Category Archives: Fellowship Report

Thomas Levy Receives Honorary Degree

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THOMAS LEVY RECEIVES HONORARY DEGREE FROM CHARLES UNIVERSITY

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Congratulations to ASOR’s former chair of the Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy, Professor Thomas E. Levy of the University of California, San Diego, who received the degree of Doctor honoris causa from Charles University. Charles University, located in Prague and founded in 1348, is the largest and most renowned Czech university and one of the oldest universities in the world.

The degree was awarded to Professor Levy in April 2018, during the two-day meeting of the University’s International Advisory Board. Levy was cited for his outstanding lifelong scientific achievements and for a significant contribution to the development of research in collaboration with Charles University. As the Charles University press release annoucing Professor Levy’s degree reads:

Professor Levy has worked with the Czech Institute of Egyptology at the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University in the field of archaeology and contact between ancient Egypt and Syropalestine since the beginning of the 21st century. Levy’s research in the Wadi Feynan territory, where his expeditions discovered unique monuments dating to the period between 3000 BCE and 1000 BCE, has been a major contribution to this field. The Czech Institute of Egyptology carries out work on markedly similar topics and Czech archaeological research in Abusir also offers significant parallels for Levy’s work in the Near East in the field of international trade and also in relation to the genesis of the first complex societies between 3000 BCE and 1000 BCE.

 

The press release goes on to quote Miroslav Bárta, Director, Czech Institute of Egyptology:

“I’ve been collaborating with Prof. Levy for a long time. I had the opportunity to give lectures at the University of California, while Prof. Levy did the same at Charles University. Recently, our collaboration with Prof. Levy focused on the theory of the punctuated equilibrium and its application in such disciplines as archaeology, Egyptology, history, and last but not least, security studies.”

Congratulations, again, to Professor Levy on this great honor!

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Fellowship Report: Vincent Cason

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UNMAKING A HOME

Vincent Cason, 2017 Platt Excavation Fellowship Recipient


Vince and volunteer Josiah uncover a beautiful juglet.

This past summer I was given the opportunity to be a square supervisor on The Fourth Expedition to Tel Lachish, directed by Yosef Garfinkel of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Michael Hasel and Martin Klingbeil of Southern Adventist University. I was placed under the supervision of Hoo-Goo Kang of Seoul Jangsin University. While this was my third excavation season at Tel Lachish, previously serving two seasons as a volunteer as an Anthropology major at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), it was my first time as a member of the Hebrew University staff. The promotion from volunteer to professional staff required a deeper understand of methodology, a sound interpretation as to what exactly was being uncovered, its relationship to material and strata found in adjacent squares as well as the overall site, and how material finds can support the larger questions of the excavation as determined by the directors (urban planning, social behaviors ethnic identification, etc.). Yet, perhaps what was most surprising about doing field archaeology lies beyond the scientific approach and more in the realm of intuition. It was around midseason that I began to lean on an uncanny sense of where to dig next and when to keep my eyes open.

But how does one really know what to look for?


Vince examines a sling stone in the field.

A common theme in introductory classes to anthropology and archaeology is the holistic nature of our field, taking ideas and influence from many other fields and disciplines. This observation tends to lie dormant in the more theoretical side of things unless students actually have a chance to apply it to or through methodology. When taking part of an archaeological excavation, one can see that this holistic nature applies to much more than theory but additional includes what each staff member brings to the excavation. I found that a basic understanding of trade work can be an invaluable asset to understanding many parts of ancient society.

During my high school education, I focused on agriculture, as I was interested in the history of land use especially farming techniques and this was a strong program in rural North Carolina. I was a member of the Future Farmers of America, took classes on horticulture, and after graduation worked in landscaping for a period. While technology has changed quite a bit over the past few thousand years, many principles are constant, especially when it comes to agriculture. Grain production, from harvest to storage, to milling or grinding, then table use follow essentially the same trajectory even with modern invention. For example, terracing, an ancient method of farming, are still used today to allow agriculture in areas with steep topography.

During the 2017 season, much of my area was uncovering architecture which was another area I had practical work and classroom experience in. In my high school construction class, students built a house, auctioned off at the end of the semester, which in turn funds the class. And here I was, excavating houses! After removing nearly a meter of overburden in two squares, we had two immediate objectives which we methodically dispatched: find the floor and the foundation of the wall of the building. The same process of foundations, framing, flooring, and roofing I learned in high school guided me as I excavated the square, uncovering the walls, ceiling collapse, flooring, and foundational trenches in reverse order.


VCU Rams remove balks to fully expose architecture.

While I was able to lean on past academic and practical experience I did notice an important distinction between construction and deconstruction. Archaeology is often described as a destructive science because, once excavated, the archaeological matrix is gone forever, which necessitates meticulously recording while excavating. While excavating these buildings, I realized that destructive is misleading, that what we do is more “deconstructive” as we examine the structure, piece by piece, from the top down as it is “dismantled.”

This summer working on the Hebrew University staff at Tel Lachish was a truly insightful experience. I have deepened my understanding of what an incredible amount of social organization and labor goes into the building of a city, building a nation. It has left me feeling assured that I have chosen a career path that I truly enjoy, one that has real impact on the world around me. As a prospective graduate student there are few feeling that alleviate the anxiety of taking the next step in my education the way that feeling does. To those that are kind enough to fund fellowships such as the one I was awarded, I cannot thank you enough as I would not have had a chance like this otherwise and there are many others that are in the same situation.

 

Vincent Cason is a recent graduate of the Anthropology program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. His research interests include state formation in the Iron Age Levant and agricultural practices in the general Near East. He is currently living in Richmond, VA and preparing graduate program applications.

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Fellowship Report: Megan Ashbrook

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MY DAY ON TEL AKKO 

Megan Ashbrook, 2017 Platt Excavation Fellowship Recipient

4:45am: Wakeup and 1st breakfast

Well, sometimes I get up later … it’s hard to get out of bed before sunrise in Israel. But I always have to get a little something to eat before working on the tel. My favorite is a plum and bread with peanut butter on it. Then it’s off to excavations with the rest of the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project.

5:40am: Arrive at Tel Akko

The first thing we all do in the morning is grab our supplies and sweep the park path around the dig site. Our supplies include black buckets for dirt, colored buckets for pottery and small finds, a brush, a trowel, and a patiche. A patiche is almost like a smaller, thinner hammer. This isn’t the most fun part of the day, but I find it gives me some time to wake up before excavation.

5:40-8:30am: Excavation

In the morning, we give our square a general sweep to collect all the loose dirt that blew in overnight. Then we get our plan of the day’s dig from our square supervisor. Then finally we start digging! Mostly, I have been excavating around tabuns (Arabic word for oven) until they are floating and then removing the tabuns. There were four tabuns in my square at the beginning of the season and we are working to remove them all this season.

2017 Tell Akko group

Throughout the day, the tel is filled with music, talking, and conversations. Our excavation has such a great atmosphere and I love it. One professor always goes around and asks everyone, “When was the last time you drank water?” It’s a helpful reminder to stay hydrated in the hot 80-90 degree weather.

Questions and conversations are all around the tel. I have learned to embrace asking questions, every single one. I want to soak up all the knowledge I can while I’m on this excavation. There are people on the dig with their special interests/expertise like metallurgy, lithic tools, Munsell Charts, or ceramics. My interest is in ceramics, though I don’t know the chronology of pottery on the tel very well. I feel really honored, since it is only my first excavation, when someone brings a ceramic sherd or item over for me to look at.

8:30am: Tel Breakfast, also known as 2nd Breakfast

9:00-11:30am: Excavation

After breakfast we all reluctantly get up from the tables and get back to work. Sitting and relaxing for a while makes it hard to get back to work. I usually pick up where I left off before breakfast. For example, if I was trimming a baulk before tel breakfast, I would go back to doing that. A baulk is the half meter section of dirt left on each side of a square. Baulks are helpful to see the stratigraphy of the square. When trimming it, the idea is to make the baulk straight and at a right angle with the floor of the square. Plus it makes the square look clean and nice.

The best part of my day is excavating. Excavation includes so many parts I didn’t know before coming to Tel Akko, like trimming baulks. I also have learned how to use a dumpy level to take elevation points in our square. I find it easy to use and a nice change from digging all day. We take elevations when something significant or special is found, like a unique artifact. In my square, it’s usually a slag cake. Also, elevations are taken at the end of each day not only in my square but every square being excavated at the site. Taking end of the day elevations tells us exactly how far down we excavated that day.

Sherd found on site

I have learned how to identify so many things from digging the past three weeks like bone, vitrified earth, and tabun pieces (which look like really thick clay). This really helps when sifting all the dirt that is pulled out of my square (another skill I have learned). It’s a great feeling when I ask my square supervisor to double check my identification and I got it right!

11:30am-12:00pm: Cleaning and Closing the Square for the Day

Just like at the beginning of the day, we do a general clean sweep of the square to get all the dirt we kicked up throughout excavation. Then I usually help my square supervisor check all our finds for the proper tags and fill out end-of-the-day paperwork.

12:00-12:30pm: Find of the Day

Now that all the squares are closed for the day we can see some cool things people found! Fun or different finds are put up to be voted on, by cheering, for the “find of the day.” Some items that have won are an Egyptian scarab, a ceramic figurine, and a modern bullet.

12:30pm: Walk to the Bus

My day on the tel concludes with carrying all the pottery and soil samples found that day down the long steps to the bus. We need to soak and wash the pottery so it can be studied by the ceramic experts in the lab. I also like to see all the cool pottery found on Tel Akko!

Now there are only a few days left on the tel and I’m wishing for more. I think I wish for more because I have fallen more in love with archaeology (if that’s even possible) and I truly enjoy the people working around me.

Megan Ashbrook is a senior undergraduate at Miami University of Ohio. She is a double major in Anthropology and East Asian Languages and Cultures with a minor in Archaeology. Archaeological ceramic technology and trade is her current area of interest.

Excavation Website: http://www.telakko.com/

Excavation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TelAkkoProject/

Tel breakfast is one of the best meals of the day! Every morning I have hummus, green olives, and tea. Depending on what else there is I also have fruit, vegetables, or a peanut butter and jelly pita sandwich. Breakfast is also nice because it is served family style with all of us siting at one long table. I really enjoy passing the food and talking to my friends and finding out what is happening in their squares. I get to hear about fun things like hearths or almost complete vessels.

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Fellowship Report: Zachary Thomas

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AN EXTRA MONTH OF SUMMER AT TEL ABEL BETH MAACAH 

Zachary Thomas, 2017 Platt Excavation Fellowship Recipient

As an Australian, one of the advantages of coming to Israel to dig in June and July each year is getting to miss the coldest part of winter back home in Sydney. May I say though, this pales in comparison to the real reasons I returned this year to excavate for a second season at Tel Abel Beth Maacah, or ABM as its friends call it. For a start, the site is very relevant to my own doctoral research on the archaeology and history of the United Monarchy and Iron Age IIA period, being mentioned a few times in connection with David’s reign, most particularly 2 Samuel 20. It is also located at the cross-roads of different Iron Age identities or “ethnic groups”, the Israelites, Phoenicians and Arameans, which makes for a fascinating research question and many nerdy conversations on the sociopolitical place of the area itself.

But digging at any site, however relevant it is to one’s research, is only going to be as good as the project itself and the people you are digging with. I am very fortunate in saying that at ABM the work, the atmosphere and especially the people make it fantastic place to come and excavate, whether it’s an exciting or a more lacklustre day in terms of the finds. This starts from the top; our three co-directors, Prof. Bob Mullins of Azusa Pacific University and Drs Nava Panitz-Cohen and Dr Naama Yahalom-Mack of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem set the tone as all good leaders do. It’s one of informality and friendliness alongside collaboration and academic excellence, and it filters down to all the staff and volunteers and to the work we do. This was a tougher year than in 2016 when I first dug at ABM in terms of hot weather but probably surpassed it in terms of discoveries.


Our three directors plus a distinguished visitor, Prof. Amihai Mazar.

ABM is located in the far north of Israel in the Hulah Valley, a 15-20 minute bus ride each morning (if 4.15am is really morning and not still night) from our lodgings at the laid-back Kibbutz Kfar Szold. It is so far north in fact that we have the Golan Heights and views of Mt Hermon on the east and the hills of Lebanon overlooking the Tel on the west. Although the site has produced finds from different periods spanning the Early Bronze to the 20th century, the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age I and Iron Age II are particularly well represented so far. We had four areas open this year, Areas A, F and O in the lower city and my area, Area B in the upper city. Much of the upper city is overlain by two old army bunkers built out of rubble from the village that occupied the site until the 1940s, so much of it is hard to access archaeologically. Area B sits in part of the upper city below the rubble capping, and before this year had already produced a rampart from the Middle Bronze Age, upon which was built a building from the Iron Age I, a large wall from the Iron Age II and a few phases of architecture from the Persian and Hellenistic period.


The crew of Area B near the start of the season.

This year our major discovery, on top of some great small finds and new phasing, was a second large wall from the Iron Age II running parallel to the one already known with what appear to be cross-walls connecting them. There was much discussion about whether we might have a casemate wall system similar to that from the Iron Age IIA at Hazor, but this is hard to confirm at this point. A big part our work in Area B this year was opening up two new squares on the west, which included D19, for which I was the square supervisor. We first encountered there the partially-collapsed remains of a building probably from the Hellenistic period and below that remains of another building of the Persian-Hellenistic period that had already been found in other squares. Last season I and some volunteers removed part of that building and we did the same this year. As this building stood between me and the Iron Age, I enjoyed dismantling this building this year just as much as I did last year! By the end of the season we had begun to reveal some more of one of the large Iron Age II walls and maybe even part of the another cross-wall. The Area B crew is quite representative of the makeup of ABM’s people in general, a mix of mostly Israelis and those from US partner institutions including Trinity International University and Cornell University (though you’ll find them all together in Area A, those Ivy-League types) plus those like me or our Canadian office manager/osteoarchaeologist/organizational genius Claire who joined the project of their own accord.


Square D19 towards then end of the season.

The personal and professional connections I’ve made among them make the dig both an enjoyable and intellectually rousing place to be. My thanks go to all of them and especially to Bob, Nava and Naama, as well as those who’ve funded me this year, Macquarie University and of course ASOR. Regrettably I think thesis completion will keep me from coming back in 2018, so for whoever is willing to fill in for me (hopefully another Aussie to keep the Yanks in line), they can find more information on the dig website and Facebook page.

 

Zachary Thomas is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. His doctoral thesis re-examines the history and archaeology of the United Monarchy of ancient Israel and the Iron IIA period through scholarship on the native understanding of society in the ancient Near East. His wider research interests include archaeological theory and interpretation, Iron Age ceramics, and the history and sociology of the Levant in the Late Bronze and early Iron Ages.

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Fellowship Report: Christy Grobmeier

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“DO YOU HEAR THAT SOUND? ALL ABOARD THE BUCKET TRAIN!”

Christy Grobmeier, 2017 Member Supported Excavation Fellowship Recipient[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Sponsored by the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and led by Drs. Shimon Gibson and James Tabor, the current excavation of Mount Zion continues the work begun by Magen Broshi in the 1970s. The site which lies on the south side of Jerusalem and just outside the current Zion Gate proves one of the most fascinating and enigmatic in Israel. This year, thanks to the generous support of a donor scholarship through ASOR, I’m fortunate enough to be working directly under Dr. Shimon Gibson where I handle the recording of pottery, accounting matters, and other clerical duties after getting down and dirty in the trenches and conducting The Bucket Train – the most exciting bucket chain in the history of archaeology.

 

The upper area of site with another successful journey of The Bucket Train – CHOO CHOO!

 

Historically, the site yields finds from the Iron Age through to the modern age. The stratigraphic information proved a little more difficult to decipher, however, as it served as a rubbish heap over different time periods and the area suffered several serious earthquakes. In addition, bulldozers and cranes used during the Broshi excavation moved modern trash under a number of levels, such as the Early Roman or Late Hellenistic. While this may seem problematic, I found an intact 1970s bicycle my first year. Despite having gotten my tetanus boosters, I was denied my newfound transportation to site.

During the Second Temple period (1st century C.E.), the city walls enclosed the area in which many priestly or wealthy families resided. Due to the fill created by the construction of the Byzantine-era Church, we discovered these uncommonly well-preserved and lavish homes featuring entire first and second storeys, mosaics, a bath tub, and a high number of costly murex shells used to dye priestly garments.

 

Dr. James Tabor (R) and Christy Grobmeier (L) examining a plaster wall in the lower area of Mount Zion

 

The site also holds strategic importance, most notably during the Crusades, where the Fatimids constructed a large trench to keep the invading forces at bay. The tactic worked quite well until the Crusaders chose to attack from the north, nullifying the defenses. Much later, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the site served as No Man’s Land, evidenced by the barbed wire and bullet-riddled canteen found in the lovingly termed War Box.

 

Dr. Shimon Gibson (L) and Christy Grobmeier (R) sorting and recording finds in the Armenian Museum after digging

 

My day typically involves arriving to site at 5 A.M. with the other staff members, digging until 9:30 A.M., then moving to the Armenian Museum which serves as Dig Headquarters. I fill the rest of my morning and early afternoon with editing registers, recording financials, and preparing for the rest of staff to arrive at 1:30. When Dr. Gibson arrives, we work in tandem to sort and record finds which are then reconciled with the locus lists, typically around 5 P.M. or so. Some of our more notable finds are a gold coin dating back to Nero (56 C.E.), a mysterious inscribed stone vessel, and massive spiders. So many very large spiders – though I’m kind enough to let someone else get in on that “fun”.

The days are long and exhausting but so worth it. I get the best of both worlds: I play in the dirt in the mornings and not only can I examine the finds in the afternoons, I’m treated to a first-class education. As a graduate student, money is certainly a top concern of mine and I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of ASOR and the donors.

Christy Grobmeier is a recent transplant from Houston, Texas to Charlotte, North Carolina. She is a religious studies M.A. student and teaching assistant under Dr. James Tabor of the University of North Carolina. She earned her B.A. in Anthropology with dual minors in religious studies and French language from the University of Houston. Her current research interests include the archaeology of Jerusalem, early Christianity, and Aramaic incantation bowls.[/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] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Fellowship Report: Jake Hubbert

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MY ROCK-CUT EXPERIENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN PETRA

By Jake Hubbert, Platt Excavation Fellowship Recipient

This past summer, I had the experience of a lifetime. I spent six weeks excavating with Brigham Young University in Petra, Jordan. This was part of a field school offered through Brigham Young University. For the first two weeks, I helped excavate in a place called Wadi Mataha where my fellow students and I were taught proper excavation techniques that pertain to graves and osteology. We were lucky enough to have found what we believe is a secondary burial with a variety of bones that will be later analyzed in labs back at Brigham Young University. My time there was amazing and I feel that I learned so much. I learned about the ancient Nabataeans and their burial traditions as well as about the methods and theories of archaeology in the field.

After my two weeks at Wadi Mataha, I was transferred with my group of five other students up to the Ad-Deir Monument where I was assigned to work in the Eastern Cistern B. The objective of this project, as well as that of others on the plateau, is to put back into use the water systems that were once in use by the Nabateans to aid the current Bedouin populations that live and work on the Ad-Deir plateau. Excavations therefore, were focused towards restoration. Excavation is facilitated by the fact that the built up stratigraphy is yearly erosion fill, and therefore provides very little knowledge about the chronology of the site. This has allowed us to conduct mass excavations to remove the erosion fill to make the several areas under excavation accessible. Despite the rapid pace of work and the unusual circumstances of this site, my supervisors made sure that I still learn and master proper excavation techniques such as cutting straight balks and making sure they have the proper right angles where they meet up with other balks or other trenches or pits. Other skills that I have learned include the proper process of taking levels, and the importance of taking correct levels so as to understand the volume of dirt being removed from the overall area.

My favorite part has been the utilization of my art skills. I love art but I never really understood how my art skills could transfer over to archaeology. I was able to do some simple sketches for the official field note book at the Cistern. I have also been able to learn some digital art and its importance in archaeology. Another major factor of this dig has been the opportunity to live with the Bedouin tribe and family where we stayed. Since archaeology is a part of anthropology, I loved being able to study both the dead cultures in Petra but also the living cultures which have occupied the empty shell that has been left behind. For the past year I have also been taking introduction Arabic classes and have loved it and I have loved my opportunity to use what I have learned with the Bedouins. I love what Gertrude Bell once said in relation to the Bedouins, that they are a people who love and enjoy freedom. The way they live of being able to go wherever whenever is amazing. But this will have to come later if I decide that it is in this area that I want to pursue my future in archaeology. Petra has been such an amazing place and I will forever remember it as the place where first learned to be an archaeologist.

Jake Hubbert is an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University studying archaeology. He studies the Near East and has interests in Transcaucasia as well. 

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Fellowship Report: Lyndelle Webster

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EXPLORING LATE BRONZE AGE CHRONOLOGY AT TEL GEZER

By Lyndelle Webster, Heritage Excavation Fellowship Recipient[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]With the support of a 2017 Heritage Excavation Fellowship, I spent four weeks during May-June excavating at Tel Gezer. This is a beautiful site with an impressive view over the coastal plain and the Aijalon Valley. Located near the junction between the Via Maris and a major route to Jerusalem, this was a prominent site during the Middle Bronze through Iron Age periods. In the Late Bronze Age it was the center of a major city-state, whose rulers appear in the Amarna Letters.

There are two excavation teams currently working to address important research questions at Tel Gezer. The expedition led by Dr. Steve Ortiz of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. Sam Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority, have been working near the Iron Age gateway (central-southern edge of the tell) for the past ten years. Another team from the Israel National Parks Authority and New Orleans Baptist Seminary have been exposing an impressive water system, now dated to the Middle Bronze Age; for the past few seasons they have also worked in the nearby Middle Bronze gateway.

My PhD research concerns Late Bronze Age chronology from the perspective of radiocarbon dating, and it is in this context that I began doing some work in cooperation with the Tandy excavation, whose directors kindly gave me the opportunity to work on their material. Whilst the Iron Age has been the predominant focus of research, in the past few seasons a series of early Iron Age and Late Bronze Age strata have been excavated. For me, this provided a great opportunity to extend my research, which had begun with the Late Bronze strata of Tel Azekah – another important current excavation in the Shephelah region.

2017 was the last year in the field for the Tandy excavation team before going to publication stage. As such, it turned out to be a very exiting and productive season. A thick destruction layer was exposed, including complete vessels and much evidence of burning. Remains of three individuals were found who had clearly died as a result of the dramatic event. The excavators currently identify this destruction with the historically-recorded campaign of Merneptah in the late 13th century BCE. In the Merneptah Stela – famous for the first known reference to “Israel” – the pharaoh boasts of conquering several cities in southern Canaan, including Gezer. In another inscription Merneptah describes himself as the “subduer of Gezer”. These references make it clear that Gezer was a strategic, important site, and gaining control over it was worth boasting about.

Aerial view of Field W, highlighting the Late Bronze Age stratum
which ended with a dramatic destruction event.

My role in the field this season was to provide support in regard to sampling for radiocarbon dating. When working with radiocarbon samples and data it is incredibly valuable to have firsthand knowledge of the archaeological contexts. Working together with the team in the field gave opportunity to discuss and evaluate contexts, and put in focused efforts to improve the number of good contexts yielding suitable material. (The target material is short-lived organics, typically seeds; at a site like Gezer these are mainly carbonized – having been preserved by burning.)

In addition to working with the excavation near the Iron Age gateway, I had the opportunity to carry out some small projects elsewhere on the tell, sampling from exposed sections left by the Hebrew Union College excavations that were conducted in the 1960s to 1980s under the direction of William Dever.

View southward across the tell; Field VI in the foreground
was excavated in the 1960s-70s by Hebrew Union College.

I am looking forward to seeing how new radiocarbon data from Tel Gezer contributes to our understanding of the Late Bronze Age, as well as other key periods under investigation at the site – the Iron and Middle Bronze Ages.

One of the best things about excavation is the people you meet and the friendships developed. It is always a little daunting to start working with a new site and a new team. I appreciated the warm welcome from the ‘Gezerites’, who quickly made me part of their team. It was a great season and wonderful group of people to work with. Thank you!

I want to express my sincerest thanks to ASOR and to Mr. Sheldon Fox, the donor for this fellowship, for supporting my field research this year.

Lyndelle Webster is a PhD student at Macquarie University and the University of Vienna. She is currently based in Vienna at the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, where she is a member of the project “Tracing transformations in the southern Levant: from collapse to consolidation in the mid-second millennium BC”. [/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] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Fellowship Report: Cecelia Chisdock

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THE 5 QUESTIONS YOU’RE ASKED AFTER A DIG

By Cecelia Chisdock, FOA Dig Scholarship Recipient[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]For the last eight years, ASOR members and donors have funded dig scholarships for students and early career scholars to participate in archaeological fieldwork. Last year (2017), The Friends of ASOR contributed funds for an separate scholarship to send an additional student into the field.

Cecelia Chisdock, the 2017 recipient of the Friends of ASOR Excavation Fellowship, reports about her experience excavating at Tel Kabri. The Friends of ASOR enabled Cecelia to have this experience, and we hope to raise funds for an additional scholarship in 2018. Keep an eye out for an appeal during our upcoming fellowship drive, March Fellowship Madness, for an opportunity to help send more students to the field!

 

Over the summer I went on my first excavation to Tel Kabri in northern Israel, a site most famous for the wine cellar in the Bronze Age Canaanite palace. I dug for three weeks, doing everything from pickaxing a plaster floor to articulating some incredibly crumbly pottery and everything in between. The experience was amazing, and when I returned home I noticed a few questions I got from almost everyone who knew I went on this trip, here are some of them:

 

1. How was your vacation?

If there is one thing everyone understands (even those who don’t know archaeology past Indiana Jones) is that archaeology is fun, so it’s hard to explain that your “vacation” was actually for your job, or in my case for credit to graduate (and hopefully experience for a future job). When I broke it to them that I was up every day at 4:00 in the morning, and pickaxing before I even ate breakfast, they were a little shocked. Of course, I have to re-emphasize that it was still amazingly fun, even if it was not quite a relaxing vacation!

 

 

2. Why did you sleep for 14 hours (or days)?

This goes hand in hand with the inevitable vacation question. Most friends and family think it’s all fun, and it is, but it’s also enough to give you blisters and 6 new chiropractor appointments.

 

3. Did you find anything exciting?

My friends who I kept in touch with despite the 7 hour time difference know my varying degrees of excitement for what I was digging up on any given day. “Wow pottery in the back dirt!” turned into “More pottery in the back dirt…” and then into “Wow pottery from the wine cellar!”. I was always very excited to find any kind of bone, no matter how small or fragmented. But it really varies, while I would be most thrilled to tell everyone about the cute little sheep femur or piece of charcoal, some might think the pottery or the architecture was the most exciting!

 

4. Did you get to keep anything? / What did you bring home?

Everyone from your mom to your friend from middle school thinks you get to keep what you dig up. The concept of looting seems a little more extreme than just brining a tiny piece of pottery home, but it’s all the same to most who excavate. Bring them back some keychains, magnets, or a Buffalo Bills shirt in Hebrew (like I did), but no one is bringing home gold coins, ancient figurines, or the Ark of the Covenant. Even Indiana Jones said it should be in a museum!

 

5. What was the culture like? Was there running water? Cars?

Archaeology, being the study of the remains of past peoples/cultures is associated with everything ancient, so I wasn’t very surprised that I got this kind of question. But archaeology takes place everywhere, including modern industrialized nations like Israel and the United States. Of course, there were cultural differences (tipping was the hardest to figure out on our weekend trips) but unlike what some people thought we didn’t need to ride horses down dirt paths and cook all our food on a fire. We got Pizza Hut delivered, rented a car for a Dead Sea trip, and took a nice bus to dig every morning. We could dig up things from a time without indoor plumbing, but luckily we didn’t have to live with it!

 

 

Author Bio: Cecelia Chisdock is junior at George Washington University studying archaeology and biological anthropology. She is most interested in bioarchaeology and hopes to work with ancient human remains in the future.

Visit the Friends of ASOR Webpage to find our more about FOA.

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