The Future of the Annual Meeting: When and Where to Meet?

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ASOR ANNUAL MEETING

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THE FUTURE OF THE ANNUAL MEETING: WHEN AND WHERE TO MEET?

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We now face uncertainty about when and where the ASOR Annual Meeting will be held in the future. Why is this and what needs to be done? It is YOUR meeting we need YOUR input…. Again.

As many ASOR members know, we decided during our 2007 meeting that the best time and place for the ASOR meeting was just prior to the SBL meeting and in the same city. However, as the combined SBL-AAR meeting has grown and swallowed up prime hotel space, we have been pushed increasingly to the outskirts of the cities where we meet. This is an issue at this year’s Denver meeting and will be again as we look to book a venue for 2021, when there will essentially be no room for us downtown in San Antonio, the SBL-AAR venue.

 

We started this conversation in late 2016. At that time, we elicited input through an initial survey and at a membership meeting. The results of the survey were posted and are here summarized.

1) Responses: about 270 folks viewed the survey (actually went to the link) and between 220-236 responded (depending on the question);

2) Demographics: half of respondents had been members for 10 years or less and about 2/3 attend the Annual Meeting most or every year; 32% of respondents were SBL members and 40% of these responded that they regularly attend SBL;

3) 25% of respondents said they prefer to meet with SBL, while 33% preferred to not meet with SBL (42% were in the middle)

4) Most (31%) on a 1 to 5 scale preferred to stay with the Nov. Wed-Sat timeframe, even if we do not meet in conjunction with SBL; the rest of the responses were: 4 = 25%, 3 = 27%, 2 = 14%, 1 (strongly favor changing the Nov. Wed.-Sat. timeframe) = 3%.

5) For most, a change in the November date (59%) or days of the week (71%) would make NO difference to their attendance.

6) Although most (64%) were in the middle regarding meeting with another organization, the most popular organization to meet with was AIA (71%).

 

At the meeting and by email, additional input centered around

1) the date – a fall date and thus a spring deadline is difficult for papers involving field work, while spring was noted as already set for attending other organizations;

2) the focus of ASOR as an organization – the historical connection to “Bible” was noted as both important and unimportant;

3) the venue – having transportation readily available, and eateries and “entertainments” close at hand;

4) the cost – making two/multiple trips to national meetings per year was costly.

 

This input gave us a good start in our discussions, but then in March 2017, we got our eviction notice from Boston University (where our headquarters had been for many years) and the process of relocation side-tracked the discussion about the Annual Meeting. This delay proved to be less problematic than it could have been – we were able to contract for both San Diego in 2019 and Boston in 2020 (at the same hotel as our record breaking 2017 meeting). The urgent pressure was relieved. But now it is time to decide, both about our meeting in 2021 and for the years beyond.

As before, it must be understood that the Board is empowered to make this decision – and intends to do so at its Spring 2019 meeting. Thus, it is now time to provide the input necessary to create a decision that is in the best interests of the membership. The Ad Hoc Committee on the Annual Meeting was formed to do just that – provide a recommendation to the Board. This Committee seeks your input through several methods.

First, on Thursday of this year’s Annual Meeting, from 12:45-2:00, an all-member discussion will be held at the annual Early Career Scholars’ Panel. Open to all, this will allow members to present their views and discuss the issues and options with the larger membership. Please note: because we want to give everyone a chance to be heard, there will be a time limit for initial statements of 3 minutes. A record will be kept of these comments and conversations so that the Ad Hoc Committee may have this input moving forward.

A second method for giving input will be through the second membership survey, to be posted in January 2019. Yes, this one will allow for “comments” as well as “multiple choice.”

A third input mechanism is more informal: conversations or emails with an Ad Hoc Committee member. As before, the Chair of this Committee is Gary Arbino – GaryArbino@gs.edu.

Please note that SBL meetings through 2031 will ONLY be held at the following five cities: San Diego, Boston, San Antonio, Denver, and Washington DC.

By way of helping to structure the discussion here are the basic options for our Annual Meeting moving forward:

(1) ALL years: Stay with SBL in terms of city and dates and bend over backwards to figure out the best possible way to make it work.

A) meeting as close as feasible to SBL (Denver Tech park, resorts outside San Antonio);
B) meet in the same city but finish the ASOR meeting before SBL meeting begins- so there is minimal overlap of hotel space (ASOR would meet Tues.-Fri).

(2) ALL years: Split from SBL in terms of city, but NOT in terms of dates – ASOR meets either

A) far from the SBL city (making a long ‘triangle’ trip for double attendees), or
B) “close enough” (for a shorter ‘triangle’ trip; e.g. SBL at San Antonio, ASOR at Austin).

(3) ALTERNATING years:

In years that are MANAGEABLE (Boston, San Diego, Washington) – Stay with SBL in terms of city and dates;

AND

In years where the SBL city is UNAVAILABLE (Denver, San Antonio) – Split from SBL in terms of city, but NOT in terms of dates; either

A) Far from SBL; or
B) “Close Enough” to SBL

(4) ALL years: Split from SBL altogether in terms of city and dates.

NOTE: splitting in terms of dates opens other aspects of the discussion –
when and if we meet with any other organization.

 

ASOR needs and values your input. Please come to the Meeting and make your opinions known.

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Fellowship Report: Harpreet Birdi

JORDAN: ARCHAEOLOGY BEYOND DIGGING

Harpreet Birdi, 2018 MacAllister Excavation Fellowship Recipient


The author at the Rockefeller Museum.

I would like to begin by thanking ASOR and P.E. MacAllister for selecting me as the recipient of the MacAllister Excavation Fellowship. I must also thank all ASOR fellowship donors that helped me participate in an archaeological project. My journey to Jordan would not have been possible without the support of this fellowship. I am grateful for being given the opportunity to travel to Jordan for the second time to participate in the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project. I would also like to thank my professor, Dr Debra Foran, for inviting me to participate in the project again and assisting me with my directed study.

During this season of the project, I stayed in the city of Madaba where I worked alongside fellow students, graduates and PhD scholars from whom I learned a lot about pottery, faunal remains and remote sensing technology from. I was given the opportunity to complete a directed study which focuses on the community engagement and outreach program for our project. We called this the The Khirbet al-Mukhayyat Community Based


Town of Nebo Archaeological Project site at Khirbet-al Mukhayyat

Archaeological Program (KMCBAP). I spent a lot of my time conducting research, reaching out to locals and developing a plan for implementing community engagement within the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project. One of the primary focuses for this project was to determine the effectiveness of social media and developing a plan for maintaining public engagement. This project was inspired by methodologies of community-based programs from North America and Jordan. One of these projects from Jordan was the Madaba Plains Projects. Thanks to Dr Foran, I had the opportunity to attend the 50th anniversary conference of the Madaba Plains Project and visit the site of Tel-Hisban where I witnessed the community engagement for myself. I learned a lot about community engagement from this project and it was very inspiring to see the type of results and engagement we could bring to our own archaeological project.


Amman Citadel

To improve public and community engagement, I began by improving and updating all the websites and social media pages of our project. Additionally, I was constantly posting photographs and feeds about the 2018 season and the individual research projects that some students were conducting. The results were incredible because we gained the most amount of activity on our web pages than we ever have before! This helped us gain feedback about why our web pages were unpopular and what we were doing wrong. The social media platform is definitely a great place for archaeological projects to establish a relationship with the public and contemporary world. The importance of public archaeology and community engagement is often overlooked when it should be given more attention. To my surprise, many locals living in Madaba were unaware about our archaeological project, however, they all knew about the site and its history. Many people I spoke to were very intrigued about the site and wanted to visit or learn more about our archaeological project. I realized how ineffective our web pages were if locals were unaware of our project. After this season’s effort for increasing the popularity of the web pages, I hope we can soon begin to see a change and an improvement in community engagement.


The author with a goat herd.

Aside from working all day, I also had the chance to travel around Jordan to visit other archaeological sites and enjoy the natural landscapes of Jordan. My fellow colleges and I visited many sites including the Burnt Palace, Martyrs Church, Amman Citadel, Jerash, Umm ar-Rassas, Mount Nebo Memorial Site of Moses and the Dead Sea. We also took a trip to Israel for a few days where we stayed in Jerusalem. We visited the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall, Rockefeller Museum and Israel Museum. Additionally, my birthday happened to be while I was in Jordan which we celebrated at a restaurant inside a 65 million years old cave! It was a very interesting experience and we all had a great night. All the travelling and sightseeing really made all the hard work worth it!

This season was a great learning experience for me and I gained so much knowledge about the different types of research projects archaeologists conduct outside the field. I had a great time meeting new people from our project, other archaeological projects in Jordan and from countless countries across the globe. It was great to be able to return to Jordan again and I would once again like to extend my gratitude to ASOR and P.E. MacAllister for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

Links for the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project:

Website: http://www.townofneboproject.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/townofneboarchaeologicalproject/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/neboarchaeology

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/townofnebo/

 

Harpreet Birdi is a recent graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University who just completed her undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Heritage Studies with a subfield in Osteology and Ancient Mediterranean Studies. This is her second trip to Jordan where she participated in the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project. Harpreet currently lives in Ontario, Canada where she works as an archaeological field technician.

Want to help more students and young archaeologists like Harpreet get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Excavation Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

Archaeology of Iran at ASOR

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ARCHAEOLOGY OF IRAN AT ASOR

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Written by ASOR session co-chairs: Holly Pittman (University of Pennsylvania) and Mehrnoush Soroush (Harvard University)

Over the past several years, ASOR has received the generous support of the American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS) to sponsor the visas of Iranian scholars and to underwrite their participation in the ASOR Annual Meeting. The Archaeology of Iran session is one of ASOR’s permanent standing sessions. It is an important venue for facilitating scholarly exchange and building collaboration between Iranian and American archaeologists.

The ancient heritage of Iran is well known and has been investigated since the middle of the eighteenth century. For many decades in the twentieth century, Iran was the locus of some of the most exciting archaeological engagement for American scholars. Following the revolution in 1979, archaeological work by non-Iranian scholars was greatly reduced in the country, beginning again, with ebb and flow, around 2000. The re-opening of the country to foreign, especially western scholars, was part of a broader change in the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization, to train a new generation of Iranian archaeologists and to use these talents in new institutional structures devoted to research and preservation of cultural heritage. Since then many young Iranian archaeologists have completed their graduate degrees, especially at the University of Tehran, as well as in Europe and in the United States, and are actively undertaking systematic archeological research in universities or in the wide spread cultural heritage network supported by the central government.

The Archaeology of Iran papers cover all aspects of the science from Paleolithic through the Islamic period. The session usually consists of ten to twelve papers allocated over two sections. Ideally, the sessions are built around a core of Iranian nationals who are actively engaged in field research in the country. In addition, American and European nationals also contribute, some reporting on field work, others focusing on the study of heritage collections, or on the reanalysis of published material.

Securing visas for Iranian scholars is a difficult and prolonged undertaking for the scholars as well as for ASOR and AIIrS. Support from AIIrS includes reimbursement for visa applications, travel and lodging expenses, as well as a contribution to cover ASOR participation fees. The outcome of this process is affected by political environment and is more favorable in some years than others. The program was most successful in 2015, when the five Iranian applicants received visas and attended the meeting.

This year, we are again grateful to AIIrS, and especially to the unflagging support of Dr. Erica Ehrenberg, the Executive Director of the organization, for facilitating the application of five Iranian scholars who submitted papers selected by the organizing chairs. Two scholars, Dr. Mostafa Dehpahlavan and Mr. Hossein Moradi, will present their research in Denver. With permission from ASOR’s Program Committee, the other three scholars will give prerecorded or read presentations. These colleagues are all active field archaeologists and educators or cultural heritage specialists. We look forward to hearing about their ongoing research, addressing a variety of topics including:

Mostafa Dehpahlavan (University of Tehran), Mehrdad Malekzadeh (Iranian Center for Archaeological Research), and Zabih Allah Chaharrahi (Independent Researcher), “Archaeological Survey of Part of the Great Khorasan Road, the So-Called Pataq Defile or the Median Gate”

Hossein Moradi (Independent Researcher), “Site-Size Hierarchy in the Bampur Valley during the Chalcolithic Period: A New Approach for Understanding Complexity in Iranian Baluchistan”

Nasir Eskandari (University of Jiroft), “The Jiroft Archaeological Project 2017: Excavation at the Site of Varamin, Jiroft Plain, Southeastern Iran”

Hamed Vahdati Nasab (Tarbiat Modares University) and Abbas Moghaddam (Iranian Center for Archaeological Research), “Death and Violence During the Fifth-Fourth Millennia B.C., Khuzestan Plain, Southwestern Iran: Tol-e Chega Sofla Cemetery”

Mohammad Esmaeil Esmaeili Jelodar (University of Tehran) and Mohammad Mortezaei (Iranian Center for Archaeological Research), “Certain Evidence of Glazed Ceramic Manufacturing in Jorjan: An Overview of the Results from the Seventh Season”[/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]

ASOR Board Nominees (2018)

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ASOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES NOMINEES (2018)

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ASOR is pleased to announce that the Trustee Nominations Committee has selected seven highly qualified members to stand for election for five open positions on the ASOR Board of Trustees (three openings for Member-elected Trustees and two openings for Institutionally-elected Trustees). The ASOR Board sets the direction for ASOR and provides oversight for our organization. Among other responsibilities, members of the Board agree to attend two meetings each year at their own expense, to participate thoughtfully in the governance process, and to contribute financially to ASOR.

There are five candidates running for the three openings as Member-elected Trustees (one opening for a 2-year term, and two openings for 3-year terms). There are two candidates (running unopposed) for two, three-year positions as Institutionally-elected Trustees. All ASOR members are eligible to vote in the Member-elected Trustee Election, while only Institutional Representatives of the 72 ASOR-member schools may vote in the Institutionally-elected Trustee Election.

ASOR will conduct the elections by online ballot, and all members and Institutional Representatives will receive the appropriate ballot(s) on or about October 17, 2018. We will send out two reminders, and all ballots must be completed by 2:00PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 7. If you would like to receive a paper ballot or if you have difficulties completing the online ballot (once they are distributed), please contact Marta Ostovich at programs@asor.org.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]

Nominees for Membership-elected Trustees
(three to be elected)

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Emily Miller Bonney

Emily Miller Bonney is a professor of Liberal Studies at California State University Fullerton, where she currently serves as Interim Dean of the Pollak University Library.  She received her PhD in Greek and Roman art and archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and her JD from the University of California at Los Angeles.  Her research focuses on Bronze Age Crete, and specifically on the application of extended mind and material agency theories to the relationship between the archaeological record and social/political/economic change.  She also examines the ways in which the specific disciplinary frameworks affect the conclusions scholars reach.  Among her publications is the co-edited volume Incomplete Archaeologies: Assembling Knowledge in the Past and Present.  Her recent work re-examines the mortuary evidence for social organization transitions in the Early Bronze Age on Crete, particularly the circular stone tombs, and for cross-crafting in pottery and other media.

Mission Statement: When I returned to the Academy in 1999 after 15 years in the world of law school and legal practice, a colleague suggested I attend an ASOR meeting, and I remain forever grateful for that recommendation.  Like many people I found my vision of my profession changed through contact with ASOR members and activities, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve and give back to the organization as a Board member.  If elected I would work to ensure that ASOR can continue its support of scholarly activity in the field, in research, and in the classroom.  In particular I would encourage continued expansion into all levels of education as well as in the network of municipal libraries and other public fora with an eye to elevating everyone’s awareness of our shared cultural heritage.  The organization has been importantly active in supporting younger scholars’ development and maintenance of professional networks and more recently has begun to provide opportunities to explore careers outside the academy, both efforts to which I am deeply committed.  I also would hope to see ASOR maintain and grow its role as an intermediary between the realms of scholarship and the wider public in its publications and in an array of outreach activities.  To that end I would want to find ways we could continue to expand membership not just among scholars working in the Near East and the Western Mediterranean, but among those interested in understanding antiquity more broadly defined – in Europe, Asia and the Americas.  Finally I would encourage increasing ASOR’s advocacy for the preservation of the peoples and cultures we study.  We all have a stake in deepening our understanding of the civilizations that preceded our own.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1503684320408{padding-right: 15px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/evans.jpg” image_width=”150″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Jane DeRose Evans

Jane DeRose Evans is an archaeologist who works in any area that was conquered by the Romans: she has conducted field work in France, England, Greece, Israel, Jordan, and especially Turkey. She has written reports on the coins from the excavations of the synagogue at Sardis, Bir Madkhour, Tell er Ras, Gordion and Sardis.  She is the author of books on the excavation coins of Sardis (Coins from the Excavations at Sardis: Their Archaeological and Economic Contexts, Harvard 2018), and Caesarea Maritima (The JECM Excavation Reports v.6, The Coins and the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Economy of Palestine, ASOR 2006) and political propaganda (The Art of Persuasion, Michigan 1992). She was editor and contributor to The JECM Excavation Reports v.2: the Mithraeum at Caesarea Maritima (ASOR 2017).  She is preparing a volume on the portico of Area C in Caesarea Maritima.  Currently, she serves as Chair of Art History at Tyler School of Art, Temple University.

Mission statement: ASOR has been an important part of my scholarly life since graduate school, as a place to find out about excavations and new ways of thinking about the cultural history of the southern Levant and Anatolia. More recently, I served on the committee to write the policies on ethics, been an active member with the women of ASOR, and part of the cultural heritage committee. I have been proud to see ASOR move to a stable financial footing, and tackle important questions of cultural heritage and ethical responses to threats to the region’s archaeological heritage.  The organization is entering a new phase, with the movement of the offices, and its relationship to AAR/SBL in flux. I hope to be part of the transition time, as we retain our valuable mission to bring a greater understanding of our past to a wider audience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1503684320408{padding-right: 15px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Flesher_Paul-150-x-250.jpg” image_width=”150″ image_height=”250″ crop=”false” hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Paul V.M. Flesher

My primary training is in the history of ancient Judaism and its texts, but I have always seen archaeological research as an important source of information for understanding the ancient Near East. One of my earliest articles analyzed the archaeological interpretation of first-century synagogues in the land of Israel. In 1995, I edited Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis & Archaeological Discovery with Dan Urman, a work that brought together the best Israeli and American research on ancient synagogues, both archaeological and historical. More recently, I worked with Jennie Ebeling, Ed Wright and Mark Elliot to publish The Old Testament in Archaeology and History (2017), the first textbook to provide a history of ancient Israel drawing equally upon the evidence of archaeology, biblical books and other historical evidence.

My academic training has been in Judaism of the land of Israel during the Roman and early Byzantine periods. After my undergraduate work in Religious Studies at the University of Rochester, I undertook an M.Phil. with Geza Vermes at Oxford University (1982) and then did a Ph.D. in the History of Judaism with Jacob Neusner at Brown University (1988).

During my undergraduate days, I studied computer programming and engineering, and for the last 40 years have used computers in my research into antiquity in a variety of ways. In particular, my archaeological experience has often been tied to computers. When I was on the staff of the Tel Miqne excavations in 1995, I was responsible for designing a pottery database and recording finds. More recently, I served on the Huqoq staff for four years, first designing a database for recording all finds and information, and then guiding the process of recording the information into it.

Currently, I am involved with Chad Spigel, as well as Eric and Carol Meyers, to create an online archive of the excavation records from the four upper-Galilean synagogues which the Meyers excavated and published during their career. The first site, Gush Halav, should be publicly available within the year.

My current research began while I served as the Seymour Gitin Distinguished Professor at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in 2016. It focuses on the archaeology of ritual in ancient synagogues, where I draw upon historical, textual and archaeological information to understand the rites practiced in synagogue. I am also engaged in the archaeoacoustic modeling of synagogue worship, based on excavated synagogue remains. Next year, my institution, the University of Wyoming, will be a sponsor of the new excavations at Abu Shusha, taking place under the directorship of Matt Adams and the Jezreel Valley Regional Project, where I will serve on the staff.

Finally, part of what I can bring to a position on the Board is my decades of experience in “scholarship for the public.” I have been an associate editor of the Bible and Interpretation website from its founding, written a bi-monthly newspaper column called Religion Today since 2000, and for the last decade have organized and promoted an extensive, faculty based, lecture series across my state called Saturday University. While only Bible and Interpretation features archaeology, these activities have provided me with broad expertise in public outreach that could help ASOR promote Near Eastern archaeology more effectively.

Mission Statement: 

The heart of ASOR is archaeological excavation. And rightly so, for fieldwork provides the fastest growing body of knowledge concerning the ancient Near East. For more than a century, ASOR has provided on-the-ground support structures and a strong disciplinary environment that have advanced and enhanced American archaeological work in the region.

ASOR itself does not excavate, however, it has always left that activity to individual archaeologists. As a scholarly organization, it works towards goals beyond the reach of its individual and institutional members, addressing problems and issues that require a broader approach.

Today excavation research and its results need to reach audiences beyond the archaeological community. In this era of fewer academic positions and dwindling resources, ASOR needs to make a strong case for the relevance of archaeology and the ancient world more broadly, for the understanding of ancient peoples continues to be relevant today. ASOR’s Strategic plan lays out a multi-pronged strategy to accomplish that, focusing on outreach, publication and education. If elected to the Board, I would work to guide ASOR’s strategy for accomplishing those goals.

Outreach is more than splashy newspaper headlines. Effective outreach meets the audience where they are, rather than asking them to come to us. Today, this requires a variety of digital and internet platforms, connected to each other and supported by networking social media; it requires marketing to a general public, to students, and to specific segments of both. But the internet is not a substitute for face-to-face interaction in local communities. ASOR cannot do this as an organization, that is the job of our members, but it can provide resources to support the local work of its membership.

Education is another area where ASOR needs to undertake a new approach. As archaeologists retire, positions are disappearing. We are losing access to our undergraduates, to our future. We need to work with our cognate disciplines, demonstrating our relevance to their undertakings, so that we can come together to strengthen each other’s position in the academy. Some of the decline in positions comes from budget reductions, but we need to be making our case now so that when budgets become flush again, Near East archaeology is an area institutions can be persuaded to hire.

Both outreach and education depend upon publication. ASOR needs to continue and even expand its traditional publication approach, but it also needs to move solidly into digital publication. This will enable it to develop new ways of promoting archaeological research to scholars and students in cognate fields as well as the general public, and new ways of disseminating archaeological data and research results to the discipline. Lots of experimentation with digital and internet publication has taken place over the last two decades; it is time to assess what has worked, what has not, and then develop its own outlets in a methodical and persistent manner.

Digital publication modes are needed for both new and old research. On the one hand, as the cutting edge of archaeological investigation makes increasing use of new technological and digital techniques, we need to find new ways of disseminating those results instead of forcing them into the limitations of print technology. On the other hand, ASOR should promote the publication of archives from past excavations. While final reports are both important and necessary, their limitations are increasing clear. For proper scientific analysis, one that enables the debate needed to refine interpretation of results, all excavation data needs to be available for both further analysis and for teaching purposes.

If elected an ASOR trustee, I will use my experience in these three areas to help promote the importance of excavations to broader audiences for the benefit of ASOR and its constituents.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1503684320408{padding-right: 15px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/andrew-mccarthy-headshot-150-x-250.jpg” image_width=”150″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Andrew McCarthy

Andrew McCarthy studied Classics and History at Loyola University New Orleans before moving to the University of Edinburgh to pursue a PhD in prehistoric Near Eastern archaeology under Prof. Trevor Watkins and Prof. Edgar Peltenburg. Since 1995, he has been very active in fieldwork, including Field Directing sites in Syria such as the (ASOR-affiliated) Tell Jerablus Tahtani and Tell Leilan’s City Gate, as well as surveys such as the Land of Carchemish Project. Since 2001, he also participated in excavations in Cyprus, where he currently Directs the ASOR-affiliated Prastio-Mesorotsos Archaeological Expedition and co-Directs the ASOR-affiliated Makounta-Voules Project. In 2000, he became a member of ASOR and has participated in the Annual Meeting every year since, including co-chairing the Theoretical and Anthropological Approaches session for a decade and serving ex-officio on its Board of Trustees from 2011-2017. After receiving his PhD, he was taken on as a Fellow in History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, a title which he still holds. He also served as CAARI Director from 2011 to 2017, during which time he oversaw the construction of the Library Expansion Project, which tripled the library space and renovated the facilities as well as expanding the institute’s endowment. In 2018, he took on the role of Adjunct Lecturer at the College of Southern Nevada and serves on the Board of two southwestern US archaeology learned societies. He is a glyptic specialist who is widely published in art history and early bureaucracy. He has also published extensively on theory, methodology, gender, ethics and trafficking of cultural property, experimental archaeology and artifactual analysis in addition to the publication of several sites and surveys in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean.

Mission Statement: As an American who found myself living and working in Europe for twenty years, ASOR has long been my lifeline connecting me to a community of Near Eastern archaeologists that spans the world. I have gotten a great deal out of my association with ASOR, but because of the good-spirited nature of the membership, I also feel like I can make a positive impact in the organization. These connections continued when I became the Director of CAARI, and I found that ASOR served as the thread that tied researchers across the Mediterranean and Near East together. In part this was through the affiliated overseas centers, but the central ASOR organization also plays a crucial role. I now find myself teaching at a Community College in America and ASOR once again can serve to make important connections. In my current position I frequently encounter students and researchers who feel that they have no way to advance in archaeology. My mission is to use ASOR as a conduit to expand access to Near Eastern archaeology for students and researchers from diverse backgrounds. Increased access will in turn expand the breadth of perspectives in archaeology and improve the discipline as a consequence.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1503684320408{padding-right: 15px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Welch-Headshot-150-x-250.jpg” image_width=”150″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Eric Welch

Eric Welch received his PhD in History and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies from the Pennsylvania State University in 2015. Following three years as Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Kansas, he joined the University of Kentucky as a founding lecturer in the Lewis Honors College. As a Senior Lecturer, he teaches across the honors curriculum, including honors courses in Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology. Eric has been with the Tell es-Safi/Gath Excavation Project since 2006, where he directs the excavation of a 9th century BCE olive oil production facility. His work at Tell es-Safi has been supported by ASOR’s Heritage Excavation Grant, the Sean William Dever Fellowship, and was presented at the ASOR Annual Meeting with the assistance of the Foundation for Biblical Archaeology Scholarship.

Eric has been an active member of ASOR since 2008 in both scholarship and service. He is a member of the ASOR Early Career Scholars committee and currently serves as co-chair of the committee. He also serves on the ASOR ad hoc committee for the location of the Annual Meeting and is the chair of the ASOR program unit, Archaeology of the Near East: Bronze and Iron Ages.

Mission Statement: My goal in serving ASOR is to represent the voice of early career scholars. As the landscape of employment changes, I intend to be an advocate for our undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate members as they seek out personal and professional fulfillment. ASOR has always been comprised of specialists who hold jobs outside of traditional tenure track university positions. I want to continue make ASOR a place that embraces career diversity and empowers early career scholars to be active members in ASOR whether their position is academic, peri-academic, or in an industry completely unrelated to the academy.

To do this, I have taken the lead on a mentorship initiative as a part of my work on the Early Career Scholars Committee. My vision is that our early career scholars would have opportunities for mentorship and professional development that reflect the realities of our collective career diversity. As a member of the Board of Trustees, I will be better positioned to communicate the necessity of this initiative to the wider membership body, along with an improved ability to facilitate these mentorship opportunities. It is my hope that efforts like this will contribute to the value of ASOR membership whether one seeks employment in the academy or beyond.

As an early career scholar, I recognize the important role the Annual Meeting plays in my own professional development. A significant portion of our members are the only Near Eastern scholars in their place of work, so the November meeting provides a crucial opportunity to interact with other scholars of the ancient Near East. With a significant portion of our membership having little to no access to professional development funds, it is imperative that the Annual Meeting remain financially feasible for all members. At the same time, I am committed to ensuring that the Annual Meeting is financially viable for ASOR. As a member of the Board of Trustees, I look forward to helping the Annual Meeting continue to benefit the membership of ASOR without becoming a financial liability for our organization.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text responsive_align=”left”]

Nominees for Institutionally-elected Trustees
(two to be elected)

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Lynn Swartz Dodd

Lynn Swartz Dodd is Associate Professor of the Practice of Religion at the University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. There, she has served as the Director of the Interdisciplinary Archaeology Undergraduate Major and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Religion. She was also designated a USC Dornsife Distinguished Faculty Fellow.

Dodd’s research centers on archaeology and politics, and the ways that beliefs about the world and resources figure in social change. As Curator of USC’s Archaeology Research Center, she is also engaged in material studies, excavation publication projects, and new imaging techniques in archaeological research and conservation. She directs the Tell al-Judaidah Publication Project (Turkey) and Native American Sacred Landscapes Project (California); co-directed the Kenan Tepe Excavations (Tigris River, Turkey); and was field director of the Amuq Valley Research Project Survey (Turkey). Dodd is in addition the co-organizer of the Israeli Palestinian Archaeology Working Group.

Dodd has served ASOR in many capacities: for example, as a member of the Publications Committee and of the Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy (and as Chair of that committee’s Fellowships Subcommittee), and member of the Near Eastern Archaeology Editorial Board. She was the Chair of the Ad Hoc Ethics Working Group that authored the Policy on Professional Conduct adopted by the ASOR Board in April 2015. She has been ASOR Secretary since January 1, 2013.

In November 2015, she received the ASOR Membership Service Award.

Mission Statement: During my term serving as Secretary of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Ad Hoc Ethics Working Group, I came to understand the critical importance of ASOR members’ perspectives about professional responsibility in all areas of research, publication, and teaching. I support ASOR’s on-going efforts to specify best practices that support safety and respect for all participants in every environment.

I applaud ASOR’s recent decision to open all benefits of membership, including scholarships, to all members regardless of their home location.  As an Institutional Representative to the ASOR Board of Trustees, I will work to increase the visible, reciprocal benefits both for Institutional members and for ASOR. Also, I will contribute to reimagining institutional membership in ways that enable diverse forms of support for ASOR and its members worldwide.  I will encourage ASOR to pursue initiatives that support relevance, diversity, and expanded professional opportunities for ASOR members, including new partnerships with non-profits and other organizations. I affirm ASOR’s tangible efforts to support heritage preservation, documentation and rebuilding in the regions where ASOR members work as reflections of our broad vision of scholarly responsibility and relevance.  I will continue to support ASOR personally, and will seek to identify others who will support ASOR, both financially and in other ways, so that additional resources can be offered to members who participate in research into, and public understanding of, the history and cultures of the Near East and wider Mediterranean, from the earliest times.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1503684320408{padding-right: 15px !important;}”][mk_image src=”http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/wright.jpg” image_width=”150″ image_height=”250″ hover=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

J. Edward Wright

Wright is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism and Director of The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona. Wright’s area of expertise is early Jewish history and religion with particular interest in early Jewish apocryphal texts — texts that shed light on the non-traditional aspects of early Jewish thought and culture, allowing for a more accurate depiction of the rich diversity of early Judaism.

Wright is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Museum of Biblical Archaeology, a new national public museum that will be devoted to the history, culture, and people of the land of the Bible. In addition, he serves as a co-editor of “The Bible and Interpretation” website, and he is a past President of the Society of Biblical Literature, Pacific Coast Region.

Within ASOR, Wright was the guest editor of a special issue of Near Eastern Archaeology — “The House that Albright Built” (NEA 65/1). He has served as an ASOR Trustee since 2006, and he also served two terms as President of the W. F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (AIAR), from 2006-2012. He remains an Honorary Trustee of the Albright. Currently, Wright serves as the Chair of the ASOR Board’s Development Committee. In November 2012, Wright received ASOR’s W. F. Albright Service Award, which honors an individual who has shown special support or made outstanding service contributions to one of the overseas centers, ACOR, AIAR, CAARI, or to one of the overseas committees – the Baghdad Committee and the Damascus Committee.


Mission Statement
: As a trustee I will support ASOR’s mission to support and promote archaeological excavation, scholarly research, student training, and the dissemination of information about the cultures and history of the Near East. As the current chair of the development committee, I am especially interested in promoting development efforts that strive to raise funds to support ASOR’s mission-driven endeavors, and that naturally includes the effort to established our new headquarters in the DC area.

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Fellowship Report: Paula Waiman-Barak & Sveta Matskevich

IN SEARCH OF A MIDDLE BRONZE AGE HARBOR:
EXCAVATION AT TEL MEVORAKH

Paula Waiman-Barak & Sveta Matskevich, 2017 Shirlee Meyers/G. Ernest Wright Excavation Fellowship Recipients

Tel Mevorakh, first excavation season


Aerial photo of Tel Mevorakh, Mt. Carmel, the Carmel Coast and the Mediterranean.

Tel Mevorakh is a small mound on the southern bank of Nahal Taninim, 2 km inland from the river’s opening into the Mediterranean Sea along the ancient maritime route between Egypt and the Levantine coastal sites. In antiquity, this area was an estuary where salt marshes—influenced by tidal currents, brackish water from local springs and sweet water from the river—formed a wetland interface between the coast and its hinterland. We believe that during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) Tel Mevorakh served as an inland port of trade for seafaring Canaanite merchants on the crossroad between maritime and land routes.

The tell was previously excavated by Ephraim Stern of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Over four seasons (1973–1976), two excavation areas and one trench revealed a site occupation sequence spanning from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period. Later remains, mostly Crusader and Muslim burials dug into the latest occupation layers, were found in small-scale salvage excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in 1997 and 2005–2006. Other exposed areas included the presumed “lower town,” located in the lower part of the slope of the tell, unearthed architectural remains dated to the Late Iron Age and the Persian Period.

Since the earliest architectural remains at Mevorakh belong to the Middle Bronze Age, we decided to focus our investigation on this period. During the previous excavation on the tell, MBA remains were found in the lower strata (XIII-XV) in the main areas, as well near the surface in the eastern test trenches. In the main area, a large MBA structure with thickened walls was unearthed (Stratum XIII). Because of the thickened walls of the main building, Stern interpreted it as a garrison. However, adjacent to this structure, Stern described sediments that might be interpreted as characteristic of wetlands. To our minds, this raised the possibility that this structure was built in close proximity to water and therefore required thick walls to withstand the elements of. In the fall of 2017 we opened a small excavation in an attempted to address the question of the ancient environment of the site during the MBA.

On site, it was evident that a new excavation at “Stern’s Garrison” was impossible for safety reasons. We decided instead to reopen the excavation areas on the eastern slope (the easternmost squares of the main area and the “East Cut”), to record the architectural remains and to collect sediments and ceramics for analysis. In addition, for control, we excavated new squares on both sides of this “East Cut.”

The material culture of the site from all periods suggested that there was substantial maritime traffic, and that the economic prosperity of the residents of Tel Mevorakh depended on the interconnections with neighboring communities. However, there were two main interpretations regarding Tel Mevorakh and its place in the settlement history of the area. Stern’s excavations focused on the site and its presumed connections to a terrestrial road network along the Carmel Coast, while Avner Raban, in his 1985 paper on Canaanite harbors suggested that Mevorakh was an inland port on the banks of the Nahal Taninim in an ancient semi-closed marine lagoon.


Excavations on the east slope, Fall 2017.

The paleoenvironment of the broader area nearby was researched extensively by geologists via coring. However, those studies were concerned with environments predating the Bronze Age. Therefore, we decided to approach the problem with a different method: to gather sediments from excavated archaeological contexts, and to analyze them using geological techniques with the aim to derive environmental information. The mineralogical and faunal content of associated sediments can provide a reflection of the environment in which they were deposited. Thus, using sediments from mudbricks with a solid archaeological context can potentially provide a well-dated reconstruction of the paleoenvironment.

During the inaugural 2017 season at Tel Mevorakh we focused the work on the MBA settlement. For this purpose, we reopened one of the old excavation areas on the eastern slope and started several new squares immediately next to it. According to the 1970’s excavation report on the eastern slope, MBA stratum were the uppermost archaeological layer, and these contained a brick wall and MBA ceramics. In our excavation, we re-exposed the MBA brick wall and found it mostly burnt and collapsed on several MBA Canaanite jars (now on our restoration table). One of the jar fragments had shells of Glycymeris (a saltwater marine bivalve mollusk) attached to it. Glycymeris, as well as other marine shells (e.g., Murex, Egyptian Chambardia) were very common in the excavation. This is consistent with the malacological analyses published in the 1970’s excavation report and suggests a marine connection. Although Glycymeris species no longer exist along the Israeli coast, they were common in the Bronze and Iron Ages and were collected by humans for different usages.

Sediment analysis

We collected several sediment samples from the collapsed brick wall based on the assumption that the materials used for making the mudbricks were harvested near the site. A preliminary analysis of the sediment was done in collaboration with Beverly Goodman-Tchernov. In the mudbricks of the MBA wall we found sediments typical of the coastal area with abundant fauna characteristic of marine and brackish wetlands: marine shell fragments, spines of sea urchins and foraminifera of species highly tolerant to both marine and brackish waters. Additional coring in the immediate surrounding of the site is planned. 

Ceramic analysis


Volunteers from Kibbutz Ma’agan-Michael Field School and Sveta Matskevich.

While the study of the sediments in mudbricks is progressing, we apply ceramic petrography to the assemblages of pottery found at our excavation and from the MBA “garrison” published by Stern. Usually, ceramic petrography is used to determine provenance of the artifacts in order to trace commercial interactions. Indeed, we found an abundance of imported pottery from various production centers up and down the Levantine coast, as well as from Egypt and Cyprus. The same method allows us to characterize the clays available in the vicinity o the site, which will give us additional information about the environment of the site during the MBA.

Prior to our excavation, we conducted petrographic examination of the ceramic assemblages from the MBA “garrison” published by Stern. We found an abundance of imported pottery from various production centers up and down the Levantine coast, as well as from Egypt and Cyprus. The ceramic petrography of the local pottery shows a similar sedimentological fingerprint as in the mudbricks, although the mudbricks exhibit a higher ratio of clay minerals and are not fired. The fabric of the ceramics also contains minerals formed in saltwater environments, such as gypsum and glauconite, so far unidentified in the mudbricks.

The ceramics of the 2017 excavation are currently being drawn using the 3D camera scanner and associated computerized morphological analysis at the Computerized Archaeology Laboratory at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A community venture


Ceramic petrography on ceramics from the 1970’s excavation: a jar imported from the Syrian Coast.

The question of the local ecosystem before human activities and before human intervention is very relevant for modern conservation and development plans of the area. The communities in nearby Kibbutz Ma’agan-Michael and Moshav Beit-Hanania embraced this expedition and joined as volunteers. We opened the excavation to families during the Sukkot holiday and the children of the area participated in all activities. This proved to be a very valuable learning experience for all who participated.

Summary and future investigation

The ancient environment at Tel Mevorakh has long been the subject of academic interest. In applying methods from different fields, we are exploring questions regarding the site’s function at the crossroad of land and sea trade routes. This will contribute to the understanding of the role of Tel Mevorakh along land and sea systems, and its connection to the immediate hinterland.

The analysis of the paleoenvironment based on well-dated archaeological remains, both on sediments, architecture and ceramics is a new, innovative approach. Hopefully this research leads to the formation of specific methodological tools and criteria to help in the identification of marine, wetland and riverine harbors in the Bronze Age―an identification so far elusive in the archaeological record.

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Presentation at ASOR 2017

2017 Tel Mevorahk excavation team

ASOR Seeks Membership Specialist or Manager

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ASOR SEEKS MEMBERSHIP SPECIALIST OR MANAGER

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ASOR seeks a candidate for a full-time position of Membership Specialist or Manager to begin in October. This position is located at ASOR’s new offices in Alexandria, VA. ASOR is currently renting temporary office space on the campus of the Virginia Theological Seminary, and we plan to move into a new office building in Old Town Alexandria in the first half of 2019.

Founded in 1900, the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) is an international organization of archaeologists, historians, linguists, and cultural heritage professionals who initiate, encourage, and support research into, and public understanding of, the cultures and history of the Near East and wider Mediterranean. Please visit www.asor.org for more information.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Work with members of the ASOR staff to maintain high-quality customer service for our members and subscribers; answer the ASOR telephone and email account(s).
  • Work with Programs Manager to send invoices and reminders for membership dues, and help process payments.
  • Work with Programs Manager to create and distribute membership outreach from online membership renewals, bimonthly e-newsletter, publication notices, etc.
  • Assist with ASOR’s off-site Annual Meeting by processing payments, answering questions, and making all potential attendees feel welcome.
  • Update website regarding membership and publications news; compile membership reports and queries
  • General office and other duties as assigned, including processing payments and updating website (WordPress); processing fellowship applications; collecting author contracts; and invoicing for institutional memberships.

Qualifications / Skills Needed:

  • Associate Degree or equivalent work experience; Bachelor’s Degree strongly preferred.
  • 2-5 years of office experience preferred; experience with databases, Microsoft Office, WordPress, general office management also preferred.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are required.
  • Attention to detail; ability to multitask and to prioritize.

Compensation and Benefits: Salary range between $44,000 and $55,000, depending on qualifications, experience, and position title (whether the position is filled at the specialist or manager level). Benefits include paid vacation and sick time; paid holidays; employer retirement contribution (6%); and benefit dollars ($500 per month).

How To Apply: E-mail letter of interest, resume, and contact information for three references to Marta Ostovich at programs@asor.org. Please include your name and “ASOR Membership Opening” in the subject line. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

ASOR is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other class protected by federal or state law (EEO/AA).[/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]

The Petroglyphs of Domab in the Central Plateau of Iran

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FY18 HONOR ROLL OF DONORS

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The Petroglyphs of Domab in the Central Plateau of Iran

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Available until October 12, 2018[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]Near Eastern Archaeology, June 2018, “The Petroglyphs of Domab in the Central Plateau of Iran” by Ebrahim Karimi (University of Victoria)

Two clusters of rock art consisting of a considerable number of petroglyphs are identified in the Domab region in the west of the Isfahan province in the central plateau of Iran. Hunting scenes and zoomorphic depictions, mostly ibexes, are the main subjects of rock art in the Domab area. All panels are made on the schist rocks that can be seen all over the region. Several scattered panels that bear geometric markings and depictions of ibexes have also been identified. The petroglyphs of Domab show similarities in terms of subject matter, style, and iconography to the rock art of other regions of central Iran, such as Teymare and Qameshlu national park. The current evidence suggests hunters as the possible creators of some of this rock art.

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Fellowship Report: Sara Soltani

FIVE THINGS YOU BRING HOME FROM AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION

Sara Soltani, 2017, P.E. MacAllister Heritage Fellowship Recipient

Archaeology, known as one of the world’s dirtiest jobs, can also be one of the most rewarding. From participating in the discoveries that redefine history, to the wonderful experiences that excavations bring, it can truly be an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. After the excavation ends though, what do you bring home other than photos, souvenirs, and memories? For those who are considering participating in an archaeological excavation, or those who are curious about what you gain from an excavation during the three to six-week period, let me share what I’ve learned.


From left to right; Noelle Purcell, Rebecca Larson, and Sara Soltani pose for a group photo after wet sieving. (All photos courtesy of Eric Cline)

When you arrive at your accommodations, you are placed in a room that you share with around one to three other people. Excavations begin at 5 a.m. sharp and continue until you head back for the day at around 1 p.m. for lunch. Upon arriving at the site, you are placed into a locus, or a specific area of excavation, with other participants. Before long, you may become very close with these participants, until they are no longer just fellow participants, but also friends. You all will work through the heat, sweat, and dirt during long and hot days towards a common goal, which creates a real and close friendship.

 

    1. Friendship

From left to right; Analee Nelson and Sara Soltani section a test trench.

Whether or not you study Archaeology, Anthropology, or History, new friendships and connections gained from an archaeological excavation are something you can maintain after the excavation season is complete. For all anthropology-related majors, excavations are a great place to meet new colleagues who will benefit you personally, as well as professionally. Besides the determination and commitment of the staff and participants at the site, nothing would get done without teamwork. Teamwork is the most important factor in making sure that any excavation season is a success. Because of this teamwork, in my experience, relationships formed at an excavation are often some of the strongest and last the longest. Something about a mutual understanding of hard work towards a common goal among all the excavation members compels us to rely on one another and work as a team for the duration of the dig, and that creates a lasting bond.

  1. Multitasking skills

It isn’t possible to be productive in an excavation without learning to multitask. You might think, ‘why would I possibly need to multitask?’ While digging that trench, have you thought about where your dig partners are while you excavate with a 10-lb pickaxe? They might not hear it coming. Are you looking for ceramics, bone, flint, shell, and metal while scooping up the dirt? Sometimes juggling the day-to-day tasks of a field archaeologist can be underappreciated until you experience them for yourself. After the season, you are able to return home with new skills that can be applied to both your career and your personal life. I’ve learned that one of the most beneficial results of this is the ability to manage deadlines while maintaining an active social life.

    1. Fitness

Sara Soltani is collecting the soil for disposal while looking for artifacts.

The hours are long, and the work is intense, but excavations really are as rewarding as they sound. Who wouldn’t love to find artifacts in the ground that haven’t been seen or touched by another human being for thousands of years? Who wouldn’t love to touch a piece of history with their bare hands and see it through its discovery, cleaning, and cataloguing, all while building muscle? Eight-hour excavation days might sound difficult, but you get to work out doing something you love, and reap the benefits. This is obtained by a combination of healthy meals, digging, and a stable support network—you’re all in this together!

    1. Coordination

Sectioning. Something every archaeologist knows all too well. How straight can you make your dirt wall? Are you a coordinated person? If you are, your OCD will thank you for it. Properly hacking at a dirt wall takes some practice, but you can always admire your work in the professional excavation photos. Where are your tools? Making a mental map of the location of each tool and loci will prevent injury and make for a speedier excavation day. Guaranteed, your navigation experience will improve as you learn to understand the layout of not only the site, but also of the ancient buildings you’re excavating. Each of these new skills might even improve your categorization of your possessions at home, and help in navigating yourself around new places, in addition to the obvious benefits to your hand-eye coordination.

    1. Personal growth

Sara Soltani is picking for bone, flint, shell, and metal.

Excavations teach you a great deal about personal responsibility. This is not just in dealing with the objects, but also in dealing with yourself and those around you. Character building is one of the best qualities an excavation can offer. During the excavation season, no matter how long you stay, you obtain a sense of community, gain leadership skills, and come away with a greater knowledge of both the site and of yourself. So, before you turn down the idea of an excavation, know that no matter what your age or professional experience, every archaeological excavation teaches you something different. Every archaeological excavation is a chance to gain professional and personal experiences that stay with you for a lifetime.

Sara Soltani is a senior studying archaeology at The George Washington University. She excavated at Tel Kabri, located in the western Galilee region of northern Israel, with The George Washington University for three weeks. During that time, she was in charge of managing the wet sieving, bone picking, and cataloguing collected samples, in addition to digging.

Nominations Sought for ASOR Trustees

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TRUSTEE NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE SEEKS NOMINEES

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ASOR’s Trustee Nominations Committee is seeking names of people who are willing to be considered for nomination to the ASOR Board of Trustees (Classes of 2020 and 2021). The committee seeks individuals who are willing to consider service as either Individual Trustees or as Institutional Representative Trustees. We anticipate one opening for an individual trustee in the Class of 2020 (2019-2020) and openings for two individual trustees and two institutional trustees for three-year terms as members of the Class of 2021 (2019-2021). Any full ASOR member may be considered for nomination as an Individual Trustee, while only institutional representatives of ASOR Member Schools may be considered for nomination as an Institutional Representative Trustee.

The ASOR Board of Trustees sets the direction for ASOR and provides oversight for our organization. We encourage you to consider serving on the board, or to share names of people who you think would be a good fit. Among other responsibilities, members of the Board agree to attend two meetings each year at their own expense, to participate thoughtfully in the governance process, and to contribute financially to ASOR. At this stage, nominations may be made simply by sending the person’s name and email address to Marta Ostovich in the ASOR office. Questions about service on the ASOR board or about the selection process may be addressed to Ann-Marie Knoblauch, chair of the nominations committee. Self-nominations are encouraged. The ASOR office will contact all nominees to describe the responsibilities in greater detail, and to make sure that the nominee is willing to have his or her name discussed by the Trustee Nominations Committee.

After the Committee selects individuals for nomination, the election will take place by electronic ballot during October. ASOR is once again conducting online voting to ensure that more of our members are able to participate in this important process. The ASOR office will work with any person who is not able to complete an electronic ballot to make sure that everyone is included.

Members of The Trustee Nominations Committee include Ann-Marie Knoblauch (chair) and Theodore Burgh. In order to receive full consideration by the committee, nominations must be submitted to info@asor.org by September 27, 2018 by October 5, 2018 (extended deadline).[/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][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

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Ships Graffiti in Maresha Subterranean Complex 89

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Ships Graffiti in Maresha Subterranean Complex 89

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Available until October 5, 2018[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]Near Eastern Archaeology, June 2018, “Ships Graffiti in Maresha Subterranean Complex 89” by Elie Haddad (Israel Antiquities Authority), Ian Stern (Archaeological Seminars Institute) and Michal Artzy (University of Haifa)

During the course of excavations in room 50, Subterranean Complex (SC) 89 at Maresha, several interesting wall drawings were discovered. Located within the southeastern part of the lower city of Maresha, SC 89 bears graffiti depicting four ships. The graffito on the western wall contains a very long warship and additional prows of two warships. The graffito in the entranceway contains a single merchant vessel. The graffiti were scratched into the soft chalk stone with a sharp tool and are typologically datable to the Hellenistic period. The graffito of the warship—the first from Maresha—represents a Macedonian galley according to the authors. They theorize that if the locals were the artists, the ships depicted should represent their vessels. Who did the actual hard labor of the quarrying of these future tombs? The authors suggest the possibility that captives or slaves carried out the task.

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