding to wider educational or social needs among the publics it is meant to serve. This new direction in archaeological education has yet to influence informal education programs offered in the context of research-based fieldwork, particularly in southwest Asia. In 2017 and 2018, the Aragats Foundation, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the American-Armenian research initiative known as Project ArAGATS, organized an archaeological camp for girls in the Republic of Armenia. This program was designed in response to social-justice concerns surrounding gender inequality in Armenia and disparities in opportunities between rich and poor, as well as urban and rural children. The camp harnessed the full research capacities of Project ArAGATS to provide girls with a multidimensional, hands-on learning experience that emphasized science and technology over heritage preservation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1570041002103{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Amphoriskos-Flask-NEA-83.4-TOC.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”500″ crop=”false” hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/710096″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Pp. 256–263: “Curating The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East,” by Blair Fowlkes-Childs andMichael Seymour
The World between Empires was an international loan exhibition held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from March 18 through June 23, 2019 that featured nearly 190 works of art from twenty museums in the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. as well as from the Met’s collection. The exhibition covered the period when the Roman and Parthian Empires competed for control of the Middle East and its trade routes (ca. 100 B.C.–A.D. 250), and was focused on how the cultural, religious, and personal identities of people and communities in the region that formed the imperial border were expressed through art. The two curators discuss the curatorial process and why The World between Empires represented an exceptional opportunity both to disseminate recent scholarship and to contribute to research on the art, history, religions, and culture of the Middle East during the Roman and Parthian period. Several of the iconic archaeological sites included in the exhibition, including Palmyra and Dura-Europos in Syria and Hatra in Iraq, have suffered extensive damage in recent years, and the curators offer their thoughts on their efforts to include a nuanced discussion of the destruction of cultural heritage in conjunction with ongoing humanitarian crises, and of current and future responses.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1570041002103{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Limestone-Male-Votary-Head-NEA-83.4-TOC.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”500″ crop=”false” hover=”false” custom_url=”https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712391″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Pp. 264–269: “A Square Peg in a Round Hole: Rethinking Archaeological Publication,” by Kevin Garstki, Derek B. Counts, Erin Walcek Averett, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, and Eric C. Kansa
This essay offers a first-hand look at how one archaeological project (the Athienou Archaeological Project on Cyprus) decided to rethink the definition of “final” and contribute to the growing discourse surrounding 3D visualization, archaeological publication, archival data, and access.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this issue. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the the entire issue, including book reviews, on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 1–19: “The Ördekburnu and Katumuwa Stelae: Some Reflections on Two Grabdenkmäler,” by K. Lawson Younger Jr.
The recent discovery of the Katumuwa Stele and the new edition of the Ördekburnu Stele have invigorated the study of ancient Yādiya/Samʾal, in particular the study of its Grabdenkmäler. This article will investigate some of the ways in which the two are mutually informing of one another. It will address some of the important interpretive difficulties in these monuments, especially as they bear on religion in that ancient polity.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 21-43: “Marble Sculptures from the Great Eastern Baths of Gerasa (Jordan): The Sources of the Marbles,” by Khaled Al-Bashaireh, Thomas M. Weber-Karyotakis, Nizar Abu-Jaber, and Thomas Lepaon
This paper aims to examine the provenance of Roman marble statues uncovered from the Eastern Roman Baths (Gerasa of the Decapolis, Jordan) during the 2016 and 2017 excavation campaigns. The samples were characterized using magnifying lenses, an x-ray diffractometer, a stable isotope mass spectrometer, and a polarized light microscope. The results show that the Aphrodite and drapery marbles are dolomitic and most probably from the Cape Vathy of Thassos Island (Greece); the Asklepios and Zeus marbles are fine-grained and most probably from Docimium (Turkey); the Melopmene, Demetrius Aphrodite, and eagle marbles are fine-grained and most probably from Penteli (Greece); the dancing satyr and Apollo marbles are coarse-grained and most probably from Lakkos (Paros Island, Greece); and the marble fragments of unknown statues are coarse-grained and most probably from Marmara (Proconnesus-1) Island, Turkey. The results indicate that sculptors preferred fine white marbles for carving sculptures in spite of their source, price, and sculpture workshop. The results agree with previous studies that showed a wide variety of marble sources, indicating that Gerasa prospered in its location on the King’s Highway and participated in a well-established trade network with the major cities and marble sources in the Roman Empire.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 45–67: “Basileus Meets Imperator: Herod’s Evolving Honors to Augustus,” by Barbara Burrell
This paper uses recent finds and reinterpretations (archaeological, epigraphic, and historical) to re-examine and place in a wider context Herod the Great’s actions towards honoring Augustus in his realm. As a king formerly allied with Antony, Herod needed to placate Augustus quickly after Actium. At first he showered his new overlord with service, money, and supplies, but it may have been in imitation of cities like Pergamon in Asia that he established a festival in Augustus’s honor in Jerusalem. We hear nothing of actual temples, however, until after Augustus granted Herod new territories; it was there, in non-Jewish areas, that Herod founded cities (which was what kings did), named them in honor of his sole superior, and built in them temples to Augustus and Roma, perhaps again on the model of Hellenic cities of Asia or Bithynia, or of Alexandria in Egypt. Herod did this not for the sake of Hellenization or Romanization, but to reify his relationship with Augustus before his kingdom and the world, enshrining him in the sole place in the hierarchy that a king could tolerate, and also, not incidentally, to show his own magnificence.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 69–76: “Hazon Gabriel: A Display of Negligence,” by Årstein Justnes and Josephine Munch Rasmussen
How do recently crafted objects of dubious provenance become ancient manuscripts of serious scientific interest? In this article, we will explore the curious case of Hazon Gabriel. We will demonstrate how this unprovenanced stone inscription was turned into an “authentic” artifact with an ideal provenance, and we will discuss the role of the owner and the scholarly community in this process.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 77–103: “Crime and Punishment: Deportation in the Levant in the Age of Assyrian Hegemony,” by Jonathan Valk
Assyrian imperialism is closely associated with the practice of mass deportation. This practice has been explained by recourse to many different motivations. But can we hope to pinpoint the logic informing deportation rather than merely identifying its advantages? This paper surveys the evidence of deportation in the Levant in the period 745–620 b.c.e. Focusing on deportation in this circumscribed time and place enables a more concentrated account of its use. Deportation is generally argued to have served three broad ends: bolstering the supply of human resources in the Assyrian heartland, meeting particular strategic needs, and dealing with dissent. This paper finds that despite the many uses of deportation, it was first and foremost a punitive instrument intended to curb resistance to Assyrian hegemony. This punitive dimension constituted the foundation of Assyrian deportation in the Levant in the age of Assyrian hegemony.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 105–132: “Foreigners at Beni Hassan: Evidence from the Tomb of Khnumhotep I (No. 14),” by Anna-Latifa Mourad
The procession of Asiatics in the tomb of Khnumhotep II (No. 3) at Beni Hassan is one of the most famous scenes alluding to ancient Egypt’s interactions with its neighbors. Khnumhotep II, however, was not the only official at Beni Hassan to include representations of foreigners. The tomb of his possible grandfather, Khnumhotep I (No. 14), additionally features unique depictions of a number of individuals who can be identified as of non-Egyptian origin. These foreigners signal that particular cross-cultural relations could remain under the auspices of specific families in the early Middle Kingdom, perhaps influencing power and political dynamics that helped shape the 12th Dynasty. The following presents the most recent recordings of the depictions as completed by The Australian Centre for Egyptology, commenting on their nature and historical significance in relation to Khnumhotep I and the Oryx nome.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 133–158: ““Beloved of the Lady Are Those Who …”: A Recurring Memorial Formula in the Sinaitic Inscriptions,” by Aren M. Wilson-Wright
This paper proposes a revised interpretation of the recurring sequence ḏ t b ṯ n m ṯ found in the early alphabetic inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem, an Egyptian turquoise mining facility located in the Sinai Peninsula. I argue that this sequence combines with the well-known phrase m(ʾ)hb(b)ʿlt “beloved of the Lady” in Sinai 351, 353, 360, and 361 to form a memorial formula meaning “Beloved of the Lady are those who tell people about Māṯ.” It thus expresses a sentiment similar to contemporaneous Egyptian inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem: the author of the inscriptions—in this case Māṯ—asks the reader to perform some action on his behalf. In return, he assures the reader that they will be beloved of the Lady (i.e., Hathor, the patron goddess of the mining district).
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 159–182: “The People Behind the Stamps: A Newly-Found Group of Bullae and a Seal from the City of David, Jerusalem,” by Anat Mendel-Geberovich, Ortal Chalaf, and Joe Uziel
The article presents a group of thirteen inscribed bullae and a stamp seal, dated to the late 8th–early 6th centuries B.C.E., discovered in the recent excavations of Area U in the City of David, Jerusalem. Following the presentation of the archaeological context and palaeographic analysis of the finds, we discuss the names appearing on them and their contribution to the broader topic of the history of Jerusalem, with a special emphasis on the connection of the findings to the importance of the Gihon Spring and to the debate regarding Israelite refugees in Judah.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 183–190: “The Morphology of Iron Age Storage Jars and Its Relation to the Handbreadth Measure (Biblical Tefach),” by Avshalom Karasik, Ortal Harush, and Uzy Smilansky
In this paper we compare morphological features of three groups of Iron Age storage jars that were unearthed in several Judahite and Israelite sites. The most famous group is the royal Judahite storage jars with stamped handles (“lmlk,” “rosette,” etc.). The other two groups are the “Hippo” jars found abundantly in Israelite sites and the jars from Khirbet Qeiyafa (Judah), assigned chronologically to the early 10th century b.c.e. We scanned most of the available jars in 3D and compared them in a detailed morphological study. We extracted several metric measures and observed large variations between jars within a group and, to a larger extent, between jars from different groups. The only exception is the inner rim diameter, which shows surprising uniformity. Moreover, the distribution of inner rim diameters is consistent with anthropometric measurements of the handbreadth of the human male. We provide a detailed description of our methodology and findings and offer a few alternative explanations for the clear correlation between the measured inner rim diameter and the human tefach.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 191–209: “Yehud Stamp Impressions from Ramat-Raḥel: An Updated Tabulation,” by Oded Lipschits and David S. Vanderhooft
The 2011 publication of the corpus of the Yehud stamp impressions of the Persian and Early Hellenistic periods included 582 items—307 of them were excavated at Ramat Raḥel. A few additional handles with Yehud stamp impressions were discovered since then, mainly in Jerusalem, but 33 more stamped handles were discovered in the “Babylonian-Persian Pit” at Ramat Raḥel (five of these were previously published and one is unidentified). Forty-one more were discovered during processing, cataloging, and restoration of material from the 2009–2010 seasons (three of them are unidentified), bringing the total number of identified Yehud stamp impressions from all sites to 647. In this paper we present all the unpublished stamped handles, as well as a final tabulation of Yehud stamp impressions excavated at Ramat Raḥel, and reflect on the significance of the site for the administration of the province during the Persian and early Hellenistic periods.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
Pp. 211–240: “Radiocarbon-Dating the Late Bronze Age: Cultural and Historical Considerations on Megiddo and Beyond,” by Mario A. S. Martin, Israel Finkelstein, and Eli Piasetzky
Megiddo, with its tight stratigraphy and well-controlled ceramic typology, yielded more than half of the radiocarbon determinations for the time span of the Middle Bronze II to the Iron I in the southern Levant. Here we present two radiocarbon models for this entire sequence, focusing on the Late Bronze Age—1) for Megiddo; 2) for Megiddo and Beth-Shean—adding a third model for sites which provide results relevant to the Middle Bronze III/Late Bronze I transition. We then discuss the impact of the results on the material culture and history of Megiddo in particular and the southern Levant (and eastern Mediterranean) in general.
ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
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ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you before attempting to read this issue. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the the entire issue, including book reviews, on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.
EARLY CAREER SCHOLARS BROWN BAG PANEL ON BUILDING PATHS TO ACADEMIC CAREERS
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]The Early Career Scholars of ASOR will hold a virtual panel discussion on building paths to academic careers on February 4, 2021 at 12pm EST via Zoom. The expert panel includes professors from across the US and Israel and originate from various fields in history and archaeology. Speakers will include: Dr. Jay Crisostomo (University of Michigan, Middle East Studies Dept.), Dr. Jane DeRose Evans (Temple University, Art History Dept.), Dr. Aren Maeir (Bar-Ilan University, Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology Dept.), Dr. Julia Troche (Missouri State University, History Dept.), and Dr. K. Lawson Younger (Trinity International University, Divinity School).
The panelists will address topics such as choosing advisors, schools, dissertation topics, building CVs, what skills to acquire as an MA, PhD, post-doc etc. and the current status of the academic job market. To a large extent, the discussion will be shaped by your questions. Please ask them here.
The event, a part of our brown bag lunch series, is a *FREE* benefit for ASOR members. Registration is limited to ASOR members and students at ASOR member schools on a first come, first serve basis. Registrants will receive an email with Zoom access information prior to the event.
SUMMARY OF THE DECEMBER 2020, ASOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]The ASOR Board held its regular winter meeting last Wednesday (December 16, 2020). The agenda was full, with many important items. The most important decision was the unanimous vote to approve the new name, “The American Society of Overseas Research).” See the notice by Sharon Herbert.
The Board also had other important discussions and votes; those items are summarized below:
Election of new trustees and officers:
Elected a new Treasurer: Dr. Emily Miller Bonney was elected for a three-year term, beginning January 1, 2021. Emily is a current ASOR Trustee member of ASOR’s Finance Committee, and she is Professor of Liberal Studies and Dean Pollak Library at California State Fullerton. Emily has previously worked as an attorney, with experience in financial cases.
Appointed a new Board-elected trustee: Alex MacAllister, Regional Manager for MacAllister Machinery, was elected to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Class of 2022. A graduate of Purdue University, with a degree in organizational leadership and supervision, he also studied the ancient world and archaeology. He has traveled and studied in Turkey, Jordan, and several countries in the Mediterranean.
Elected for another three-year term (Class of 2023), the following Board-elected Trustees: Peggy Duly, Susan Laden, W. Mark Lanier, Joe D. Seger.
Welcomed Trustees elected by the membership and institutional representatives: Theodore Burgh (re-elected by membership), Melissa Bailey Kutner (first term, elected by membership), Carol Meyers (re-elected by institutional representatives), and Jason Ur (first term, elected by institutional representatives).
Said thank you and farewell (for now) to outgoing trustees: Sheila Bishop, Joe Greene, Heather McKee, and Eric Welch.
Treasurer’s Report and Financial Matters
Received a clean audit for Fiscal Year 2020 (link).
Reviewed the Fiscal Year Budget-to-actual, showing a $5,000 operating loss—would have been an $8,000 surplus if not for several adjusting entries for overstatements in Books from prior years.
Established new named endowment accounts: formally approved guidelines and policies for the Herbert Mason Fund and a Board-Designated Building Fund.
Increased ASOR’s endowment distribution rate: voted to increase distribution percentage from 3.5% to 5.0%, based on averages from the last 12 quarters. The increased distribution follows reaching a market level of $1.5 million for the Endowment for Operations.
Reviewed and discussed new financial oversight and services provided by Todd Mann Management Group and Charity CFO.
Discussion of the future of the Annual Meeting
Received written and oral reports from ASOR staff and Program Committee Co-chairs, Dr. Helen Dixon and Dr. Allison Thomason. It was reported that the Virtual Annual Meeting has 1085 registrants from 39 countries and six continents.
Reviewed finances of the Virtual Annual Meeting: Board Members discussed a report from Andy Vaughn that detailed the lower revenues and increased expenses that will likely make the VAM $70,000 unfavorable compared to the in-person meeting in San Diego. The estimate is that the VAM will be $85,000 unfavorable compared to the forecasts for a Boston Meeting.
Discussed two components (virtual and in-person) for the 2021 Annual Meeting. The in-person component will be held in Chicago over the normal dates, and the virtual component will take place online three weeks later.
Affirmed Annual Meeting Scholarships: It was announced and discussed that full or partial scholarships would be available for any member with a need to attend either or both components of the 2021 Annual Meeting.
Discussion and affirmation of Carbon-neutrality Goal for Annual Meeting
Goal of being carbon-neutral for the Annual Meeting by 2025. The Board received the recommendation from President Sharon Herbert, Executive Director Andy Vaughn, and the Program Committee that ASOR set a goal of having our Annual Meeting be carbon-neutral by 2025.
President Herbert announced that she would form an ad hoc committee to study the topic and make recommendations for actualizing the goal.
Board members were supportive of setting this as an aspiration goal, and several members noted the cultural environment and the natural environment face threats from adverse, human-induced climate change. It was observed that many of ASOR members make a common cause to protect both together, and that carbon-neutrality is strategically important for thinking of what ASOR should be when we enter the 2nd quarter of the 21st century.
Discussion of ASOR Online Resources
ASOR Board Members received a lengthy written report from Andy Vaughn that outlined extensive updates to the ASOR website for photo collections, maps, and educational resources.
Board Members discussed ways to further enhance online resources. Members who have contributed images and other resources were thanked, and everyone was encouraged to recruit support for these crowd-sourced collections.
Shepard Urgent Action Grants: the first project, the Tabira Gate Stabilization Project at Ashur, is complete. The project involved emergency construction of mudbrick to stabilize the gate as well as community outreach and health and safety measures for all who participated. Click here to read the report from the Tabira Gate Project. A second proposal is under consideration.
Regional approach: ASOR has made several proposals for extending the initiatives in Libya to other countries in North Africa. All of the proposals include strong participation and partnership with local stakeholders and civil society groups.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]The Honors and Awards Committee seeks nominations to serve on the G. Ernest Wright Book Award and Frank Moore Cross Book Award sub-committees. ASOR invites nominations, including self-nominations, from ASOR members who are interested in being considered by the committee for this opening. Committee members will serve a three-year term with the possibility of two consecutive terms. Nominees must fill out the online form by January 31, 2021. The Honors and Awards Committee takes responsibility for determining the awardees for the three book awards, the field archaeology award, the “best poster” award, and the multiple membership service awards that ASOR gives annually; conducting the awards ceremony during the Members’ Meeting at the ASOR Annual Meeting; and discussing and advising the ASOR Board of Trustees about ASOR’s awards, including recommending to the Board the creation of new awards as deemed appropriate.
Two candidates are sought for the Frank Moore Cross Award sub-committee. This award is presented to the author/editor of the most substantial volume(s) related to the history and/or religion of the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. Primary consideration will be given to historical, epigraphic, textual, and comparative literary studies; or to works that advance and/or evaluate new methodological approaches to the literary record(s). This work must be the result of original research published during the past two years. (One award is given annually.)
One candidate is sought for the G. Ernest Wright Award sub-committee. This award is given to the author/editor of the most substantial volume(s) dealing with archaeological material, excavation reports and material culture from the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. This work must be the result of original research published within the past two years. (One award is given annually.)
In order to receive full consideration by the committee the online form must be submitted by noon EDT on January 15, 2021. For questions and concerns, please contact Meagan Shirley (info@asor.org) [/vc_wp_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
2020 SHEPARD GRANT: THE TABIRA GATE STABILIZATION PROJECT AT ASHUR
ASOR Editorial Note: The ASOR Team is pleased to share a report from the inaugural Shepard Urgent Action Grant for stabilization work at the Tabira Gate at Ashur. These grants are intended to provided emergency funds to carry out critical stabilization, excavation, or documentation projects. Because time of of the essence with these proposals, funds for the grants can be disbursed 4-6 weeks after an application is received. The Tabira Gate at Ashur is an ideal inaugural project because the mudbrick structure was in danger of irreparable damage if repairs were not made before the rainy season this fall.
The Shepard Urgent Action Grant enabled a team from the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) to manufacture the mudbricks required to stabilize the structure, to pay for the added testing measures and PPE, and to pay a Community Liaison Officer responsible for interviewing the local community. The following report from Dr. Tobin Hartnell of AUIS provides a wonderful illustration of how these grants can provide critical support for time-sensitive projects.
Site Background and Significance
When the site of Aššur was founded in the mid-third millennium BCE, the eponymous god Aššur was virtually indistinguishable from countless other gods. Rather, the Sumerian god Enlil (King of the Gods) and goddess Ishtar (God of War and Fertility) were amongst the most significant local gods. By the end of the third millennium (during the Ur III dynasty, 2112 – 2004 BCE), the god Aššur evolved into the dominant local god. By the Old Assyrian period (c. 19th century BCE), Aššur grew to become the dominant god in māt Aššur (the land of Assyria, i.e. northern Mesopotamia).
From the city’s foundation in Sumerian times until its destruction in 612 BCE, the city of Aššur never lost its connection to the dominant female goddess Ishtar (God of War and Fertility). The Tabira Gate serves as the unique link between the main sanctuary of the gods (ina libbi, the heart of the city), and Ishtar’s gardens (the bit akītu). The gateway served as the primary route for processions of people and gods who would visit Ishtar’s gardens or Aššur’s ziggurat and temple. Given Assur’s status as the pre-eminent sanctuary of northern Mesopotamia, there was likely regular traffic along the processional way and through the Tabira Gate, especially during the Spring festivals.
The destroyed Tabira Gate at the World Heritage Site of Ashur. (Photo: Tobin Hartnell, AUIS CACHE)
The Tabira Gate visible today resembles the Middle Bronze Age (18th century BCE) triple arch city gateway of Tel Dan (Israel-Palestine), yet the kings of Aššur constructed the gateway with baked brick. The archaeological arrangement of the gateway implies a connection to the Terrasse des Neuen Palastes (Terrace of the New Palace), seemingly first built by the Assyrian King Aššur-uballit I (1353 – 1318 BCE). Thus, the gateway visible today is most likely originally a Middle Assyrian structure (c. 14th century BCE).
Today, the Tabira Gate serves as a primary symbol of the archaeological site because it is one of the few ancient structures that stand vertically above 1 m. Together with the ziggurat, the gateway serves as an iconic feature of the ancient site for visitors.
Shepard Urgent Action Grant Enables Critical Repairs
Arch during stabilization work. (Photo: Akam Omer Ahmed, AUIS CACHE)
ISIL attempted to destroy Ashur’s Assyrian-era gateway (the Tabira Gate) in May 2015 (ASOR CHI Weekly Report 42-43) by setting an explosive between the Central and Outer Arch. Whilst the explosion resulted in significant damage to the pillars supporting both arches, the Outer Arch remained particularly vulnerable to collapse because it lacked concrete reinforcement. Over the subsequent five years, bricks from the arch itself periodically fell whilst the damaged pillar gradually weakened through exposure to the elements.
In September 2020, the Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) launched a project to stabilize the damaged pillar. This project was jointly funded by an ALIPH Foundation Emergency Grant and ASOR’s Shepard Urgent Action Grant. The Shepard Urgent Action Grant fully funded the necessary protective health equipment to support the team during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ASOR’s contribution also supported the work of our Community Liaison Officer (Akam Omer Ahmed) who interviewed the local community about their attitudes to heritage. Kak Akam also helped coordinate the project tasks with our construction partner (Bashtabia Organization for the Arts) and the authorized representatives of the State Board of Archaeology and Heritage (SBAH). Finally, ASOR’s grant supported making two thousand extra mud bricks, so that the project could continue with any urgent actions during the rainy season.
Making traditional libn bricks on site at Ashur. (Photo: Akam Omer Ahmed, AUIS CACHE)
Making mudbricks. (Photo: Bashtabia Organization)
Protective Gear used during the Tabira Gate Stabilization Project. (Photo: Bashtabia Organization for the Arts; Courtesy of AUIS CACHE)
I am pleased to report that the stabilization project was successfully completed. The arch now stands under its own weight and it is in no immediate danger of falling. However, significant work remains to be done. The baked brick floor of the gateway is no longer water-proof, and the outer facade is badly cracked. The Central and Inner Arches still need significant attention. AUIS is ready to work with our partners to implement the next stage of rehabilitation, as further funding becomes available.
The Outer Arch of the Tabira Gate after the Stabilization Project is complete. (Photo: Akam Omer Ahmed, A UIS CACHE)
Thank you to the ASOR Shepard Urgent Action Grant Committee, to the local Iraqi Representatives of SBAH, to the Minister of Culture, His Excellency Hassan Nadhem, and his team for supporting our rehabilitation work at Ashur. Thank you to our construction partner, Bashtabia Organization for the Arts. Thank you also to Mrs. Yalda Razmahang, who oversaw the Community Outreach Project, as well as His Excellency, ex-Minister of Science and Technology, Faris Jejjo, who helped coordinate permissions to visit Ashur over the last two years. Thank you to all of our students who worked at Ashur over the last two years, including Adam Azad Tawfeeq and Mohammed Dler.
-Dr. Tobin Hartnell, Director of AUIS Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
This is the inaugural Shepard Urgent Action Grant. Established in 2020 with annual contributions, the “Shepard Urgent Action Grants” program was created to support emergency and rapid response activities on archaeological sites in the greater Mediterranean region. While preference will be given to excavation projects and teams with current ASOR affiliation, applications will be considered from all projects. Non-affiliated teams may apply for affiliation at the same time that they submit a Shepard Urgent Action Grant application. Read more about applying for a Shepard Urgent Action Grant here.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_wp_text]ASOR’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting was a great success! Thank you to everyone who participated from around the world. There were 1,085 registrants from 39 countries and 6 continents!
More than 430 presenters shared their work in over 80 sessions and workshops on the 2020 Virtual Program. Paper presentation recordings, poster PDF files, and recordings of sessions and workshops will continue to be available to registered attendees through June of 2021. If you missed the meeting, there is still time to gain access to the digital academic content from ASOR’s Virtual Annual Meeting when you buy access to ASOR’s Online Library.
While we would have liked to see everyone in Boston, it was a privilege to provide a platform for our global membership to connect, share, and engage on subjects from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. ASOR is committed to growing and developing our digital offerings, not only during the pandemic, but as a continuing resource for members. As part of this commitment, and with consent from presenters, we will be sharing some content from ASOR’s Virtual Annual Meeting on our public-facing site, ASORtv. Currently you can listen to ASOR’s Executive Director, Andrew Vaughn, give the welcome remarks for our first-ever virtual meeting and watch Monica Hanna’s thought-provoking plenary address, “Does the Future of the Past Lie in the Hands of the Living?”
“Everything was so clear, the website software worked beautifully, and we had all the support we needed–you’ve blown all the other professional societies out of the water. It was so nice to be able to connect with colleagues and carry on with the meeting–honestly, it felt like a little slice of normalcy and was a bright spot for me in this challenging fall.” – Jessie DeGrado
During a time when travel has been restricted and many cultural and social attractions are closed, ASOR attendees were treated to two virtual museum tours, “Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities,” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and “The Dura-Europas and Gerasa Collections” at the Yale University Art Gallery.
The virtual format offered enhanced options for an inclusive and more accessible meeting, not only in terms of global attendee participation, but also in terms of the academic program. ASOR’s Program Committee (PC) had the herculean task of reworking our program, designed for an in-person meeting, into one that would best reach scholars and enthusiasts at their homes, offices, or wherever they were connecting from during the pandemic.
Helen Dixon and Allison Thomason, co-chairs of the Program Committee, would like to thank the dedicated members of the PC for their wise counsel and constructive engagement this year – overcoming the disruption of our usual meeting timeline, the learning curve that comes with new partners and platforms, time zone and other scheduling challenges, as well as worries over our members’ workloads and semesters-from-home. We also want to thank all of the 2020 Session and Workshop Chairs for their flexibility and willingness to adapt to the new format. Thanks to the PC and these Chairs, we were able to put together a strong and diverse program, adding several sessions on cultural heritage, including the plenary by Monica Hanna, and new member-organized sessions and workshops, such as Online Photo Archives as Tools for Archaeological Heritage Preservation and Engagement. We also welcomed scholars and heritage professionals from Libya to the ASOR Annual Meeting program, including a presentation on the Museums in a Suitcase Program. We are happy to report that the virtual format enabled many people to participate who might not normally have the chance: nearly 40% of presenters were from outside of the USA, and 35% attended from outside of North America. Thanks again to all attendees, presenters, and chairs, as well as the tremendous work of the ASOR staff for making our first all-virtual Annual Meeting a success!
“In this time of pandemic, when I start to feel isolated, this ASOR meeting was a breath of fresh air!” – Laura Battini
As 2020 comes to an end, we are hopeful that the new year will bring an end to the global pandemic and that we will be able to meet in person for ASOR’s next Annual Meeting, November 17-20, 2021, in Chicago. ASOR is also planning to continue with a virtual component to be held online in December. Please watch for the 2021 Call for Member-Organized Sessions and Workshops to post next week. Members will be invited to submit proposals for the in-person meeting and/or the virtual component.
All of us at ASOR wish our friends and colleagues around the world a healthy, safe, and joyful New Year!
“This was one of the best virtual meetings I have attended this year! The format worked very well. I’m looking forward to watching many of the presentations over the holidays when I’ll have more time.” – Anonymous
“I wish all conferences would have a virtual component. It is also wonderful to be able to view to sessions in my own time as I can see so many more than I would be able to see in person.” – Anonymous
Early Synagogues, Jesus, and Galilee—A Jewish Perspective
Magdala Synagogue Stone Piece
Friends of ASOR presents the fourth webinar in our monthly series on December 13, at 7:30pm EST, featuring Dr. Eric Meyers. An expert in Judaic studies, Dr. Meyers will discuss how archaeological work in the Galilee over the past generation and a half has demonstrated that this region was overwhelmingly Jewish in the first centuries BCE and CE. In addition, the work has revealed a kind of common Judaism that was committed to purity regulations as illustrated by the nearly 1,000 ritual baths and stone vessels that have been found throughout the country. The excavations at Sepphoris Theater bear this out and indicate that large urban growth came only after the wars with Rome. The discovery of the Magdala synagogue in Israel from the time of Jesus, as well as others in the north and south, prove beyond any shadow of doubt that the references in the New Testament to synagogues reflect a genuine material reality.
In this lecture, Prof. Eric Meyers will take us on a journey across the Holy Land to discover how Judaism, and its places of worship, have evolved over the centuries. The webinar will conclude with a live Q&A session.
Eric M. Meyers, a 1962 graduate of Dartmouth College, holds an M.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and received the Ph.D. with distinction from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, specializing in Bible, Jewish History, and archaeology. He served on the active faculty of Duke University from 1969 to 2015 where he has been a Professor since 1979; he presently is the Bernice and Morton Lerner Emeritus Professor of Judaic Studies and Archaeology at Duke University. From 1975-1976, he served as Director of the W. F. Albright School of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. Meyers has been on the ASOR Board of Trustees for almost 4 decades. Most notably, he served as ASOR’s President from January 1, 1990, through July 1, 1996, and then again from May 2006 through December 2008. Dr. Meyers was recognized by ASOR in 2007 and awarded its highest honor, the Richard J. Scheuer Medal for distinguished service.
Dr. Meyers has authored or co-authored 15 books, edited 20 others, and has published approximately 370 scholarly papers, reports, and reviews in the field of Hebrew Bible and Biblical Archaeology and Jewish History. The final report on the Excavations at Sepphoris appeared in 2018 published by Eisenbrauns/Penn State University Press: The Architecture, Stratigraphy, and Artifacts of the Western Summit of Sepphoris, 2 volumes, with Carol Meyers and Benjamin D. Gordon. Dr. Meyers has been active in many learned societies besides ASOR including the Association of Jewish Studies, the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, and the Archaeological Institute of America.
Dr. Meyers has directed digs in Israel and Italy for forty years and is perhaps best known for his 1981 discovery of the oldest Ark from ancient Israel, which coincided with the film, The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dr. Meyers has served as host and narrator for many television programs about the Bible, Jesus, and archeology in Israel on such channels as WNET, A&E Channel, PBS Frontline, History Channel, BBC/Discovery Channel, NOVA, and National Geographic.
To receive your ASOR member discount, log into the online store. If you are new to ASOR, please click on the “New Visitor Registration” link to enter your email and password for our online store. Then navigate to “Meeting and Event Registration” to register for the webinar and pay the fee. Each paid registrant will receive a confirmation email when you pay for the webinar. If you do not receive this email, then you are not registered. Please e-mail membership@asor.org with any questions or issues with registering.
You will be e-mailed the Zoom Webinar link in the week prior to the lecture on December 13, 2020. If you do not receive the link by the close of business on the Thursday before the webinar, please email membership@asor.org immediately. All webinars are recorded and all paid registrants who cannot attend the webinar will be sent a link to download the recording.
All proceeds from this lecture are used to fund scholarships for members impacted by COVID-19 as well as increasing ASOR’s online resources, which are free to the public.
WHY SPONSOR A WEBINAR?
Several levels of support from $50-$1,000 are available. Proceeds go towards membership scholarships and towards increasing ASOR’s virtual resources. Each sponsorship is tax-deductible and you can give your friends free registrations to a webinar!
Bronze Level ($50): up to 2 guest registrations Silver Level ($100): up to 5 guest registrations Gold Level ($500): up to 20 guest registrations Platinum Level ($1,000): up to 50 guest registrations
After you sign up for a sponsorship online or over the phone, email the names and email addresses of your guests to Felice Herman at membership@asor.org, who will send your guests a confirmation and the Zoom link before the webinar.
WANT TO SAVE $5.00 ON THE NEXT WEBINAR?
Join ASOR as a member! Click here for more details about discounts for events and other benefits of membership. Memberships start at $40 for the year as an Associate Member.
You can now purchase the link to the recording of any webinar. You can also purchase the bundle packages of all webinars from the 2020-2022 seasons. Please e-mail membership@asor.org for purchase details.
To see a printable pdf of the webinar titles from the 2020-2021 season, please click here. To see a printable pdf of the webinar titles from the 2021-2022 season, please click here.
Where Are They Now?: A Preview of 2022 ASOR-Affiliated Fieldwork Projects Michael Given (University of Glasgow), Xenia-Paula Kyriakou (Florida Gulf Coast University), Stephen Batiuk (University of Toronto), Monique Roddy (Walla Walla University), Kent Bramlett (La Sierra University), Friedbert Ninow (La Sierra University), and Michael Hoff (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) | March 8, 2022
Tel Rehov: A Major Bronze and Iron Age City in the Jordan Valley Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Nava Panitz-Cohen ( Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Nota Kourou (Athens University), Naama Yahalom-Mack (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Robert Mullins (Azusa Pacific University) | February 10, 2022
Archaeogaming: Why Video Games Deserve Their Own Archaeology Tine Rassalle (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Shannon Martino (Morton College), Matthew Winter (University of Arizona), Michael Zimmerman (Rhode Island) | April 18, 2021
Thank you to all the ASOR members who voted in this year’s Board of Trustees election!
The Board of Trustees sets the direction for ASOR and provides oversight for our organization. Among other responsibilities, members of the Board agree to attend two meetings each year, to participate thoughtfully in the governance process, and to contribute financially to ASOR. All ASOR members are eligible to vote in the Member-elected Trustee Election, while only Institutional Representatives of the 70 ASOR-member schools may vote in the Institutionally-elected Trustee Election.
Melissa Bailey Kutner and Theodore Burgh will serve 3-year terms as Member-elected Trustees.
Carol Meyers and Jason Ur will serve 3-year terms as Institutionally-elected Trustees.
Read more about the newly-elected Trustees below.[/vc_wp_text][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_4124.jpeg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Melissa Bailey Kutner
Melissa Bailey Kutner is Assistant Professor in the department of Ancient Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research focuses on the late Byzantine economy of Jordan and on the Roman economy more broadly, including issues of standardization and cognitive approaches to value. She has excavated at a variety of sites in Jordan since 2008, and since 2017 has acted as a co-director of the Dhiban Excavation and Development Project. This project investigates long-term occupation at the site of Dhiban in west-central Jordan: how such occupation has waxed and waned in relation to broader regional and political developments and how inhabitants of the site reused and repurposed architecture and features of the landscape. Dr. Kutner focuses especially on the late Byzantine prosperity of the site and its early Islamic transition. She also served as chair of the Archaeology of the Byzantine Near East session at ASOR for six years.
Mission Statement: Throughout my career as an archaeologist, ASOR has played a central role in supporting my own and my colleagues’ research. I am excited to see ASOR continue to grow in ways that increase its diversity, vibrancy, accessibility, and relevance, and I look forward to supporting the goals of ASOR’s mission statement, including excavation, outreach, education, and raising awareness of heritage issues. Since threats to heritage often coincide with intense humanitarian crises, I am especially interested in spreading awareness of the dangers to heritage in ways that also forefront the needs of local communities, and that see archaeological heritage as inextricably linked to human needs and not in opposition to them. I am also interested in promoting best practices in field schools, including ongoing reflection on teaching methods, curricula, and inclusive policies, and encouraging more diversity among field school participants. While my university classes are full of a wide and diverse range of students, those who actually come to Jordan tend to be less so, often because of economic challenges. I hope to increase opportunities for them to excavate and conduct research, and to explore additional ways that ASOR-related research can be made relevant to their lives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/burgh-e1511882918316.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Theodore Burgh
Theodore Burgh is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He holds his degrees from the University of Arizona (M.A./Ph.D.), Howard University (M.A.), and Hampton University (B.A.). His research interests are the archaeology of ancient Israel and the Near East, the Hebrew Bible, archaeomusicology (the study of ancient music culture), the reconstruction of Syro-Palestinian and Near Eastern music culture and cataloging musical artifacts, utilization analysis of Syro-Palestinian sacred and secular space, and ethnomusicology.
Mission Statement: I have been an active ASOR member since 1996 and a part of the membership committee for nearly 20 years. I now serve as Chair of this incredible group.
As a trustee, I will continue to bring commitment and experience. Building on existing success, ASOR can expand its services to the Academy generally and to members specifically. For example, as a result of the pandemic, we have demonstrated that we can work and thrive virtually. We should continue these efforts to develop virtual archaeology as a sustained part of our organization. Moreover, we should continue implementing technology (e.g, live streaming, recorded Zoom lectures and papers). The popularity and inclusiveness of Zoom lectures displays the desire and need for this approach in the 21st century. These kinds of venues share the fabulous work of our field with new people and those who previously had little to no access to these invaluable sources.
Lastly, I would like to see continued energy with the membership and outreach committee. Efforts with the Friends of ASOR will be essential to maintaining the organization’s future membership and developing inclusivity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Carol-Meyers2.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Carol Meyers
A native Pennsylvanian, Meyers earned her A.B. with honors at Wellesley College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at Brandeis. She began archaeological field work as an undergraduate; subsequently she worked for decades at numerous sites in Israel and co-directed several projects in Galilee. She is currently Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita at Duke University.
Meyers specializes in biblical studies, archaeology, and the study of women in the biblical world. A prolific scholar, she is the author of more than 450 articles, reports, reference-book entries, and reviews; and she has authored, co-authored, or edited twenty-two books. Her 2013 book, Rediscovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context is a landmark multidisciplinary study of women in ancient Israel. Meyers has also written several biblical commentaries; two of them were co-authored with her spouse Eric Meyers, as have been the final excavation reports of several excavations. She is now co-editing a book on food and foodways in ancient Israel (Bloomsbury) and another on households in the biblical world (Oxford).
Meyers has served ASOR in many capacities, including multiple terms on the publications and archaeological-policy committees, since the 1970s. She is currently vice-president of the AIAR, and in 2013 she was president of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Mission Statement: As a member for many decades, I have seen ASOR respond repeatedly to numerous challenges—including economic, political, ideological, and technological ones—and come out stronger. At present, the constraints of a pandemic have added to the ongoing challenges. I’m especially concerned about what the curtailment of field work means for our many archaeological projects, and I believe the board must help those projects remain vital with or without a consistent presence in the field. Similarly, the issue of diversity has emerged recently and requires ASOR’s compassion and action. I hope that the new strategic plan now being developed will help our organization find appropriate ways to address these and other issues and to insure that all members, both junior and senior ones, have a voice.
The energy and wisdom that ASOR’s management team has brought to the task of creating the 2021 virtual annual meeting have been exemplary and inspiring. Also, the concern about the appropriateness of the ASOR name has been addressed with great care, and the outcome of the surveys and deliberations signal a spirit of sensitivity as we move further into this decade. My hopes for the future are that our organization will continue to meet the challenges of these difficult times.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ur-Photo-Square.jpg” image_width=”200″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Jason Ur
Jason Ur is Stephen Phillips Professor of Archaeology and Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. He specializes in early urbanism, landscape archaeology, and remote sensing, particularly the use of declassified US intelligence imagery. He was trained in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (BA 1994) and in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago (PhD 2004). He has directed field surveys in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. He is the author of Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes in Northeastern Syria: The Tell Hamoukar Survey, 1999-2001 (2010). Since 2012, he has directed the CAP-affiliated Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey, an archaeological survey in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. He is also preparing a history of Mesopotamian cities.
Ur joined ASOR as a student member in the late 1990s. He held the ASOR Mesopotamian Fellowship in 2000-2001 and served on the Committee on Mesopotamian Civilization from 2009-2013. He was the plenary speaker at the 2014 ASOR annual meeting. He organized and chaired the Settlement and Society in the Ancient Near East session from 2008-2010. The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq session, which he founded and chaired from 2017-2019, has now been accepted as a Standing Session.
Mission Statement: As a member of ASOR’s Board of Trustees, I will promote its mission to create and disseminate knowledge of the history and culture of the societies of the Near East, past and present. I intend to champion a geographically-inclusive ASOR that involves broader areas of West Asia beyond ASOR’s traditional areas of strength, and a comparative anthropological perspective to complement its culture-historical emphases. I’m particularly interested to amplify new voices in ASOR: those of our research partners in the Middle East, and those of the next generation of scholars in our graduate and undergraduate classrooms. Finally, I hope to advocate for digital methods of research and outreach, with the goal of making ASOR members’ scholarship more accessible to our colleagues, to the public, and to future generations.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
In light of the global pandemic, ASOR’s Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy (CAP) decided to limited grants and scholarships to proposals that do not entail international travel and can be verified as safe and feasible at the time of application. Thus, excavation grants and fellowships to individuals will look a little different this year.
Individual Support (Summer Stipends). For almost 15 years, ASOR has been providing students and volunteers the opportunity to participate in archaeological research overseas via our Excavation Fellowships (Dig Scholarships). In 2021, we plan to continue our support for research participation in non-fieldwork contexts; rather than providing dig scholarships, we will be supporting summer employment for research that is safe and feasible. This year, we will be offering twenty five (25) Summer Stipends of $1500 (undergraduates) or $2000 (graduate students) each to support participation in qualifying non-fieldwork components of ASOR-affiliated research projects. Applications for the 2021 Summer Stipends will be made jointly by students and the PI of the project they intend to work on. PIs should select no more than two students with whom they wish to apply for funding (one graduate student and one undergraduate student). We expect that no excavation project will be awarded more than one Summer Stipend. Ten Summer Stipends will be reserved for graduate students, and ten for undergraduates. In addition, five more Summer Stipends will be dedicated for students from under-represented groups, who identify as BIPOC. Students must be ASOR members to apply, but that requirement will be waived for the five stipends dedicated for BIPOC students. Those who receive a Summer Stipend will also be eligible to apply for a registration scholarship for the 2021 ASOR Annual Meeting. Scholarships for the Annual Meeting will be guaranteed if the students state that they have a financial need. BIPOC students will be eligible for partial travel grants to the Annual Meeting. Applications for Summer Stipends will be due February 15, 2021.
The ASOR Board held its regular winter meeting last Wednesday (December 16, 2020). The agenda was full, with many important items. The most important decision was the unanimous vote to approve the new name, “The American Society of Overseas Research).” See the 
While we would have liked to see everyone in Boston, it was a privilege to provide a platform for our global membership to connect, share, and engage on subjects from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. ASOR is committed to growing and developing our digital offerings, not only during the pandemic, but as a continuing resource for members. As part of this commitment, and with consent from presenters, we will be sharing some content from ASOR’s Virtual Annual Meeting on our public-facing site, ASORtv. Currently you can listen to ASOR’s Executive Director, Andrew Vaughn, give the 
During a time when travel has been restricted and many cultural and social attractions are closed, ASOR attendees were treated to two virtual museum tours, “Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities,” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and “The Dura-Europas and Gerasa Collections” at the Yale University Art Gallery.
As 2020 comes to an end, we are hopeful that the new year will bring an end to the global pandemic and that we will be able to meet in person for ASOR’s next Annual Meeting, November 17-20, 2021, in Chicago. ASOR is also planning to continue with a virtual component to be held online in December. Please watch for the 
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Eric M. Meyers, a 1962 graduate of Dartmouth College, holds an M.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and received the Ph.D. with distinction from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, specializing in Bible, Jewish History, and archaeology. He served on the active faculty of Duke University from 1969 to 2015 where he has been a Professor since 1979; he presently is the Bernice and Morton Lerner Emeritus Professor of Judaic Studies and Archaeology at 
