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
Gigi post banner

 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

Archaeology: A Deeply Human Endeavor

Sarah “Gigi” Konecki-Brazeal, 2024 P.E. MacAllister Fieldwork Scholarship Recipient 

First surveyed in the 60s and left untouched for decades, Antiochia ad Cragum is a first-century Roman city founded by Antiochus IV of Commagene around 44 CE. Perched on the “cragus” roughly 300M above the Mediterranean, the city has yielded many great finds over the past 20 years, including two bathing complexes and a plethora of questions about the evolution of this city from a bustling polis to a site of extensive industry. At some point in this city’s lifespan, many of the buildings, including both bath complexes, were converted to industry. Evidence of wine and oil production, as well as ceramic, glass, and metal production, have been found throughout the site.

A view of the Mediterranean from Antiochia ad Cragum.

Excavations began on the Small Bath in 2018 and will continue for the foreseeable future. This type of bath is known as a hall bath and might be a bit unfamiliar to those already versed in Roman bathing complexes. The architecture of the bath situates a great hall with mosaiced floors through the center of the building with tepidaria (cold rooms) and caldaria (hot rooms) on either side. The hall leads to a large wading pool on the west end of the complex, and the building itself has one main entrance on the east end. To date, three frigidaria and one caldarium have been excavated. In addition, the cistern for the bathing complex was uncovered entirely during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. It is suspected that two more caldaria exist along the southern side of the complex, and there is the hope of locating the praefurnium there as well.

Me, perched on a rock digging in an area precariously peppered with finds. A great way to avoid artifact breakage!

In the summer of 2022, I came to Antiochia ad Cragum as an undergrad, looking to fulfill my field school requirement and find out if I had what it took to work in the field of archaeology. I was sent to the small bath to work under the direction of Dr. Leticia Rodriguez, and I had no idea what to expect. It was A LOT of digging, and A LOT of giant rocks, and A LOT of wheelbarrows. In the second week Dr. Rodriguez decided to open up Frigidarium 4 on the westside of the Small Bath and asked for volunteers. Frigidarium 4 was almost entirely full of fill that had washed down the mountainside and into the now roofless room. It looked like an impossible task, and nobody really wanted to start at the beginning again, especially when the trenches that had been opened the previous week were starting to look like something. So naturally, I volunteered. Again, it was nothing but dirt and large rocks which had fallen from the wall or ceiling. It was hot, it was dirty, my legs and arms felt like noodles at the end of the day…and I couldn’t wait to go back.

Frigidarium 4 at the end of the 2024 season

What should have taken a couple of weeks to clear and document has now taken us three seasons to uncover, with no sign of a floor at the end of the 2024 season. Since removing surface fill, Frigidarium 4 has yielded many spectacular finds owing to its conversion to a trash pit sometime (we think) in the fifth century. They say you can learn much about a man by going through his trash, and I agree. Everything these people were doing, using, making, participating in, and ultimately discarding have been found in my trench. We have learned so much about what these people were doing and what they found valuable by examining the findings from Frigidarium 4. Detritus from industry, personal items, evidence of what people ate, and the animals they raised – not only for food but for textile production – have all been found in Frigidarium 4, which still has more to tell us.

Digging a sondage in a last-ditch effort to locate the floor before covering Frigidarium 4 up for the off season.

The connection one feels to the people of the past when finding and carefully preserving their once-lost history isn’t easy to put into words, but it keeps me coming back year after year. Every season, we get a little closer to uncovering these peoples’ stories and piecing together the lives of those who were, up until now, forgotten. There is a beauty in unearthing something that once sat in the hands of a person over 1500 years ago, a strange intimacy with someone whose name you can never know and whose face you will never see. Additionally, there is an overwhelming sense of civic duty that comes with uncovering these items and sending them home to a conservation lab or museum where they will find new life. These things belonged to people once, and those people have been forgotten. But with our work in Antiochia ad Cragum, they live again, and the Turkish people reclaim a piece of their heritage that they may not have realized they’d lost.

Ultimately, archaeology is a profoundly human endeavor that contributes to a sense of connection: connection to our past and to each other. A connection that bridges borders, cultures, and time. A connection that I hope, brings us all closer to one another on the most fundamental of levels.

The humans of the Small Bath 2024.

Sarah “Gigi” Konecki-Brazeal is a graduate student at Arizona State University studying Art History, Archaeology, and Studio Art. She is a practicing artist who merges her artistic work with her academic research. In addition to being a trench supervisor and field assistant and Antiochia ad Cragum, Gigi also works as an illustrator and lithic analyst for the Bandafassi Regional Archeological Project. She plans to write her dissertation on ancient tattooing practices and go on to teach at the university level while continuing her fieldwork in Turkey and beyond.

Learn more about the Antiochia ad Cragum Archaeological Research Project 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

  • ASOR Receives $100,000 Grant for Cyrene Conservation Initiative in Libya
  • ASOR 2025 Presentation Slides Submission Deadline – November 7
  • ASOR Seeks Volunteer Photographer for 2025 Annual Meeting
  • Harris Grant Report: CraftLand Project
  • FOA Webinar: Tasha Vorderstrasse

Latest Posts from @ASORResearch

asor_research

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


Check out our newest Early Career Scholars Resourc
Check out our newest Early Career Scholars Resource video from Bet Hucks (Heidelberg University), "Digital Publications: Issues and Solutions". This video came out of discussions as part of the Digging Up Data program. Topics covered include author's/artist's rights, review of contracts, funding publications, and marketing strategies. Click the link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PedozEl7QRA) in our bio to watch on YouTube.


Check out Near Eastern Archaeology 88.3, part two
Check out Near Eastern Archaeology 88.3, part two of the special issue on Megiddo. Read the Table of Contents by clicking the link (https://buff.ly/JW7hS2V) in our bio.


Friends of ASOR is pleased to announce our next we
Friends of ASOR is pleased to announce our next webinar, "Visions of Antiquity: Paintings of Robert Duncanson and Sculptures of Edmonia Lewis" presented by Dr. Tasha Vorderstrasse, is on September 24 at 7:00pm ET! In the middle of the 19th century, Robert Duncanson (1821-1872) and Edmonia Lewis (ca. 1844-1907) created their unique visions for the ancient world, its ruins, and the people who lived in it. In this lecture, Dr. Vorderstrasse will examine the way in which both artists conceptualized the ancient world through different artistic media and the historical context in which they lived, specifically against the backdrop of the Abolitionist movement, the Civil War, and the racism that both experienced in the course of their careers. Register for the free webinar by clicking the link (https://buff.ly/JdUpaud) in our bio!


Joshua Micallef, a 2025 P.E. MacAllister Fieldwork
Joshua Micallef, a 2025 P.E. MacAllister Fieldwork Scholarship Recipient, excavated at Tell Hesban in Jordan. Interested in landscape archaeology, Joshua shares what it was like to explore and excavate in the trenches of the wadi. Click the link (https://buff.ly/O1zlcdl) in our bio to read the report! 
#fieldwork #archaeology #jordan


Friends of ASOR is pleased to share information on
Friends of ASOR is pleased to share information on BAF & BASONOVA lectures. On Monday, September 15 at 7:45pm, Samuel Collins (George Mason University) will present "The Emperor and the Divine: Between Diocletian and Constantine". This lecture will explore the shifting ground of religious change between the old gods and Christianity in the reigns of these two emperors and ask again the very old question of exactly what Constantine intended for the state when he turned his back on the traditional pantheon and embraced the new Christian God. The event will be held in the Social Hall of the Bender JCC: 6125 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852.


Just 10 weeks until ASOR’s 2025 Annual Meeting i
Just 10 weeks until ASOR’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Boston! 📚 Join scholars, students, and colleagues as we gather to share the latest in archaeology and cultural heritage, and to celebrate 125 years together 🎊 
Don’t forget: the Super Saver registration deadline is coming up on September 15. Lock in the lowest rates while you can! Learn more and register here: https://www.asor.org/am/2025/annual-meeting-registration-2025


Make sure to join us TOMORROW at 12:30 pm ET for o
Make sure to join us TOMORROW at 12:30 pm ET for our first FOA webinar of the season, "Holier than Thou? The Temples at Moza and Reflections of Ritual Practices in Ancient Judah", presented by Dr. Shua Kisilevitz! Registration is still available here: https://buff.ly/ZmFzwMP


ASOR and the Levantine Ceramics Project are please
ASOR and the Levantine Ceramics Project are pleased to announce the launch of a new handbook series—and the first publication: The LCP Handbook to the Late Roman Amphora (LRA1). The LCPH Series is a user-friendly resource providing up-to-date, comprehensive overviews and quick identification of a range of wares common on Mediterranean sites. The inaugural handbook focuses on the LRA1, which served as both agent and symbol of the deeply entwined, far-flung economic network of the later Roman and Byzantine worlds from the 4th to 8th centuries CE. Read more about the new series and first handbook by clicking the link (https://buff.ly/4ihHNO0) in our bio.


In honor of National Wildlife Day (Sep. 4 in the U
In honor of National Wildlife Day (Sep. 4 in the US), the #ObjectoftheWeek from this week's ANE Today features a rock carving depicting giraffes found in Tassili N’Ajjer National Park, Tadrart Rouge, in southeast Algeria. 📸 by Djamel Ramdani: https://buff.ly/tEVzAO4
#Algeria #Wildlife


Did an historical event give rise to the story of
Did an historical event give rise to the story of the Exodus? A story told by the ancient historian Josephus may provide some clues. Click the link (https://anetoday.org/moses-other-names-exodus/) in our bio to read the newest ANE Today by Thomas Schneider.
#Egypt #Exodus #Bible


ASOR invites you to our 125th Anniversary Celebrat
ASOR invites you to our 125th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, November 22 at 6:45pm at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza! 🎊

🎟️Tickets are $100, but we’re committed to making the event accessible for all. If you need financial assistance to attend, use code SAVE50 for $50 tickets, or SAVE75 for $25 tickets. Click the link (https://buff.ly/PP5DckV) in our bio to register!


Aidan Gregg, 2025 Katherine Barton Platt Fellowshi
Aidan Gregg, 2025 Katherine Barton Platt Fellowship Recipient, joined the Athenian Agora excavations in Athens, Greece as an assistant supervisor in 2025. Returning to a site he'd excavated at before, this time as a leader, Aidan reflects on personal and professional growth throughout this experience. Click the link (https://buff.ly/JOalqcG) in our bio to read his report. 
#fieldwork #archaeology #greece


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



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