Felice Herman began working for ASOR in December 2018 as Membership & Friends of ASOR Manager. She is the first staff member to be hired at ASOR’s new home in Alexandria, VA. Felice spent the last four years as the Assistant Director of Development at Tudor Place Historic House & Garden in Georgetown, D.C. As a native to the area, she enjoys sharing her knowledge of the historical Chesapeake tidewater region and introducing her colleagues to local cuisine and connections. Her duties as Manager of Membership & Friends of ASOR include the growth of both the membership and Friends of ASOR programs, handling membership processing and fulfillment, donor relations, planning and support for the Annual Meeting, and website maintenance.
Born in Maryland, Felice has spent the majority of her life in the Mid-Atlantic and traveling abroad. She completed her B.A. with honors in the Anthropology & Archaeology at Washington & Lee University, VA in 2011. Her undergraduate thesis (“Life and the Ruins: Exploring New Archeological Interpretations of Megalithic Monuments as Places of Life and Death in the British and Irish Neolithic Age”) tested a hypothesis about the cultural interplay of archaeological materials, astronomical orientation, and movement through the landscape on four major British and Irish prehistoric sites. Felice earned the M.A. degree in archaeology from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2014, where she continued her studies on how prehistoric megalithic sites and the landscape interacted. Her masters thesis was titled, “Approaching the Irish Sea from the East & West: Constructing Megalithic Monuments and Performative Landscapes in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.”
Felice’s fieldwork experience includes a graduate student field school using ground-penetrating radar at the Neolithic site of the Céide Fields in Mayo, Ireland, an undergraduate student field school at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, and participation in the first major excavation of the Gabii Project in Gabii, Italy in 2009. In Gabii, she was a part of the team that discovered an intact Roman cistern and the remnants of a bath that once had painted murals on its walls.
Felice has worked in non-profits for six years in addition to her archaeological education and fieldwork. She brings administrative, financial, event management, and fundraising experience to ASOR’s new home in Alexandria. Felice looks forward to developing ASOR’s membership options and benefits while sharing her passion for archaeology with members, donors, and beyond.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Pp. 1–25: “A Possible Location in Northwest Sinai for the Sea and Land Battles between the Sea Peoples and Ramesses III,” by James K. Hoffmeier
The naval invasion of Egypt during the reign of Ramesses III by the Sea Peoples, coupled with the land invasion, represent critical events in ancient Egyptian history. This study explores a location for the maritime conflict, based on recent archaeological and palaeo-environmental investigations of the northwestern Sinai. Where the land battle occurred is hotly debated in light of new, putative evidence that the Philistines originated from northern Syria. Based on a careful reading of the Medinet Habu Sea Peoples’ reliefs, their accompanying texts, and the emerging picture of Egypt’s eastern frontier defense network in Ramesside times, it is posited that the ground attack also occurred in the northwestern Sinai, not far from the location of the naval encounter.
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals (ASOR membership with online access and/or subscription to The University of Chicago Press Journals Current Content required).
Pp. 27–60: “A Middle Timnian Nomadic Encampment on the Faynan-Beersheba Road: Excavations and Survey at Nahal Tsafit (Late 5th/Early 4th Millennia B.C.E.),” by Kyle Knabb, StevenA. Rosen, Sorin Hermon, Jacob Vardi, Liora Kolska Horwitz, and Yuval Goren
The naval invasion of Egypt during the reign of Ramesses III by the Sea Peoples, coupled with the land invasion, represent critical events in ancient Egyptian history. This study explores a location for the maritime conflict, based on recent archaeological and palaeo-environmental investigations of the northwestern Sinai. Where the land battle occurred is hotly debated in light of new, putative evidence that the Philistines originated from northern Syria. Based on a careful reading of the Medinet Habu Sea Peoples’ reliefs, their accompanying texts, and the emerging picture of Egypt’s eastern frontier defense network in Ramesside times, it is posited that the ground attack also occurred in the northwestern Sinai, not far from the location of the naval encounter.Simple dog burials, dating primarily to the second half of the 1st millennium B.C.E. (Persian–Hellenistic periods [ca. 6th–1st centuries B.C.E.]), have been excavated at more than a dozen Levantine sites, ranging from a handful of burials to more than 1,000 at Ashkelon. This study systematizes previously discussed canine interments, distinguishing intentional whole burials from other phenomena (e.g., dogs found in refuse pits), and suggests a new interpretation in light of human mortuary practice in the Iron Age II–III-period (ca. 10th–4th centuries B.C.E.) Levant. The buried dogs seem to be individuals from unmanaged populations living within human settlements and not pets or working dogs. Frequent references to dogs in literary and epigraphic Northwest Semitic evidence (including Hebrew, Phoenician, and Punic personal names) indicate a complex, familiar relationship between dogs and humans in the Iron Age Levant, which included positive associations such as loyalty and obedience. At some point in the mid-1st millennium B.C.E., mortuary rites began to be performed by humans for their feral canine “neighbors” in a manner resembling contemporaneous low-energy–expenditure human burials. This behavioral change may represent a shift in the conception of social boundaries in the Achaemenid–Hellenistic-period Levant.
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals (ASOR membership with online access and/or subscription to The University of Chicago Press Journals Current Content required).
Pp. 61–131: “The Huqoq Excavation Project: 2014–2017 Interim Report,” by Jodi Magness, Shua Kisilevitz, Matthew Grey, Dennis Mizzi, Daniel Schindler, Martin Wells, Karen Britt, Raʿanan Boustan, Shana O’Connell, Emily Hubbard, Jessie George, Jennifer Ramsay, Elisabetta Boaretto, and Michael Chazan
Excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s eastern Lower Galilee are bringing to light a Late Roman synagogue, a medieval public building, and the remains of ancient and modern (pre-1948) villages. In this interim report, we describe the major discoveries of the 2014–2017 seasons, including the extraordinary figural mosaics decorating the synagogue floor. Our discoveries provide evidence of a Galilean Jewish community that flourished through the 5th and 6th centuries C.E.—a picture contrasting with recent claims of a decline in Jewish settlement under Byzantine Christian rule. The possibility that the medieval public building might also be a synagogue has important implications for understanding Galilean Jewish settlement in the Middle Ages, about which almost nothing is known. The excavations also shed light on the last phase of the settlement’s long history: the development of the modern village of Yakuk in the 19th through 20th centuries.
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals (ASOR membership with online access and/or subscription to The University of Chicago Press Journals Current Content required).
Pp. 133–204: “Eastern Sigillata at Sardis: Evidence for a Local Industry,” by Susan I. Rotroff, Malgorzata Daszkiewicz, Gerwulf Schneider, and Ross Owen
Eastern Sigillata B was an important ceramic ware of the Early Roman East, characterized by a shiny red gloss, micaceous clay body, and, in its first phase, epigraphic stamps on the vessel floor. Production was established in the Great Meander Valley in western Asia Minor as an offshoot of the Italian sigillata industry and flourished primarily in the 1st and 2nd centuries c.e. Vessels excavated at Sardis, some 75 km to the northeast, share the micaceous clay and red gloss of Eastern Sigillata B and are visually almost identical to products of the main production center, but some bear name stamps unique to the site, suggesting that a local production center existed at Sardis. It is now possible to test this proposal through wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis and, on this basis, to identify a group of local products. This article describes that process, sketches a portrait of local production, and explores the mechanism and timing of its establishment at Sardis.
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals (ASOR membership with online access and/or subscription to The University of Chicago Press Journals Current Content required).
Pp. 205–229: “Archers, Antiochos VII Sidetes, and the ‘BE’ Arrowheads,” by Matasha Mazis and Nicholas L. Wright
Bronze arrowheads featuring barbs, a tang, and a nodule at the base of the head were widespread throughout the Mediterranean region from the 6th century b.c.e. to the end of the Hellenistic period. This article investigates a variant of the main type bearing a stamped device in the form The general arrowhead form is often called “Cretan,” and previous studies have specifically associated the stamped type with Cretan archers in the service of the Ptolemaic queen, Berenike II. By looking at the distribution and physical attributes (including through X-ray fluorescence analysis) of the stamped arrowheads, this article provides fresh insight into the social organization of bow-armed fighting units in the Levant during the late Hellenistic period. In doing so, the authors challenge some long-held assumptions and interpretations about the arrowhead type. Relying on a mix of literary, iconographic, and archaeological evidence, the article demonstrates that the stamped arrowhead type should be associated with a body of archers involved in the campaigns of the Seleukid king Antiochos VII Sidetes (138-129 b.c.e.).
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals (ASOR membership with online access and/or subscription to The University of Chicago Press Journals Current Content required).
Pp. 231–246: “The Harvard Semitic Museum Palmyrene Collection,” by Eleonora Cussini, Maura K. Heyn, Jeremy M. Hutton, Nathaniel E. Greene, and Catherine E. Bonesho
Three Palmyrene funerary busts are part of the collections of the Harvard Semitic Museum. This article discusses the epitaphs, the portraits, and their stylistic features, summarizes the funerary busts’ documented history of possession, and offers a palaeographic analysis of the inscriptions.
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals (ASOR membership with online access and/or subscription to The University of Chicago Press Journals Current Content required).
Book Reviews
Pp. 247–248: “Cities and the Shaping of Memory in the Ancient Near East by Ömür Harmanşah,” by Nicola Laneri
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals.
Pp. 248–249: “A History of Biblical Israel: The Fate of the Tribes and Kingdoms from Merenptah to Bar Kochba by Ernst Axel Knauf and Philippe Guillaume,” by Baruch Halpern
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals.
Pp. 249–250: “Leadership, Social Memory and Judean Discourse in the Fifth–Second Centuries BCE edited by Diana V. Edelman and Ehud Ben Zvi,” by Christine Mitchell
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals.
Pp. 250–252: “Tell Qudadi: An Iron Age IIB Fortress on the Central Mediterranean Coast of Israel (with References to Earlier and Later Periods); Final Report on The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Excavations Directed by E. L. Sukenik and S. Yeivin, with the Participation of N. Avigad by Alexander Fantalkin and Oren Tal,” by George A. Pierce
Click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]To view the entire issue, including book reviews, on University Chicago Press, click here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Area A: the Hellenistic public plaza in the foreground
For the last five years I have had the exciting opportunity to work at the multi-period site of Niğde-Kınık Höyük, located in south-central Anatolia. The site comprises a walled citadel-mound with four excavation areas (Operations A, B, C, and E) as well as an investigation of the lower town (Operation D), located on the western terrace of the settlement. Work on the citadel has proven extremely interesting for both earlier and later periods: the northern citadel walls were first constructed during the Late Bronze Age when this region was under Hittite hegemony and excavation in Area A has revealed the remains of a substantial local cultic center during the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods. As a Middle Bronze Age specialist, I have learned a lot about the material culture of other periods in Anatolian history, and my own work in the lower town has proven particularly fruitful in this regard.
Area D: Part of the Achaemenid Building
Since 2013, excavations in the lower town of Kınık Höyük have uncovered part of a large domestic building complex dating to the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods. As evidenced by a high number of cooking installations and weaving implements such as loom weights, this building witnessed a flurry of domestic production activities over the course of the late 1st millennium BCE. We began the 2018 season by excavating the exposed portions of the building to the same phase in order to conserve the architecture and installations therein for future visitors to the site. They will now be able to see a snapshot of daily life in 5th century central Anatolia!
A big gap in our knowledge about the site, however, was the occupational history of the lower town in earlier periods. In fact, there is generally little data about Bronze and Iron Age lower towns within this region of Turkey. This is where the generous funding of the Platt Excavation Fellowship stepped in to help us out! With the funds provided by the fellowship, we were able to remove a modern dump from the lower terrace which had destroyed the later periods of occupation before excavations had even begun at Kınık Höyük. Our hope was to uncover stratigraphy pre-dating the Achaemenid occupational phases in order to reconstruct a diachronic sequence for the 1st millennium lower town. What we ended up discovering, however, was just as interesting and very, very exciting for me personally.
Area D: Phase of the new sounding dating to the Old Assyrian Colony period
From the first week of excavating in the new area, we began to recover ceramics from disturbed contexts dating to Early and Middle Iron Ages and comparable to types found just inside the western citadel walls (Operation C). What we didn’t expect to find, however, were ceramics dating to the Middle and Early Bronze Ages, including fragments of Anatolian metallic ware jugs (mid-third millennium). Having just completed my dissertation on Middle Bronze Age Anatolia, it was amazing to finally (after 5 years!) have my two research worlds collide in the most unexpected way. Of particular importance is a complete, red-slipped drinking cup recovered from a secure floor context that is identical to examples found in the MBA levels at central Anatolian sites like Acemhöyük and Kültepe. After spending the last few years researching and writing my dissertation on Kültepe, I was blown away to find the same type of material at Kınık Höyük where I had been digging away (happily…) in the Achaemenid period for so long. These discoveries are incredibly important for the site as a whole as we now know that Kınık Höyük was not only occupied during the third and early second millennia, but that it constituted a main center with a lower town that was keyed into trade and production across the entire region. We will now have to adjust our future excavation strategy to address new research questions generated by this season’s finds.
Me giving the tour of the rooms in the Achaemenid Building
The highlight of this season, however, was our end-of-campaign tour and picnic on the last Friday evening of excavation. Many of the men and women from the two local towns, Altunhisar and Yeşilyurt, who work with us (some since 2010 when the project started) came out with their families and friends to hear a site tour in Turkish, offer their own perspectives on their work, and to partake in a delicious feast of lentil soup, lamb, rice and sweets on the lower terrace. It was wonderful to meet everyone’s extended families and to see the site come alive in a different way (and at a much more comfortable temperature). It was a fitting end to a great season that opened up a lot of new possibilities for the site as both a place for the team’s own research but also as site of public education and interest. The future (and the Bronze Age) is looking bright!
Nancy Highcock is a recent PhD in Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies at New York University. She is now starting her new position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate as part of the “Memories for Life: Materiality and Memory of Ancient Near Eastern inscribed private objects” project at the McDonald Institute for Archaeology, Cambridge University.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Take a moment to enjoy these photos of friends, colleagues, academic sessions, and social events at the Annual Meeting in Denver. A preview of the Annual Meeting photos have been posted below. To view more of the photos please continue here at 2018 ASOR Annual Meeting.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”40808,40809,40806,40807,40810,40823,40824,40825,40826,40827,40828,40829,40830,40831″ img_size=”large” title=”Image Gallery” css=”.vc_custom_1543950608736{border-radius: 10px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Materiality of Religion in Judean Households: A Contextual Analysis of Ritual Objects from Iron II Tell en-Naṣbeh
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Available until December 21, 2018[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]Near Eastern Archaeology, September 2018, “Materiality of Religion in Judean Households: A Contextual Analysis of Ritual Objects from Iron II Tell en-Naṣbeh” by Aaron Brody (Badè Museum at Pacific School of Religion)
The author highlights household religion through a direct, contextual presentation of ritual artifacts from one Judean household compound at Tell en-Naṣbeh in their original contexts. The compound is made of five conjoined pillared houses that constitute the living space of one extended family. The author takes a gendered approach to the artifacts, which include female pillar figurines, animal figurines, horse-and-rider figurines, incense stands, and zoomorphic vessels. Ritualized utilitarian objects are also taken into account. This approach to ritual at the site adds to our understanding of the religious culture of women, men, children, families, and households at Naṣbeh. Most notably the author proposes that the concentration of ritual objects near the two kitchen spaces in the compound suggests that the female head of household who provided sustenance for the extended family and its dependents also presided over the religious health of the household.
Household Rituals and Sacrificial Donkeys: Why Are There So Many Domestic Donkeys Buried in an Early Bronze Age Neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath?
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Available until December 14, 2018[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]Near Eastern Archaeology, September 2018, “Household Rituals and Sacrificial Donkeys: Why Are There So Many Domestic Donkeys Buried in an Early Bronze Age Neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath?” by Haskel J. Greenfield (University of Manitoba), Tina L. Greenfield (University of Saskatchewan), Itzhaq Shai (Ariel University), Shira Albaz (Bar-Ilan University) and Aren M. Maeir (Bar-Ilan University)
A few years ago, a domestic donkey (Equus asinus), or ass, was discovered at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath in modern Israel and determined to have been sacrificed and buried as a foundation deposit beneath the floor of an Early Bronze III house. Since then, three additional complete domestic donkey burials have been revealed beneath the floors of another house in the same Early Bronze neighborhood. These animals were buried within a nonelite domestic neighborhood at the edge of the city. The authors suggest that this urban space may have been the location of the homes and work spaces of merchants who relied upon donkeys as “beasts of burden” to transport their goods regionally and interregionally.
COME, TELL ME HOW YOU LIVE: LESSONS FROM EXCAVATING IN KURDISTAN
Terri Tanaka, 2018 ASOR Member-Supported Excavation Fellowship Recipient[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This summer, I was the recipient of an ASOR Member-Supported Excavation Fellowship. The Fellowship made it possible for me to participate in the Qara Dagh Regional
Protecting myself from the elements in the field.
Archaeological Project (QDRAP) in Iraqi-Kurdistan, where I served as the photographer and a trench excavator.
This was our second season of excavation at the site of Ban Qala, which is a Late Chalcolithic site located in the highlands of Qara Dagh. Our work at the site will allow our team to examine how cultural interactions between southern Mesopotamia and the highlands of northern Mesopotamia affected the material culture of the area in comparison to the plains. More urgently, however, this project will assist the Antiquities Department of Sulaymaniyah in documenting the archaeological heritage and cultural importance of the region. Energy companies have been exploring the region for oil and natural gas; in fact, gas pipes have been installed next to the Darband-i-Gawr relief, more commonly known as the Naram-Sin relief, for which the area is best known. Thus, there is an urgent need to preserve these at-risk sites, and our work there can help to draw attention to this need.
The question I got the most from people who knew I was going on this trip was, “Is it safe?” Yes, given all the security measures in place, including security checkpoints between towns, in many ways it felt safer than being at home. The second question was usually, “What’s it like? Is it like [name of character from movie]?” No, not exactly. But excavating was just one part of the overall experience. Here are some things I learned:
Two of our workers wearing traditional scarves.
1. Don’t overpack, but do bring one change of (quick drying) clothing in your carryon bag. The airline lost my luggage for several days, so I was washing out my clothes at night so I’d have something clean to wear. I was surprised at how little I really needed to survive.
2. Protect yourself from the elements. In Kurdistan, the temperatures can reach 50° C (122° F) during the summer. In addition to using sunscreen, I wore a hat, dark glasses, long sleeves, and something to cover my face. Yes, I looked a little funny. But the face covering also kept me from inhaling dust when the wind blew or when we were sifting the dirt removed from the various loci. Even our local workers covered themselves. One of them showed up on the first day with no protection; I thought he was going to faint from working in the sun and the heat. He used one of the local scarves to cover his face for the rest of the season.
3. Take the time to learn a few phrases in the local language. In the area of Kurdistan that we were excavating in, they use the Sorani dialect of Kurdish. We used basic greetings such as “Good morning. How are you? Are you well?” (Beyani baṣ. Çonî? Baṣî?), phrases such as “Thank you!” (Zor spas!/ Dest xoṣ!), and “yes” (bale) and “no” (naxer) every day. Although they laughed at our pronunciation, our workers seemed to appreciate our efforts and even started to teach us useful words and phrases such as “pottery” (goza), “stone” (bard), and “clean (it)” (pakî ka). Numbers were also useful for figuring out prices when we had to purchase things in the bazaar or negotiate taxi (taksi) fares.
Typical Kurdish street food.
4. Try as much of the local cuisine as possible. The locals love to see you trying and enjoying their food. Who knows? You may discover a new favorite. One of my unexpected favorites was an apricot sauce/stew that went really well with chicken and rice. I understand that I missed out on a dish made with a sheep’s head. Maybe next year ….
5. Be flexible. Inevitably, something unexpected will happen, such as the car breaking down or a sudden windstorm blowing the tent down, so plans and schedules may have to change at the last minute. Things you take for granted back home (stable electricity, running water, internet access) may not always be available. In addition, the first law of archaeology seems to be that inevitably, you will find something interesting just when you’re getting ready to shut down the site for the season. (The corollary is that half of your interesting find will be in the wall of the trench, which means that you can’t get to it unless your director plans to open up the trench next to yours the following season.)
I am very grateful to ASOR and the ASOR members who donated so generously to the excavation fellowships fund, which made it possible for me to participate in this excavation. I can’t wait to see what happens next season!
Terri Tanaka is currently a visiting lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include dress and identity and, of course, excavating in the Qara Dagh region of Iraqi-Kurdistan.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]
Want to help more students and young archaeologists like Terri get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Excavation Scholarships” as your gift purpose!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Each year at the Annual Meeting, ASOR recognizes individuals who have performed outstanding service for the organization or who have published exceptional academic work or otherwise made significant contributions to our field. The following award recipients were honored at the 2018 Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. Awards were presented by Laura Mazow, Chair of ASOR’s Honors and Awards Committee and Associate Professor at East Carolina University.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider][vc_column_text]The Charles U. Harris Service Award. This award is given in recognition of long term and/or special service as an ASOR Officer or Trustee. (One award is given annually.)
Awarded to Lynn Swartz Dodd, Associate Professor of the Practice of Religion, University of Southern California.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The P. E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award. This award honors an archaeologist who, during his/her career, has made outstanding contributions to ancient Near Eastern and eastern Mediterranean archaeology. (One award is given annually.)
Awarded to Aren M. Maeir, Professor, The Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The G. Ernest Wright Award. This award is given to the editor/author of the most substantial volume(s) dealing with archaeological material, excavation reports and material culture from the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean. This work must be the result of original research published within the past two years. (One award is given annually.)
Awarded to James A. Fraser, Senior Curator of the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney, for Dolmens in the Levant.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The Frank Moore Cross Award. This award is presented to the editor/author of the most substantial volume(s) related to one of the following categories: a) the history and/or religion of ancient Israel; b) ancient Near Eastern and eastern Mediterranean epigraphy; c) textual studies on the Hebrew Bible; or d) comparative studies of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern literature. This work must be the result of original research published during the past two years. (One award is given annually.) Awarded to Matthew J. Suriano , Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, for A History of Death in the Hebrew Bible.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The Nancy Lapp Popular Book Award. This award is presented to the author/editor of a book published in the last two years that offers a new synthesis of archaeological or textual evidence intended to reach an audience of scholars as well as students and the broader public. (One award is given annually.)
Awarded to Eric H. Cline, Professor of Classics and Anthropology, George Washington University and Director of the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute, for Three Stones Make a Wall.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The W. F. Albright Award. This award 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. (This award is given when such an individual is identified.)
AIAR: Awarded to Sidnie White Crawford, Willa Cather Professor of Classics and Religious Studies Emerita, University of Nebraska.
ACOR: Awarded to Barbara A. Porter, Director, American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR), Amman, Jordan[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ASOR Membership Service Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made special contributions on behalf of the ASOR membership, through committee, editorial, or office services. (Up to three awards are given annually.)
Awarded to Charles E. Jones, Tombros Librarian for Classics and Humanities, Pennsylvania State University.
Awarded to Jonathan Rosenbaum, President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies, Gratz College.
Awarded to Thomas Schneider, Professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern Studies, Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, University of British Columbia.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The Joy Ungerleider Poster Award. This award is conferred upon the author(s) of the poster presenting the results of a study about ancient Near Eastern societies in a clear, legible fashion using original graphic content. Subject matter may be based in archaeological sciences, history, anthropology, epigraphy, ethnography, heritage or other scholarly approaches to understanding ancient people in the areas covered by ASOR.(One award is given annually.)
Awarded to Morag Kersel, Marly Prom, and Students in ANT256 (DePaul University), for their poster: “Where Are They Now? Following Pots into Archives, Educational Institutions, and Museum Vitrines.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Felice Herman began working for ASOR in December 2018 as Membership & Friends of ASOR Manager. She is the first staff member to be hired at ASOR’s new home in Alexandria, VA. Felice spent the last four years as the Assistant Director of Development at Tudor Place Historic House & Garden in Georgetown, D.C. As a native to the area, she enjoys sharing her knowledge of the historical Chesapeake tidewater region and introducing her colleagues to local cuisine and connections. Her duties as Manager of Membership & Friends of ASOR include the growth of both the membership and Friends of ASOR programs, handling membership processing and fulfillment, donor relations, planning and support for the Annual Meeting, and website maintenance.
Born in Maryland, Felice has spent the majority of her life in the Mid-Atlantic and traveling abroad. She completed her B.A. with honors in the Anthropology & Archaeology at Washington & Lee University, VA in 2011. Her undergraduate thesis (“Life and the Ruins: Exploring New Archeological Interpretations of Megalithic Monuments as Places of Life and Death in the British and Irish Neolithic Age”) tested a hypothesis about the cultural interplay of archaeological materials, astronomical orientation, and movement through the landscape on four major British and Irish prehistoric sites. Felice earned the M.A. degree in archaeology from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2014, where she continued her studies on how prehistoric megalithic sites and the landscape interacted. Her masters thesis was titled, “Approaching the Irish Sea from the East & West: Constructing Megalithic Monuments and Performative Landscapes in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.”
ground-penetrating radar at the Neolithic site of the Céide Fields in Mayo, Ireland, an undergraduate student field school at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, and participation in the first major excavation of the Gabii Project in Gabii, Italy in 2009. In Gabii, she was a part of the team that discovered an intact Roman cistern and the remnants of a bath that once had painted murals on its walls.
