Fieldwork Report: Yishu Deng - American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)

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How Archaeology Bridges the Past and Present

Yishu Deng, 2025 Eric and Carol Meyers Fieldwork Participation Scholarship Recipient

After completing my MPhil in Archaeology degree at the University of Cambridge, I had the privilege of joining the excavation team at Kani Shaie in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the second consecutive year. The project is directed by my MPhil supervisor, Dr. Steve Renette, and offers a great opportunity to engage directly with ongoing archaeological research in the Near East. Fieldwork abroad is financially challenging. I was deeply honored to receive the generous support of and Eric and Carol Meyers Fieldwork Participation Scholarships through ASOR, which enabled me to continue pursuing my passion and advancing my career in archaeology.

The Kani Shaie Archaeological Project is a unique chance for my academic development. My primary research interest lies in metal production at military sites, and although Kani Shaie is modest in size, it has yielded consistent evidence of metallurgical activity across multiple seasons. A notable quantity of metal slag was found, as well as an assortment of iron artifacts, including arrowheads, blades, and other tools. This season was particularly exciting: in the Lower Town trench, we found a small crucible in situ, embedded in the middle of a firepit. Looking at it in its place of function and imagining its ancient use was profoundly inspiring.

Overview of the Lower Town trench at Kani Shaie.

Another remarkable object excavated this year was a complete iron hook found inside a tanoor (traditional clay oven), which further ignited my curiosity. It is exceptionally well preserved and was also found in the place where it was used to stoke the fire or remove ashes. These simple yet powerful finds vividly evoked scenes of daily life from thousands of years ago.

In addition to metal objects, Kani Shaie has revealed a wide range of artifacts: all types of pottery, seals, sealings, figurines, spindle whorls, etc., suggesting that the site possibly served administrative, domestic, and military functions. Mapping the distribution of metal working features in relation to other potential activity areas across the site may help us understand where and how metal production occurred, and how this industrial activity related to the broader organization of the settlement. Scientific analysis of the metal artifacts may provide further insight into production techniques and the provenance of raw materials. All such studies can be interesting future research projects.

Another compelling aspect of Kani Shaie is its long history of human activities, spanning from around 6000 BCE to the Ottoman period. This long temporal sequence offers a unique opportunity to study how a site evolves through time—how it was used, reused, and transformed, as well as how excavation can be best carried out to uncover this entangled history. It is our responsibility as archaeologists to discern both the changes and the continuities in these long-lived spaces. This season, I learned a great deal not only about excavation methodology but also about how the present-day lives of people in the region can inform us in archaeological studies.

The crucible found in situ in the middle of a fire pit.

One particularly memorable discovery came from the potentially late Parthian to early Sassanian level in the Lower Town trench, where we uncovered five tanoors, including the one where the hook was found. The place was likely a communal cooking area. The tanoor that contained the hook was connected at the back to a raised platform made of large stones. Steve suggested that the platform may have been supporting the tanoor. Under his guidance, we left the stones in situ and carefully excavated and sectioned the exposed half of the tanoor. What followed was an unexpected revelation: the tanoor contained a remarkably well-preserved stratigraphy. The upper layers consisted of ash in varying colors, while the lower layers comprised medium-sized stones. Beneath these stones, we found the complete iron hook. Finally, there was a grey layer of ash on the bottom of the tanoor, under the iron hook.

What made this find even more meaningful was the connection to present-day practices. Local team members told me that they still have similar tanoors in their homes for baking bread. After my fervent request, Mr. Zana Abdulkareem Qader kindly took me to see one at our neighbor’s house. It was strikingly similar to the ones we had excavated. There was even a similar iron hook hanging on the wall. Moreover, the tanoor was installed inside a stone-cement platform, which supported the tanoor just like the stones that we found. This type of installation is called sart-tanoor, as Zana explained. The next day at the site, I sat on the stone platform beside the excavated structure and imitated the motions of making bread using the tanoor. The height and layout felt just right.

The tanoor section that showed exceptional stratigraphy. The stone supporting platform is in the back.

For someone like me—raised in a modern city in a different country—it had always been difficult to visualize how such installations functioned in the past. Seeing these traditions alive in the present helped me connect the dots. It was a powerful reminder of how cultural practices endure over time, and how archaeology can bridge the past and present.

The precious experience at Kani Shaie this season would not have been possible for me without the generous support of ASOR and Profs. Eric and Carol Meyers. Their scholarship significantly alleviated the financial burden of travel and living expenses, for which I would like to express my gratitude once more. I am also grateful to my supervisor Dr. Steve Renette and the project’s co-directors André Tomé and Dr. Michael Lewis. Special thanks to Mr. Zana Abdulkareem Qader for his kindness and generosity, and to other local colleagues for their hard work and friendliness. I also learned so much from other students. This season has been invaluable, and I go forward with both knowledge and gratitude.