UNEARTHING THE PAST SINCE 1900
  • BECOME A MEMBER
  • RENEW
  • GIVE NOW
  • SEARCH
  • ONLINE PORTAL
  • American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)
  • ABOUT
    • WELCOME FROM ASOR OFFICERS
    • FACTS & FIGURES
    • MISSION, BYLAWS, & STRATEGIC PLAN
    • HISTORY OF ASOR
    • COMMITTEES
    • POLICIES
    • FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS
    • ARCHIVES
    • AFFILIATED PROJECTS
    • AFFILIATED RESEARCH CENTERS
    • ASOR’s Honors and Awards
    • CONTACT US
  • CULTURAL
    HERITAGE
    • ABOUT CULTURAL HERITAGE INITIATIVES
    • UPDATES
    • TUTORIALS
    • Who We Are
  • ANNUAL
    MEETING
    • REGISTRATION
    • HOTEL RESERVATIONS
    • ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULES
    • SPONSOR & EXHIBIT
    • ASOR Online Library
    • HONORS & AWARDS
    • ANNUAL MEETING SCHOLARSHIPS
    • PAST & FUTURE ANNUAL MEETINGS
  • MEMBERSHIP
    & RESOURCES
    • INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIPS
    • INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
    • NEWS@ASOR
    • PAST ASOR NEWS, MONTH BY MONTH
    • ONLINE RESOURCES
    • PHOTO COLLECTION
    • EARLY CAREER MEMBER RESOURCES
  • FELLOWSHIPS
    & GRANTS
    • SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FIELDWORK PARTICIPATION
    • GRANTS FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECTS
    • RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS FOR MEMBERS
    • MEMBERSHIP & ANNUAL MEETING SCHOLARSHIPS
    • ASOR-AFFILIATED RESEARCH CENTERS FELLOWSHIPS
    • OTHER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • BOOK SERIES & MONOGRAPHS
    • BULLETIN OF ASOR
    • JOURNAL OF CUNEIFORM STUDIES
    • MAARAV
    • NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY
    • THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY
    • LEVANTINE CERAMICS PROJECT
  • FRIENDS
    OF ASOR
    • Webinars
    • TOURS
    • THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY
    • ASOR ONLINE LIBRARY
  • Donate
    • FY25 HONOR ROLL OF DONORS
    • LIFETIME HONOR ROLL OF DONORS
    • ASOR LEGACY CIRCLE
    • WAYS TO DONATE
Sunrise_over_Site1920x400

 SHARE

 
 
 
 
 

NEWS@ASOR E-NEWSLETTER

ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY E-NEWSLETTER

PAST ASOR NEWS, MONTH BY MONTH

ASOR LEGACY CIRCLE MEMBERS

LIFETIME HONOR ROLL OF DONORS

FY25 HONOR ROLL OF DONORS

ASOR ANNUAL MEETING

Heat Builds Character

Luke Poutre, 2024 Charles Steinmetz Fellowship Recipient 

It is 2:45 A.M. and a cascade of phone alarms begins to sound throughout the dig house. Members of the team get up from their floor mats and quickly prepare for the day. For those of us on the Geophysics team, this means that all of our cumbersome equipment must be staged in front of the house to be loaded onto the bus that takes us to the dig site. We find time to eat a handful of nuts or a banana before loading begins, and by 3:45 the bus is en route to Kurd Qaburstan. It is still dark as we drive to the site, and we see the fires from oil refineries lighting up the horizon as we drive along the highway to the village of Yedi Kizlar, the modern village where our project is located. Before we leave the outskirts of the city of Erbil, the bus stops at a bakery where we pick up a bag of Samoon bread, one of the most important components of our on-site meal which we referred to as ‘second breakfast’. After making the half-hour drive from our house in Erbil to Kurd Qaburstan, we finally arrive just before sunrise and meet up with our Kurdish dig team.

The geophysics team with the magnetometer. Andy Creekmore (L) and Nicole Temple (R).

At this point, the excavation team breaks off to their trenches while the members of the geophysics team begin setting up our equipment. This process involved putting together a SENSYS Multi-Channel Carrier Type F pushcart with MAGNETO MXV4 magnetometer system and setting up hectare or half hectare grids using GPS and tape measures throughout the center and periphery of the site. This piece of equipment is comprised of a GRP frame, a mounted EMLID GPS system, nine individual sensors set 0.25m apart, and a processing unit. The pushcart is used to take magnetometry readings of an area so as to gain an understanding of the potential architecture and economic activities of that location (i.e. ceramic or baked brick kilns). Once the equipment is set up, one of the members of the team straps on the battery-pack and begins collecting data. This is done by pushing the cart in straight lines back-and-forth within the pre-marked hectare, guided by other members of the team holding flags at each end of the grid. The terrain, however, made this process a bit more difficult. The site itself is located on a modern farm, with the main tell falling within the barley fields and one of our chief focuses of excavation being within the tomato patch. As such, the soil was rife with plow-furrows which were baked solid by the 116 °F heat, resulting in a tremendous effort not only to push the cart, but also to keep it straight. The resulting data consists of magnetometer readings that we process to compile into a two-dimensional map or magnetogram that can be viewed and interpreted by the entire team.

Luke operating the magnetometer.
Luke operating the magnetometer.

Data collection is conducted for about four hours before we break for second breakfast at 9:30 A.M. For this meal, we head to the village mosque where we eat our food on the patio in whatever shade we can find. Once finished, we head back to our work areas where we carry on for about another hour before he have to begin breaking down our equipment to load back onto the bus. After all the equipment and personnel are packed into our bus, we begin the trek back to the city center, first stopping at the museum where our conservation team was working to deliver the haul of ceramic sherds that the excavation team collected that day. With the day’s fieldwork complete and the findings deposited at the museum, we return to the dig house at approximately 1:00 P.M. where we have about two hours to rest, shower, or do other personal tasks before we begin our afternoon lab session. This lab session includes artifact analysis, photography, data-entry, and sketching. Lab work concludes at 5:45 P.M., giving the team enough time to eat, complete house chores, and get to bed at around 7:30 P.M. so that we can begin the process again the next morning.

Photo by Luke Poutre of an archway
The citadel archway.
Daoud, a Syrian archaeologist who is part of the team.

Luke Poutre is a current student working towards his Masters degree in Near Eastern Archaeology at La Sierra University. Prior to his entrance into the field, Luke served in the U.S. Army before working in civil litigation and tort law. He hopes to continue his involvement with projects in the Near East, and eventually pursue a doctoral degree in archaeology.

Learn more about the Kurd Qaburstan Project here. 

Luke with Didar, a Kurdish member of the team.

ASOR is now accepting applications for 2025 Fieldwork Participation Scholarships. Learn how to apply here. 

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Fieldwork Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

Recent Posts

  • FOA Webinar: Shua Kisilevitz
  • Fieldwork Report: Anjuli Latchmansingh
  • Join ASOR’s Board of Trustees
  • Friends of ASOR Tours: Archaeological Tour of Cyprus 2026
  • Shepard Urgent Action Grant Report: The Al Haniyah Emergency Documentation Project

Latest Posts from @ASORResearch

asor_research

Initiating and supporting research of the history and cultures of the Near East and wider Mediterranean world.


Friends of ASOR is pleased to announce the first w
Friends of ASOR is pleased to announce the first webinar of the 2025-2026 season, "Holier than Thou? The Temples at Tel Moza and Reflections of Ritual Practices in Ancient Judah" presented by Dr. Shua Kisilevitz, is on September 10th at 12:30pm ET! The recent discovery of not one, but a succession of two temples from the First Temple period at Tel Moza—just 7 km from Jerusalem—has reignited debate about how religion took shape in ancient Judah and the wider region. In this lecture, Dr. Kisilevitz will trace the development of the two Moza temples and the rituals practiced there, setting them alongside biblical descriptions and regional parallels. 

The first in a mini-series partnership with the @albright.institute, this webinar will be free and open to the public. Register here: https://buff.ly/ZmFzwMP


Anjuli Latchmansingh, a 2025 Strange-Midkiff Famil
Anjuli Latchmansingh, a 2025 Strange-Midkiff Families Fieldwork Scholarship recipient, excavated at Çadır Höyük in the village of Peynir Yemez, Türkiye. Nestled atop a mound carrying 7,000 years of human and animal past, Anjuli reflects on six weeks of excavation and the history embedded in the site. Click the link (https://buff.ly/V8wWGbM) in our bio to read more.
#Turkey


From September 2021 until September 2023, ASOR led
From September 2021 until September 2023, ASOR led a project—with support by the U.S. Department of State—to expand community outreach for heritage protection in Libya and to extend our efforts regionally to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. This work strengthened ties between local communities and their national heritage authorities, fostered new connections between heritage practitioners across the region, and empowered community-led heritage protection efforts. Click the link (https://buff.ly/sXUoGPL) in our bio to read more about this CHI project.
#CulturalHeritage #NorthAfrica #Libya #Algeria #Morocco #Tunisia



The #ObjectoftheWeek from this week's ANE Today: “Sleeping Lady” figurine from the Ħal-Saflieni Hypogeum, Malta, c. 4000-2500 BCE. National Museum of Archaeology, Malta. Photo by EnriqueTabone (CC By-SA 4.0). Image Source: https://w.wiki/F5T5
#Malta


Tel Shiqmona has received little attention compare
Tel Shiqmona has received little attention compared to the grand coastal cities of the ancient Phoenician coast. But the site has produced the most complete archaeological evidence for the production of purple dye in the Iron Age. Read more about the industrial center in the latest Ancient Near East Today: https://anetoday.org/tel-shiqmona-purple-dye/
#IronAge


ASOR is offering 10 grants of $250 each to support
ASOR is offering 10 grants of $250 each to support student travel to the Annual Meeting this November. Students must be enrolled at an ASOR Institutional Member School to qualify for these grants. Apply before the deadline on August 25th! https://buff.ly/8pJlihw


On this #ThrowbackTuesday, we revisit a fascinatin
On this #ThrowbackTuesday, we revisit a fascinating archival gem: in 1979, The Biblical Archaeologist published a poem titled “A-Sitting on a Tell” by none other than Agatha Christie. This unique intersection of literature and archaeology offers a reminder of how deeply the past inspires creative expression ✍️🏺


We are delighted to announce a free Museum Literac
We are delighted to announce a free Museum Literacy Workshop for all ASOR Annual Meeting attendees led by Dr. Jen Thum at the Harvard Art Museums! The workshop will be on Wednesday, November 19 from 3:00–5:00pm. Space is limited to 18 people, advance registration is required: https://buff.ly/kuF57r9


We are happy to announce a free Seal Carving Works
We are happy to announce a free Seal Carving Workshop for all ASOR Annual Meeting attendees led by Dr. Pinar Durgun (The Morgan Library and Museum)! The workshop will be on Wednesday, November 19 from 3:00–4:30pm. Space is limited to 20 people, so register before it's too late: https://buff.ly/lzniSde


The full Academic Program for the 2025 Annual Meet
The full Academic Program for the 2025 Annual Meeting is now available online! Check it out to find all the business meetings, free workshops, and special events going on this year. Make sure to include the plenary address and ASOR's 125th Anniversary Celebration as you plan your ASOR 2025 itinerary. https://www.asor.org/am/2025/schedules-2025


Service Awards are an excellent way to recognize a
Service Awards are an excellent way to recognize a colleague for their contributions to the field, to ASOR, or to one of its affiliated research centers (AIAR and CAARI). Awardees will be recognized at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Boston. All are invited to nominate colleagues who they feel are deserving of recognition. The deadline for nominations is September 19, 2025. Click the link (https://buff.ly/DV0OYQh) in our bio to nominate someone.


The deadline to submit poster proposals for the Po
The deadline to submit poster proposals for the Poster Session as part of the 2025 Annual Meeting has been extended to Friday, August 15. Posters are an ideal format for presenting archaeological projects in general, a technical aspect of your project, or a spectacular find from the field season. Submit your proposal via ASOR’s online portal now.


2025 Shepard Urgent Action Grant: An international
2025 Shepard Urgent Action Grant: An international team of archaeologists completed a critical emergency documentation project at the endangered site of Al Haniyah (ancient Aptouchus), on the Cyrenaican coast of Libya. This urgent initiative responded to escalating threats from coastal erosion, unregulated agricultural development, and expanding infrastructure—pressures that have already caused widespread and irreversible damage to the site. The team worked tirelessly to document, record, and create detailed records of the site. This project represents a crucial step in preserving the cultural heritage of Aptouchus.
Images courtesy of ASOR
Visit the link in our bio to read more!
#Libya


In a world of many gods, why did biblical Israel i
In a world of many gods, why did biblical Israel insist on worshiping only one? Israel's distinctive monolatry—a unique, covenantal bond with YHWH akin to marriage—shaped their identity. Michael B. Hundley explores this in the final article in a 4-part series in ANE Today. Click the link (https://anetoday.org/monolatry-to-monotheism/) in our bio. #anetoday


While conducting fieldwork this summer, ASOR invit
While conducting fieldwork this summer, ASOR invites you to make Dig Diaries! ⛏️ Dig Diaries can be short videos/reels 🎥 discussing research questions for your project, explaining an element of an excavation/survey, etc. We welcome creativity! Read more here: https://buff.ly/h1ZSfPZ (click the link in our bio). Submissions can be emailed to info@asor.org.


Friends of ASOR invites you to venture to the sea
Friends of ASOR invites you to venture to the sea in 2026 and join an unforgettable journey through Cyprus, where archaeology meets breathtaking Mediterranean beauty. Next summer, join 15+ ASOR archaeologists and immerse yourself in behind-the-scenes tours with scholars, archaeologists, excavators, and museum curators including visits to:

🏺 Idalion with Dr. Pamela Gaber
⛏️ Kalavasos excavation updates with Dr. Kevin Fisher
🍽️ Dinner conversations with Dr. William Dever
📚 Private tour and dinner at CAARI with Dr. Lindy Crewe 

Plus curated visits to Kourion, Nea-Paphos, and more. For more details: https://www.asor.org/foa/tours

#FOATours #Cyprus


Check out the 2025 issue of the Journal of Cuneifo
Check out the 2025 issue of the Journal of Cuneiform Studies. JCS 77 includes great articles from James Burgin, Stephen Moore, Niek Veldhuis, Jon Beltz, Céline Debourse, and more. Click the link (https://www.asor.org/news/2025/07/jcs77-toc/) in our bio to see the Table of Contents!


Tomorrow, August 1, is the deadline to submit post
Tomorrow, August 1, is the deadline to submit poster proposals for the Poster Session as part of the 2025 Annual Meeting. Submit your proposal via ASOR’s online portal before it's too late! Click the link (https://buff.ly/99Bkbqj) in our bio for instructions.


We are pleased to share that the Getty Research In
We are pleased to share that the Getty Research Institute has announced a call for applications from predoctoral, postdoctoral, and other scholars for its residential 2026–2027 grant cycle under the theme of "Provenance." The deadline is 1 October 2025. (Please note that these grants and fellowships are resident at the Getty in Los Angeles, California, and are not affiliated with ASOR.) Click the link (https://www.getty.edu/projects/getty-scholars-program/) in our bio!


Aayush Umesh, a 2025 Eric and Carol Meyers Fieldwo
Aayush Umesh, a 2025 Eric and Carol Meyers Fieldwork Scholarship Recipient, excavated at Tall Hisban, Jordan, in May. While excavating an Ayyubid-era kitchen, Aayush immersed himself in analyzing agricultural practices from the time. Read his fieldwork report by clicking the link (https://www.asor.org/news/2025/07/fieldwork-report-umesh) in our bio. 
#Archaeology #Jordan #TallHisban



Instagram

Stay updated with the latest insights, photos, and news by following us on Instagram!

Follow Us on Instagram

American Society of Overseas Research
The James F. Strange Center
209 Commerce Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

E-mail: info@asor.org

© 2025 ASOR
All rights reserved.
Images licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Contact Us
Membership
Give
Friends of ASOR
ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives
Terms of Use
News

Please follow & like us :)
Facebook
YouTube
LinkedIn