[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Marta Ostovich began working at ASOR in March 2018, as an Office Assistant. Starting July 1, she assumed a new role as Manager of Programs. Marta will be relocating to Alexandria later in September, and she will work with ASOR Executive Director Andy Vaughn with the transition from Boston to ASOR’s new home and with hiring and training of new staff members. Her duties as Manager of Programs include assisting with fellowships, donor relations, membership fulfillment, planning and support for the Annual Meeting, and website maintenance.
A native Minnesotan, Marta has spent the last 18 years in Boston. She completed her B.A. in the University Professors’ Program at Boston University with a concentration on Archaeology and Ethics. Her undergraduate thesis addressed the interplay of archaeology, politics, and collective memory and was entitled, “Masada: Excavation of a Myth.”
Marta spent 12 years as a staff member on the Spanish island of Menorca as part of Boston University’s archaeological field school at Torre d’en Galmes. In addition to lecturing and assisting with the field school curriculum, she was responsible for supervising both excavation and laboratory work at the site, which was occupied from the Iron Age through Medieval periods. One of the most noteworthy finds was an in-tact kitchen from the Medieval Muslim (13th century) occupation of the site-the first of its kind on the island. Marta assisted with designing an exhibition of the finds from this kitchen for the local museum. She has also been part of archaeological excavations in Italy and Greece and traveled to Montenegro and Vietnam for cultural heritage work. She continues to be interested in the relationship between cultural tourism and archaeological sites.
Marta is familiar with the academic and administrative sides of archaeological research. While at Boston University, she worked at the Center for Archaeological Studies as an administrator and archives assistant and at the Journal of Field Archaeology as an editorial assistant. In addition to her archaeological background, Marta brings years of experience in the hospitality industry, where she has done everything from mixing drinks behind the bar to financial management of restaurants, to her new position.[/vc_column_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]
Submit your images, and they may be featured throughout the ASOR website!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]You may have noticed that photos are a central feature of the ASOR website. ASOR wants to feature your best landscapes, panoramas, artifact portraits, and high quality candids. We will choose the images that best suit the site from different countries where ASOR members work to feature in the homepage slideshow that will change monthly. Other images may be chosen for banner images on other webpages throughout the website.
Entries should be high resolution (at least 300 dpi). As described in the submission form, photos should be named in such a way as to describe basic information, the location, and date. Submitters are also encouraged (but not required) to include a brief description of each photo in a Word file that should be sent together with the submission form. By submitting photo(s) and signing the submission form, you guarantee that you are the copyright holder and have the ability to transfer rights to ASOR. You are granting ASOR the non-exclusive right use the photo in any way it sees fit on the ASOR website, in ASOR social media, and/or in ASOR promotional materials. You also grant ASOR the permission and right to use the image(s) on a resource page for members and friends with the understanding that ASOR will not charge for the images.
Please note that ASOR will not accept images of artifacts from the antiquities market or images that might promote the trade of antiquities in any way. Submissions must comply with ASOR’s Policy on Professional Conduct.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][mk_button size=”xlarge” bg_color=”#2f2f80″ txt_color=”#dddddd” url=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Photo-Submission-Rules.pdf” align=”center”]Download Entry Form[/mk_button][/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]
FROM JONAH AND THE WHALE TO THE SUN GOD HELIOS: EXCAVATING AT HUQOQ 2017
Emma Kerr, Strange and Midkiff Families Excavation Fellowship Recipient[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Photo courtesy of Jim Haberman
“Everyone stop what you’re doing and come look at some mosaics!” The most exciting words (other than the daily call for breakfast) to hear from our dig director,UNC’s Dr. Jodi Magness, as we knew that we were about to witness something incredible. This was my third year working as part of the Huqoq Excavation Project in the Galilee region of northern Israel. My personal research is focused on earlier periods in the region, such as social and geographic networks in the Bronze and Iron ages, so one might wonder why I have chosen to spend my summers at a site whose research questions are centered on a 5th century C.E. settlement. When I was initially looking for an excavation to join for the field credit portion of my degree, I knew that I wanted to primarily work in Israel, and my university was involved in the Huqoq consortium. So, I set aside my date preferences and decided to branch out and join the team. This is one of the best choices that I’ve made, as I proceeded to learn a huge amount about archaeological methods and practice, meet and learn from a variety of amazing volunteers, staff and specialists, and be involved in fantastic discoveries. I am incredibly appreciative to ASOR and the Strange and Midkiff families for supporting my third season on the project.
Since 2012, Jodi Magness’ team at Huqoq has continuously exposed exceptionally diverse mosaics. There has been a fascinating combination of panels depicting both Biblical scenes (such as Samson carrying the gates of Gaza and Noah’s Ark) as well as Greco-Roman elements (such as cupids and winged personifications of the seasons). This year was no exception, as we uncovered everything from a panel depicting the Biblical story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale (or rather, multiple fish) to Greco-Roman sun god Helios surrounded by personifications of the months and signs of the zodiac.
Part of the zodiac panel (Capricorn) from the Huqoq synagogue mosaic (photo courtesy of Jim Haberman)
Working on the site has given me a newfound appreciation for classical archaeology, but has also pushed me to learn about many different periods, from modern to ancient. It is easy to overlook the importance of more recent layers of material culture when seeking answers to questions about the early periods, but I have loved the aspect of Huqoq that involves researching not only the Late Roman-Byzantine mosaics, but also finds like glass bottles and metal locks from the modern level of occupation (the Arab village of Yakuk, which was abandoned in the 1940s and later destroyed). It is crucial to thoroughly document and research the archaeological record in its entirety, and although one hundred years ago may not seem thrilling compared to thousands, there is so much to glean from the materials left behind in every level of occupation on the site.
Photo courtesy of Jim Haberman
Another unique aspect of the Huqoq team and project is the emphasis on collective learning and travel as a group. We have gone on several remarkable field trips over the past few years, from visiting local synagogues and exploring the Roman city of Jerash in Jordan, to swimming in the Mediterranean and riding camels in the desert near the Nabataean city of Mamshit. Unforgettable experiences with amazing people who have come to be some of my closest friends and colleagues.
Working at Huqoq has been integral to my growth as a student and archaeologist, and I am unendingly grateful to ASOR and the Strange and Midkiff families for their generous support of my time on the project this year. Thanks to this funding, I was afforded the opportunity to learn more than I thought possible about archaeological methodology and research, help to uncover stunning materials from the past, and work with an
Taking a break in the shade during a field trip down south to the Nabataean city of Mamshit.
incredible and diverse team of staff and students. Additionally, my work at Huqoq has solidified my intent to continue in the field of archaeology, helping towards my pursuit of graduate studies which will start in the fall. I cannot thank ASOR enough for supporting my travels this summer, and I hope that I can, in some capacity, return the favor one day!
Emma Kerr is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto, having received a specialist degree in archaeology as well as minors in Near and Middle Eastern civilizations and GIS. She has been involved with the Huqoq Excavation Project for the past three seasons, and will be pursuing graduate studies in Near Eastern archaeology starting in the fall.
Kevin Williams, 2017 Harva L. Sheeler Excavation Fellowship Recipient
This summer I was able to travel to Israel and take part in the excavation of Khirbet Summeily, which is part of the Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi. The Tell el-Hesi Archaeological Expedition is under the direction of Dr. Jimmy Hardin, Mississippi State University, and Dr. Jeff Blakely, University of Wisconsin. I took part in the excavation as a student from Mississippi State University.
I was tasked with articulating this pit of grind stones.
This was the first archaeological excavation that I have ever been on! I grew up in rural Mississippi so getting dirty from head to toe was nothing new and my parents and grandparents might even say that I was an expert at it! My grandfather and my parents had gardens, so I was used to using gardening tools in soil. While the excavation tools we used are not quite the same as gardening tools, I really did not have any trouble getting adjusted to using them. I have to say that I grew quite fond of using the hand pick and the mattock. They were really a lot of fun to use! Dig it?
Soil is all the same anyway, right? The loess soil that we were excavating could be rather challenging at times. It was hard and at times it made me wonder if it had been compacted with sheepfoot rollers!
That is not to mention the ancient mudbricks that we encountered! They were harder than the in situ loess soil. At times we could see that we were in mudbrick because we could see the joints between them. At other
Just a portion of Square 55. Robyn Price is pictured.
times we just “knew” we were in the midst of them. You could feel and hear the difference! Now, I may be making it sound as though it was really bad but it was not. Some of the fill sections were actually very loose soil while we dug through them, but once the soil dried up …. So, soils are not all equal and they can also contain interesting inclusions … especially those at archaeological sites!
We also had to deal with stones while we were excavating. Some were just randomly part of the fill but some were there intentionally. A few of these formed a circle around the opening to a small pit in the square that I was working in, square 55. The previous excavations at the site had exposed these stones and the top of the pit.
One of the many beautiful sunrises that we were treated to on several mornings. The dig directors Dr. Jimmy Hardin and Dr. Jeff Blakely are in this shot as well!
I was charged with excavating the pit and in doing so I came across several stones beneath the surface. I then had to articulate between these stones. Almost all of the stones turned out to be pieces of a larger grind stone or a smaller grind stones. It was amazing to find all of these discarded grind stones! I could go on about so much more, but I will save that for another excavation!
I enjoyed having the opportunity to travel to and excavate in Israel! It was such a great and rewarding experience! All of it would not have been possible if it had not been for the Harva L. Sheeler Excavation Fellowship and ASOR! I can not thank you all enough!
Thank you so much!
We found several grind stones in this pit. We got it all dressed up and ready to photographically document.
Cleaning up balks and pipes at Omrit. (photo credit: Samuel Butterfass)
This summer was the final season of the Omrit Settlement Excavation Project. Thanks to the generous support of ASOR and the Platt Excavation Fellowship, I was able to participate in this compelling dig overlooking the Hula Valley in northern Israel. Every moment of hard work was well worth the effort as we sought to gain a better understanding of this site, its inhabitants, and their role in the region.
For the month of June, our crew set about exposing ancient architecture and artifacts at Omrit. Our team, consisting primarily of students and faculty from Carthage College, the College of Saint Benedict / Saint John’s University, and a few Tar Heels for good measure, explored the residential area adjacent to the Roman temple complex at the site. The Omrit settlement saw phases of construction from the late 1st century CE through Ottoman times. During the Byzantine era, the residents here began expanding into the older Roman colonnaded way that proceeds north from the temple, building walls between the towering columns to form their work and living spaces. This all rests upon the remains of an even older Roman residence dating to the late first or early second century CE, creating interesting strata ripe for exploration.
The temple complex as seen from our first square.
My square-mates and I had the privilege of working from one end of the colonnaded street to the other, quite literally. We first reopened and finished a square located on the far southern end, next to the temple temenos. We were continuing work from the previous season by exploring that area’s relationship to both the nearby temple and adjacent buildings along the colonnaded road. This square had the blessing of a commanding view of the temple and the valley below, a frequent breeze, and the morning shade of the only tree on site. It was here I had my first encounter with the infamous basalt “boulder.” It did not take long to figure out why people referenced these little black rocks in such a manner. A hunk of basalt smaller than a basketball feels like a task more fit for Sisyphus when you are trying to heave it over your head and out of your square. However, benefits of this activity include a rather rapid increase in upper body strength and hand-eye coordination, both necessary to keep these chunks of Mother Earth from running amok.
Nimrod Fortress, one of our Wednesday afternoon excursions.
More importantly, this endeavor gave me great respect for the ancient craftsmen who worked at Omrit, erecting walls and shaping floors from these stones. I could barely form a decent pile, let alone a functioning structure. Soon we encountered additional evidence of these workers’ skill in the material remains of the water management infrastructure that crisscrosses Omrit. We uncovered a rather still-intact terracotta pipe, encased in concrete, that ran diagonally across our square and sliced through bedrock. I was amazed because this piping was likely sixteen centuries or more in age. Meanwhile, the water company in my hometown can hardly keep their pipes from collapsing in less than three decades (and we don’t have earthquakes). In the end, we were able to close this square out in a little over a week due to the proximity of the bedrock to the surface. While I had never before tried my hand at cleaning a giant rock surface, I believe our final square photo was well worth the effort.
Exploring some of the many rooms of the fortress. (photo credit: Brooke Weltch)
Our second adventure took us to the extreme northern end of the street, where our trench became kind of a square… cubed. Our borders migrated outward as we expanded our work zone into two neighboring squares in an attempt to examine the continuity (or lack thereof) of certain architectural features. Our path was crossed with surprise floors, plastered walls, pipes, and drains. I can personally attest that these drains were well crafted, having spent a few hours contorting my body to fit into one. The bottom layers of this square³ were where we encountered remains from the earliest known residential construction on this site, the late first or early second century CE Roman residence. This building is my personal favorite at Omrit. It is such a distinctly Roman footprint on this unmistakably Near Eastern landscape. Whether it was built by a Roman official stationed here or by a member of the local elite who followed popular Roman fashions, we may never know. Regardless, this residence has the potential to illuminate interactions between the Roman Empire and locals here during this time period. We did our best to expose and examine as much of this trench as possible before time ran out. It seemed that for every question we answered in this square that we created three more; however, that is likely just testament to the wealth of valuable information that Omrit has to offer. At season’s end, our final square photo was one of a long and bumpy rectangle.
A nearly complete ceramic vessel recovered from our southern square.
Of course, there are more educational opportunities available during field school than learning to swing a pickaxe. At Omrit, I learned to recognize the sound of a peacock’s call. I learned to kick things before I sat down them – at the same time that I learned scorpions like to hang out in things on which I like to sit. At the kibbutz that would become home, I learned the basics of reading pottery… and we all definitely learned how to wash it. Also, in the field I practiced taking Munsell readings of the varying soil. At the kibbutz, I learned this skill could also be applied to human skin tones (the sun this summer blessed me
One of the most welcome things on any dig site – food! (photo credit: Samuel Butterfass)
with a 5YR 6/3). Lastly, I learned a lot during my group’s excursions to sites around Israel. These experiences were strengthened by the input of our directors and staff who accompanied us on our adventures. Especially when we visited sights interconnected with Omrit, like Banias, their detailed knowledge added great depth, illuminating what we were doing and why.
Ultimately, I am extremely grateful to ASOR and the donors who make opportunities like the Platt Excavation Fellowship possible. Without their generosity, working at Omrit would have been exceptionally difficult. This summer was everything I had hoped for and more. Because of this experience, I will eternally look forward to my next desert sunrise, trowel in hand.
Sifters under the sunrise of our final field day.
Emily is currently a senior majoring in Archaeology and minoring in Anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her interests include the Near East, the Roman provinces, and zooarchaeology. She will be applying this fall to graduate programs to continue her studies.[/vc_column_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]
Katherine A. Shaner, 2017 William Dever Fellowship Recipient[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Omrit Settlement excavation end-of-season preparations. Facing north from the temple.
This summer I learned how to do things backwards. I was not exactly a newbie to archaeological materials. Earlier this spring I completed my first book (Enslaved Leadership in Early Christianity, Oxford, expected January 2018) examining slaves’ roles within 1st and 2nd century c.e. religious communities in Asia Minor using many inscriptions, reliefs, and artifacts in my analysis. My research involved scouring site reports, deciphering field notes, looking at photos from decades past, talking with excavators, climbing around the spaces and features left from their work. But I had never actually dug in the dirt. So, as I packed my trowel and tape measure (and sunblock), I was almost giddy to actually do the work of excavating at Omrit, up north in the Huleh Valley. Omrit, I knew, was the site of a very large Roman temple complex that began as a small but beautiful Hellenistic shrine. I also knew that for several years the team had been digging in the settlement complex just outside the temenos wall and that this season would focus on this complex again. Since my scholarship concentrates on women, slaves, and those who are often left out of our historical and religious narratives, this seemed like the perfect place to begin learning about archaeological work in Israel.
As soon as I arrived at Omrit, however, I realized that all my research skills, my ability to look at spaces and objects, all my analysis of socio-political and religious constructions using archaeological materials, all of what I thought I knew about archaeology was, in fact, a mirror image. All the familiar “vocabulary” was backwards. There were no rooms to stand in or floors to examine or small finds with precise details to pour over. There was just dirt packed in among these things. So, when I first saw my square for the season at 5am on a Saturday morning, it took some mental gymnastics for me to switch gears and to fully fathom the analytical work of the coming weeks. As we slowly moved down, through layers of fill within at least three discernable inhabitation layers, walls and features began to appear from the solid soil. The empty spaces of ancient rooms that I was accustomed to weren’t so empty. Until…
Katherine Shaner taking a break from dirt work. Photo by Jason Schlude.
One Saturday morning, I swung my pick axe and it slid into an air pocket. We’d been finding air pockets all morning (we later discovered that those air pockets were the basalt capstones from a second or third century c.e. drain system). But this pocket was different. Not only did the axe sink into it, but a distinctive, clear, echo-y ring accompanied it. As I pulled the axe up, imagine my surprise when a flat piece of conglomerate lifted to reveal the rim and hollow interior of a pithos, in situ. I am no pottery expert, but I knew we’d found something remarkable. Once we examined the piece more closely, I discovered just how lucky that pick-axe swing was: the slight knick I’d left on the rim (see photo) could have been much more destructive if it had hit with a little more force or struck just a few centimeters in a different direction. Call it beginner’s luck if you’d like. I’m calling it yet another lesson in seeing “backwards.” It was only when my tools hit negative space that I could see that the solid ground all around me was actually the point of our work. It was the material that filled and contextualized the spaces that I’d analyzed so often. (If you want to know more about the stratigraphy, find situation, context, analysis, and interpretation of this find you will have to wait for the published report. No spoilers allowed here).
The mark (center) left from the pick axe on the pithos rim.
As the team worked to finalize our locus lists and depositional histories, I realized that the season’s work helped me see much more clearly, not just the walls and their relationship to each other, or the floor levels and their relationship to the fills underneath and on top of them, but also the ways that decisions about which soil to move, which objects to wash or not wash, which walls to take down and which to leave ultimately affect the possibilities for writing histories and understanding socio-political contexts for religious practices. For someone like me, who studies women, slaves, and others often left out of our usual religious histories, these possibilities are the very essence of my work.
Once the dig season was finished, I packed my bags and relocated to the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. I quickly learned that the summer months at the Albright are quite special. People are constantly coming and going from various dig sites and research projects, and the community in residence is constantly changing. As an institution, it brilliantly engineers conversations between scholars who might not ordinarily run into each other. Conversation over dinner often sparked my imagination about research tools or methods for recording archaeological data that I’d never encountered. I found myself talking with chalcolithic and paleolithic scholars, assyriologists, bronze and iron age specialists, archaeobotanists and archaeozoologists, epigraphers and textile specialists. I cannot imagine meeting this rich variety of colleagues any other way. I tried my hand at paleography one evening in the courtyard over beer and high resolution photographs (and I found it fascinating—anyone need a Greek epigrapher for their staff?). I heard stories about dig seasons past and legendary archaeology antics. I learned about the legal ambiguities and ethical quandaries of digging in a place like Israel and the Palestinian territories over dinner. All the while I had the time to visit many sites around the city and around the country. I also had space and encouragement to think widely and deeply about the relationship between archaeology and biblical studies. Several project concepts and outlines came from this rich time. My research and publication work for the next few years will certainly be stronger and more expansive for this summer’s experiences.
The intent of the Dever Fellowship is to foster dialogue between archaeology and biblical studies, particularly in institutions of higher education. Certainly, the fellowship helped me see where I might fit into that goal. In my work with New Testament and early Christian materials, I find an increasing need to contextualize not only texts but interpretations and practices in the material worlds from which they emerge. The opportunity to work backwards through the dirt, to shine a mirror on my own previous work, to encounter new sites, to build another network of colleagues, and to explore new possibilities for my own research agenda was invaluable for me. I am very grateful to William Dever and the ASOR selection committee for generously funding these two months. I am also grateful to the leadership team at Omrit (Jennifer Gate-Foster, Michael Nelson, Benjamin Rubin, Jason Schlude, and Dan Schowalter) for including me in this season’s work.
Katherine A. Shaner teaches New Testament at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. She teaches courses across the New Testament and early Christian history that explore the theological, social, and political implications of biblical interpretation for contemporary communities.[/vc_column_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]
SUNRISE ON THE SHORES OF THE KINNERET: DIGGING THE FIRST-CENTURY JEWISH TOWN OF MAGDALA
Jordan J. Ryan, 2017 Meyers Fellowship Recipient
Excavating in a groundwater well. This well fed several nearby miqva’ot.
This summer, I had the opportunity to return to the excavation at Magdala. Magdala is located about five kilometers north of Tiberias on the west side of the Sea of Galilee. It was founded in the late Hellenistic period, and most of the finds in the area of the current excavations (under the leadership of the Universidad Anáhuac México Sur and the Israel Antiquities Authority) date to the time of the Herodians. Because of this, Magdala provides us with a window into early Jewish life and religion in the late Second Temple period. The Jewish character of the area currently under excavation has been especially illuminated by a pair of particularly spectacular finds: a well-preserved synagogue dating to the Herodian period, and a group of four Jewish ritual baths that are fed by groundwater. Magdala is not directly mentioned in the New Testament, although Mary Magdalene’s name indicates that she probably hailed from Magdala.
The Magdala excavation is remarkably international. This year, I dug alongside archaeologists, students, and volunteers from Canada, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Spain, and the United States. In the past, I have also dug alongside others from Argentina, Italy, Peru, and South Africa. Moreover, the Magdala excavation is directed by Dr. Marcela Zapata-Meza, who is the first Mexican woman to direct a dig outside of Mexico. These are just a few of the things that make the experience at Magdala so unique and fulfilling. It really is fantastic to work with people from so many different places and to be enriched by their different perspectives, ideas, experiences, and areas of expertise.
Sunrise on the Sea of Galilee.
A typical day onsite at Magdala goes something like this. We would wake up pretty early, usually around 5 AM, so that we could get to the site before 6. Tiberias, where we stayed, is also on the Sea of Galilee. The short drive north to Magdala was always picturesque, driving along the lake as it reflected the golden light of sunrise. After a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, we would grab our picks, brushes, pans, and buckets, and get to digging. For anyone who hasn’t experienced a dig in the Middle East, even early in the morning, it is already quite hot when you are under the sun. One thing that always seems to surprise people about the lake region of Galilee is just how humid it is as well. Because of that, water and tarps are very important. We would stop around 10 AM for a fuller breakfast. One of the perks of our site is that our eating area has a panini press, so sandwiches were always a popular option. The break was always enjoyable, as we could take some time to chat about the dig, the morning’s finds, or whatever else might come to mind. We would then go back to digging until noon, when it starts to get too hot to continue digging, so we’d eat lunch and pack up.
Finding an ancient coin.
This season shed more light on the town’s religious character. We also learned a bit more about Magdala’s founding. One of the ongoing goals of the excavation is to understand the religious context of the town, especially by trying to better grasp the relationship of the synagogue and the complex containing the ritual baths (more on these later!) to the town around it. A specific goal of this season was to dig some probes further down past the early Roman period remains (roughly first century C.E.) in order to learn more about what Magdala was like in the late Hellenistic period (second to first centuries B.C.E.), when it was founded. Because almost all of our major finds have been from the early Roman period, it would be good to discover more about what Magdala was like in other periods.
One of the more interesting tasks that I was given was to dig in a groundwater well in order to find its foundations and to learn more about its date and how it worked. This particular well is of special interest, because it directly feeds Magdala’s miqva’ot. To our knowledge, no other groundwater-fed miqva’ot have been found, so this miqveh well is the only one of its type. However, this kind of digging is far from glamorous – there was no breeze in the well, and it got to be a bit like a sauna with two of us down there. Moreover, the well was home to many spiders and all sorts of insects. There was only room for two of us to work in the well, and I had the pleasure of digging alongside Dr. Pablo Ozcáriz of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid. We found lots of smashed early-Roman period pottery at the bottom of the well, as well as some coins, glass, and (surprisingly) animal bones. It may be that, once the well was no longer in use, it was filled with garbage. We kept digging down, further and further. Our pottery finds got more and more scarce, then disappeared altogether. With a little “clang,” our handpicks hit on a layer of larger rocks. After carefully taking levels and removing the rocks, we discovered another layer of smaller, round stones. Further down after that, we discovered a layer of small pebbles. The further down we got, it got wetter and wetter, as groundwater began seeping up from the water table – the same groundwater that once filled the miqva’ot so many years ago. We realized that we had found the foundation of the well, which also served as a filtration system for the water that would be used for the purposes of ritual purity in the adjacent miqveh.
Another exciting new endeavour that I was a part of also had to do with the miqva’ot. Originally, the miqva’ot were thought to have belonged to a house, which would have been the mansion of a wealthy citizen of Magdala. However, as the dig continues, it now seems more likely that the miqva’ot were contained within a large public building complex, featuring a number of rooms, one of which had a
A nice pottery handle.
beautiful mosaic floor. In order to better understand this complex, we opened up a new area that had never been dug before that our excavation director believed was part of the public complex containing the miqva’ot. It is always exciting to uncover new areas and to see things that have not been seen in centuries. Of course, the archaeological layer was buried under hard packed, dry soil, and so we had to use big pickaxes to get down through that initial layer of packed earth before we could get to a stratum containing archaeological material. Despite it being hard work, I really like the rhythm of swinging the pickaxe, especially with the promise of eventually being able to get down to an archaeological layer.
One of my own research concentrations is early synagogues (in fact, I’ve got a book coming out on synagogues this coming November). One of the most exciting opportunities that the Meyers Fellowship provided for me, beyond the pleasure of getting to dig, was simply being present on the site to continue to work alongside Dr. Marcela Zapata-Meza on better understanding the synagogue and its relationship to the areas of the town around it. This really is the sort of work that can only be done onsite, and due to the financial constraints of being a recent PhD graduate and (at the time of my trip) a temporary faculty member with family members to support, I would not have been able to be a part of this research without ASOR’s support and the generous donation of Eric and Carol Meyers.
Dr. Zapata-Meza and I have recently been reconsidering the architecture of the synagogue, especially in relationship to the streets and buildings around it. Part of this has included a reconsideration
Studying and discussing the area around the synagogue with Dr. Marcela Zapata-Meza.
of where the entrance of the synagogue should be located. It is import to recognize that the stones of the doorway were originally found out of context, a short distance away from the building. When the synagogue was reconstructed, the entrance ended up being placed on the western side of the building. However, for a number of reasons, we now believe that it was most likely located on the south side of the building, along a major east-west street. Coincidentally, some pools located across this street from the synagogue that were originally suggested to be pools for processing fish have recently been suggested by experts to be small ritual baths, as chemical analysis did not indicate any traces of fish in these pools. This led us to start thinking differently about the ritual character of the area around the synagogue and about religion in Magdala in general.
None of this would have been possible without the support of ASOR and the generosity shown to me through the Meyers Fellowship. It feels particularly special to me to have been a recipient of this particular fellowship, since the donors, Eric and Carol Meyers, have done some important archaeological work on synagogues themselves, and I am honored to have received a fellowship named after them. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that came about as a result of being a recipient of the fellowship, and I highly encourage other students and early career scholars to think about applying and spending a summer digging. The experiences and skills learned by being in the field are absolutely invaluable. In the words of a certain Dr. Jones, “you gotta get out of the library!”
Jordan Ryan recently received his PhD from McMaster University in June of 2016. At the time of his trip, he was Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament and Archaeology at Wheaton College in Illinois, but has since taken up a full time position as Assistant Professor of New Testament at the University of Dubuque. His first book, The Role of the Synagogue in the Aims of Jesus will be published by Fortress Press in November of 2017.
A trip to Pelendri for dendrochronology with KAMBE
Thanks to the generosity of the Platt Fellowship, ASOR, and all of the donors to ASOR’s various fellowships, I was able to travel to Cyprus and excavate in the area about which I wrote my Master’s thesis. I participated in the Kalavasos and Maroni Built Environments (KAMBE, http://classics.cornell.edu/kambe) project in the Vasilikos and Maroni valleys on the south coast of Cyprus. At KAMBE I was able to work on a wide array of activities. I built photogrammetric models of several excavated features, assisted with mapping at site, participated in excavation, pottery washing, and briefly helped prepare samples for the dendrochronological component of the project. At KAMBE, all of these projects and more come together in an effort to understand the constructed areas together with the environment of southern Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age through several case studies.
Washing and documenting pottery in the Vasilikos Valley
The project’s focus on the large scale built and natural environments of the valleys resonated with me, especially due to my Master’s thesis work on the spatial patterning of artifacts in the Maroni valley and the different approaches taken at KAMBE to record and understand the materials excavated. Before coming to KAMBE, my main experiences with the Maroni and Vasilikos valleys and their artifacts were through reading published reports and mapping finds on my computer, far from Cyprus. When I came to Cyprus and experienced the valleys personally, I had an extremely different perception of the same places that I had spent so long looking at and studying from afar. My perceptions of the valleys continued to change, with new aspects catching my attention or being put into a different context, with each change in what I was doing at the project.
Although I knew that my mapping work before coming to Cyprus only exposed me to one aspect of the landscape of the Maroni and Vasilikos valleys, I was surprised by just how radically changed my views and thoughts were with each new approach. Through mapping, I was able to understand and communicate how parts of the ancient landscape related to each other. However, my walking through the valleys and noticing what parts the sea breeze reached and other components of the human experience that I could never access without actually setting foot on the sites. Working with and modeling individual aspects of the site, in turn, made me focus on small details of objects that can easily become unnoticed parts of the background when mapping or moving through the landscape. Of course, none of these perspectives are exclusive, and all are stronger from being considered together. Changing perspectives lead to new viewpoints and interpretations. In my view, the greatest benefit of the Platt Fellowship and ASOR’s other excavation fellowships is enabling students and researches to approach the same material from many perspectives, including excavation.
The city center of Kalavasos
The different perspectives on the Vasilikos and Maroni valleys that I encountered also led me to think about different ways of presenting archaeological data, especially since that was the main point of the many hours I spent working on photogrammetric models. Sitting in Kalavasos and talking about the day’s work with other participants at KAMBE and visitors, as well as friends and family back home, I often thought about how difficult it can be to accurately communicate all the different aspects of an archaeological project. Maps can tell someone what is where, models can let a student or researcher examine an object in highly detailed three dimensions, and stories and pictures can communicate some of the human experience. However, all of these methods pale in comparison to traveling to a site in person and directly interacting with it together with new technologies. Thus, grants like the Platt Fellowship remain the best way to help a graduate student like me or a researcher learn about ancient landscapes.
RESEARCH IN THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND ARCHIVES
Samuel Wolff, 2017 Study of Collections Fellowship Recipient
Sam Wolff in the library of the PEF examining the plan from Rowe’s 1934 excavation (Photographer: John MacDermot.)
In September 2017, I visited the offices of the Palestine Exploration Fund in London in order to study the archival material from the 1934 excavation directed by Alan Rowe at the western side of Tel Gezer. The material, which was well organized and computerized, consisted of the registry of finds from the excavation, a copy of which I had already examined at the Israel Antiquities Authority archives in Jerusalem; all of the pre-excavation correspondence; all surviving photographs of the excavation; a plan and sections, the same ones that were published by Rowe in PEFQSt 68 (1935); the text of the reports that Rowe published in QDAP 4 (1935) and PEFQSt; and a list of the finds according to period as determined by Rowe, the same list that was supposed to be addended to the PEFQSt article (as stated on page 19) but was omitted.
As a result of this research I will be able to better document my report on this excavation with original photographs, plan and section that were graciously provided to me by the PEF. In addition, I was able to pick up tidbits that put the excavation into perspective:
1. Rowe held out for a higher salary. He requested ₤70 as a monthly salary, and the PEF was only willing to pay what he had previously received, ₤50! The PEF went so far as to ask that John Crowfoot, the Director of the British School in Jerusalem, conduct the excavation on his own salary, thus saving the PEF ₤70 per month, a request that Crowfoot rejected. In the end, Sir Charles Marston agreed to cover this expense and Rowe was hired.
Alan Rowe in Cave 1001, the “Great Canaanite Tomb”. Courtesy PEF.
2. The excavation was intended to last 4–5 weeks; no evidence for future additional seasons was found.
3. The Bentwich family, which sponsored the excavation (funds matched by Marston), requested that Rowe takes on Muriel Bentwich as a staff member for recording and drawing. The reply was positive, adding that it stands to reason that they shouldn’t have to pay her a stipend, given that the family was a wealthy one. In a letter signed by Norman Bentwich, it was stated that Muriel participated in several archaeological excavations, including with Rowe at Beisan (Beth Shan), Petrie at Gaza, FitzGerald at Beisan and Grant at Beth Shemesh; Samaria can be added to this list as well. I assume that it was Muriel who expertly recorded all the information, along with drawings to scale, that appears in the registry of finds.
4. Previously unknown to me is the fact that a house, owned by a certain Mr. Goldwaters, existed on the mound, c. 39 m. to the south of the excavations. This house, which appears in a photograph, was put at the team’s disposal for the duration of the excavations. Another photograph shows two houses in its background. It could be that the foundations of these houses were later incorporated into the Hebrew Union College excavation camp.
View from the entrance chamber of Cave 1001, looking outside, after excavations. Courtesy PEF.
Documents in the IAA Archives listed the finds from Rowe’s excavation that were to remain in the Palestine Archaeological Museum (now called the Rockefeller Museum). I was hopeful that correspondence in the PEF archives would help me track down the remaining objects from this excavation. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case, except for one note that implied that the intention was for the objects to be sent back to England. I was informed, however, that a handful of ceramic vessels were at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. This proved to be the case, but these objects were not accessible during the time of my visit; they will be drawn and photographed on my behalf as soon as it becomes possible to do so. In addition, I was able to examine one object, an impressively preserved 32.5 cm long bronze dagger, at the PEF.
I wish to express my gratitude to Felicity Cobbing, Executive Secretary of the PEF, and John MacDermot, Hon. Secretary, for their hospitality, and to ASOR for providing me with a Special Collection Fellowship which enabled me to travel to the PEF.
View of Çadır Höyük. Note the Middle Byzantine fortification wall including the remains of a tower, at the top of the mound.
Thanks to the generosity of the ASOR Strange/Midkiff Fellowship, I am able to go to Turkey to participate in the excavations at the sites of Çadır Höyük and Komana. My first stop was the site of Çadır Höyük, doubtless familiar to many of you who attend the ASOR annual meetings and have read their many publications. Çadır Höyük, which is excavated under the leadership of Dr. Gregory McMahon (Project Director) of the University of New Hampshire and Dr. Sharon Steadman of SUNY Cortland (Field Director and Project Co-Director), is located in central Turkey, about a 3 -hour bus ride from Ankara. Although it is not a large site in terms of size, it has a great variety of material from different phases of Turkey’s archaeological history and therefore is an important site. I was working with Dr. Marica Cassis of Memorial University of Newfoundland on the medieval pottery at the site. I am publishing the medieval pottery from the nearby site of Alishar Hüyük that was excavated by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago from 1927-1932 and the Çadır pottery is a valuable comparanda to both the Alishar and Komana materials. I would like to thank the team at Çadır Höyük for the opportunity to look at the pottery at the site. Everyone there was so generous with their time and very welcoming.
The reason I came to see the site is to look at the evidence for the latest phase of occupation: Middle Byzantine/Seljuk (10th-12th century). This is a pivotal moment in the history of medieval Anatolia after the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines in 1071, taking over much of what is now modern Turkey. But while we have a lot of information about this period in the historical sources, identifying this period in the archaeological record, particularly in the countryside, remains problematic. The question of what influences the invading Seljuks and other groups had on the material culture of the rural areas is a question that has so far largely been neglected by specialists, with most of the attention concentrating on the fine art of elite urban centers. Indeed, the medieval Anatolian countryside in general still largely remains unstudied.
View of the plain below the mound. The position of Çadır Höyük on the plain would allow the population on the mound to see whoever was coming into the region.
Nevertheless, the topic of the medieval countryside is far more interesting than the previous amount of work on it would suggest. Identifying how the material culture of populations changed (or did not) through time and how this could reflect the changing identity of the population, has been a topic of interest of mine for a long time. While the countryside is often seen as being a backwater compared to urban centers, finds at medieval rural settlements suggest that the populations were not isolated and cut off from other rural settlements or from their urban neighbors. Rather, they formed part of a complex system of settlements that interacted with each other and formed key parts of settlement networks. But it is these relationships that we are now only starting to understand. When working at these medieval sites, it can be a complicated process to even date the pottery, due to the lack of published parallels.
Working in the Çadır Höyük depot on pottery.
The material from Çadır Höyük represents a great opportunity to study this period and my visit so far to Çadır Höyük has been very useful in terms of starting to better understand this sequence which will allow me to see how this site fits into what we know from the nearby site of Alishar as well as the site of Komana located about three hours of here near Tokat, where I am now. Stay tuned and you will read all about Komana and my work there in my subsequent blog post.
Dr. Tasha Vorderstrasse is a Research Associate at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. She works on the archaeology of the Near East, the Caucasus and Central Asia and the connections between those regions and China.
Marta Ostovich began working at ASOR in March 2018, as an Office Assistant. Starting July 1, she assumed a new role as Manager of Programs. Marta will be relocating to Alexandria later in September, and she will work with ASOR Executive Director Andy Vaughn with the transition from Boston to ASOR’s new home and with hiring and training of new staff members. Her duties as Manager of Programs include assisting with fellowships, donor relations, membership fulfillment, planning and support for the Annual Meeting, and website maintenance.
University’s archaeological field school at Torre d’en Galmes. In addition to lecturing and assisting with the field school curriculum, she was responsible for supervising both excavation and laboratory work at the site, which was occupied from the Iron Age through Medieval periods. One of the most noteworthy finds was an in-tact kitchen from the Medieval Muslim (13th century) occupation of the site-the first of its kind on the island. Marta assisted with designing an exhibition of the finds from this kitchen for the local museum. She has also been part of archaeological excavations in Italy and Greece and traveled to Montenegro and Vietnam for cultural heritage work. She continues to be interested in the relationship between cultural tourism and archaeological sites.
