Winter 2003Volume 53, Number 4

Douglas R. Clark Appointed Executive Director of ASOR

Arguably the most important decisionmade by the ASOR Board of Trustees

in its November Atlanta meeting was itsunanimous decision, on the recom-mendation of the search committee for asuccessor to Rudy Dornemann, to inviteDouglas Clark to serve as ASOR’s newExecutive Director, starting January 1,2004. After careful consideration, hethankfully agreed to serve. He has alreadytaken up his responsibilities half-time untilJuly 1, moving back and forth from WallaWalla, Washington, his current home, toBoston and Atlanta, where he is rapidlylearning all he can about ASOR’soperations, its joys and challenges.

Clark says, “I love ASOR. I love whatthe organization stands for. I love to workwith ASOR people. I also love what I feelASOR can become. I have to say that Ithink ASOR is on the verge of greatness,poised to notch itself up to the next level.”After a first try, the search committee andboard agreed that Clark was the logicalcandidate to do that very thing. Clark seeshimself as “helping to create an ethos forsuccess well into the 21st century.” Hisperceived strengths include his knowledgeof ASOR from the inside, his stellaraccomplishments with the annual meeting,his solid administrative skills andexperience, including management ofbudgets and fundraising, his energy andoptimism, a “can-do” attitude, his open,communicative style of dealing with people,and an even temperament to work withASOR’s wide variety of personalities.

Currently Professor of Old Testament andArchaeology at Walla Walla College, wherefor eight years he served also as Dean of theSchool of Theology, Clark earned his Ph.D.in 1984 from Vanderbilt University with adissertation on the book of Ezekiel. Tenyears earlier he earned an M.Div. fromAndrews University after getting his B.A.from Walla Walla College. Before comingto WWC, he served as a pastor and taughtin Texas.

Long active in archaeological field work(eleven seasons since 1973) as well as theprofession, he is co-director of the MadabaPlains Project-ªUmayri in Jordan. He hasserved ASOR as its chair of the Committeeon the Annual Meeting and Program(CAMP) as well as on the editorial boardof Near Eastern Archaeology (NEA) and, inaddition to denominational scholarlyresponsi-bilities, has been active in AIA,SBL, and AAR. He spent 2001–2002 atACOR in Jordan on a CAORC SeniorFellowship continuing his research on IronI domestic housing. While at Walla WallaCollege, Clark received numerous grants,awards, and honors for his teaching andresearch. Active in publication, his CVcontains well in excess of a hundredprofessional presentations, journal articlesand contributions to books, his most recentbeing as co-editor (with Victor Matthews)of ASOR’s Centennial Volume.

Doug Clark and his wife, Carmen, whoworks in insurance/bookkeeping for adental office, will be moving to Boston fulltime this coming summer whereupon Clark

will assume his new ASOR responsibilitiesfull-time. They leave behind in theNorthwest two grown sons, one at thePrimate Research Center at Oregon HealthScience University, and the other a softwareengineer in Seattle who has given theClarks a granddaughter and grandson.

ASOR President Lawrence Geraty says,“I’m not surprised to see that Doug Clark isoff and running, energized by the challengesASOR faces. I’m convinced he’s the rightperson for this time in ASOR’s long anddistinguished history. We welcome him tothe task and we look forward to workingwith him to help bring about the potentialthat exists in ASOR for the benefit of itsmembers and the profession.”

2 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

The American Schools of Oriental Researchis a nonprofit, scientific and educational

organization founded in 1900.

P. E. MacAllisterChairman of the Board

Lawrence T. GeratyPresident

Martha JoukowskyVice President

James StrangeSecretary

Larry G. HerrChair, Committee on Publications

David W. McCreeryChair, Committee on Archaeological Policy

Eric ClineInterim Chair, Committee on Annual Meeting

Douglas R. ClarkExecutive Director

Billie Jean CollinsDirector of Publications

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Schools of Oriental Research

© 2003 byThe American Schools of Oriental Research

www.asor.org

Rudy Dornemann Retires after 12 Years as ED

For most of those associated with ASORnow, it is easy to forget that the position

of Executive Director is relatively new inits 103-year history. Rudolph Dornemannwas the first occupant of that office andnow, after more than a dozen years, hasretired, effective December 31, 2003.According to ASOR Chair P.E.MacAllister, “Rudy has vindicated theoffice. Through his efforts, made it soessential the idea of abandoning theposition and reverting to former status wasnever for a moment considered.”

In fact, Dornemann has served threeChairs (Thompson, Harris, andMacAllister) and three presidents (Meyers,Seger, and Geraty). According to EricMeyers at Dornemann’s farewell at theAtlanta November meetings, that durationin office meant we should be celebratingRudy’s Bar Mitzvah! He then went on tosay, “On this shabbat of your ASOR BarMitzvah, I am delighted to tell everyoneassembled here tonight that in all thesehard times you have stood tall and strong,and have defended the integrity of ASORin Syria, in Jordan, and in Israel. You haveconducted your term in office with honesty,dignity, and amazing patience. During yourstewardship all ASOR’s children [AIAR,ACOR, CAARI] have seemed to flourishdespite the difficult political and economictimes, and you have kept ASOR’s birthrightintact.”

In typical fashion, Joe Seger gave hisfarewell tribute in verse; in part he said,

“For in all things he’s stoicHis work’s been heroic

He’s kept all the bears at the doorDespite his exterior

He’s really superiorA model for all of ASOR.”

Among Dornemann’s long list ofaccomplishments in office, he is proudestof the following:

1. Wrapping up the outstanding NEHgrants and transitioning the center grantsso they could handle them directly.(CAORC has now taken over the go-between role that ASOR played betweenthe centers and federal funding agencies.)

2. Completing the negotiations to set upa Canadian ASOR as a tax-exempt entityin Canada.

3. Successfully moving ASOR’sheadquarters from The Johns HopkinsUniversity in Baltimore to BostonUniversity in Boston, thanks to a dealworked out by Artemis Joukowsky.

4. Increasing the office’s interaction withcommittees though a presence on theinternet.

5. Completely reworking ASOR’sfinancial recording system.

6. Devoting considerable effort to pullingoff a successful Centennial Celebration outof which grew the Torch Campaign.

7. Supporting the progress made bypublications, the annual meeting, and thecommittee on archaeological policy.

8. Revitalizing the Baghdad Committeeand creating a new regional committee forSaudi Arabia.

9. Completing sponsorship agreementsfor the excavation projects at Tell el-Hesi,Dead Sea Plains, and Tell Qarqur.

10. Bringing together and supportingHolly Andrews, Britt Hartenberger andSelma Omerefendic in Boston, and BillieJean Collins and Chris Madell in Atlantawho have done “a tremendous job movingASOR ahead with limited resources, nowlooking toward limitless possibilities.”

Dornemann received his B.A. inClassical Languages and Literature at theUniversity of Connecticut and his M.A.and Ph.D. degrees from The OrientalInstitute of the University of Chicago,specializing in Syria and Jordan. He wenton to dig for forty years in Palestine(Ta’annek), Sudan (Dorgenarti), Syria(Mureybit, Selenkahiye, el-Kowm, Hadidi,Qarqur), and Jordan (Amman Citadel andNimrin). Before coming to ASOR in 1991,he worked at The Oriental InstituteMuseum, as archaeological advisor toJordan’s Department of Antiquity while hewas the very first director of ACOR, and ashead of the History Section of theMilwaukee Public Museum from 1972 until1990. He has compiled a long list ofpublished articles and book contributions.

We wish Rudy and Meredith well as theymove into their new retirement home inPlymouth. Fortunately they will not be toofar from Boston so ASOR can call on themfrom time to time to take advantage of theirwisdom and historical memory. Thanks,Rudy, for a dozen good years!

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 3

N E W SA S O R

Eric H. Cline, Assistant Professor of An-cient History and Archaeology in the

Department of Classical and Semitic Lan-guages and Literatures at The GeorgeWashington University, was appointed bythe ASOR Board of Trustees as the newCommittee on the Annual Meeting andProgram (CAMP)Chair at its Novembermeeting in Atlanta.Because the position ofCAMP Chair is anelected one by the en-tire ASOR member-ship, Cline’s appoint-ment is presently in-terim, until the nextgeneral election by themembership at theAnnual Meeting inSan Antonio in 2004.

Having served admi-rably for five years (thepast three as Chair) onthe Program Commit-tee, in charge of theacademic program ofthe Annual Meeting, Eric is extremely wellsuited for the CAMP position. He bringswith him a knowledge of the inner work-ings of ASOR, especially the annual con-ference, as well as an extensive acquain-tance with ASOR members and boundlessenergy and creativity. The work he and hiscommittee have accomplished over the pastseveral years is one of the major reasons the

Eric H. Cline Appointed to Chair the Committee on theAnnual Meeting and Program (CAMP)

Annual Meetings have grown in size,breadth of participation and increasing stat-ure in recent times.

He also adds his own stature to the posi-tion, given his wide-ranging archaeologi-cal fieldwork throughout the ancient NearEast and publications and presentations

about the easternMediterranean. He isthe author of twobooks, Sailing theWine-Dark Sea: Inter-national Trade and theLate Bronze AgeAegean (B.A.R. Se-ries, 1994) and TheBattles of Armageddon:Megiddo and the JezreelValley from the BronzeAge to the Nuclear Age(University of Michi-gan Press, 2000), win-ner of the 2001 Bibli-cal Archaeology Soci-ety Publication Awardfor “Best Popular Bookon Archaeology”. In

addition, he has edited two volumes, writ-ten over forty articles as well as book re-views, delivered over one hundred presen-tations and can now even be seen on TVon the Discovery Channel in “Joshua andthe Walls of Jericho.”

Rachel Hallote will take over Cline’s du-ties as Chair of the Program Committee.

Since our last Newsletter report and whathas been called by many “the most

successful Annual Meeting yet” (referringto the one just held in Atlanta), one of themost important developments has been theDecember 31 retirement of long-timeexecutive director, Rudy Dornemann, andthe “maiden voyage” of his successor,Douglas R. Clark, which began on January1. Elsewhere in this issue we have featuredboth of these leaders so critical to ASOR’sdevelopment and mission.

In addition, we note with deepappreciation for his many contributions toASOR through the Committee onArchaeological Policy (CAP), the stellarwork of David W. McCreery, who stepsdown as chair in June. His tenure is markedby the initiation of a computer-enhancedsystem of processing applications forASOR-affiliation, thus streamliningcommittee work; complete andcomprehensive reports, a system ofcorrespondence with the administrations ofASOR-affiliated project institutions, andmost importantly, a strengthening ofASOR’s policies committed to thepreservation and protection of Near Easternantiquities. Burton MacDonald replacesMcCreery as Chair of CAP and brings withhim considerable archaeological, surveyand publication experience.

We are also proud to welcome LorenBasch (Creative Resources Development)of Los Angeles as a new member of theBoard of Trustees. His seventy-nine-page“Feasibility and Strategic CampaignPlanning Study Conducted for ASOR” waspresented formally at the Annual Meetingand adopted in Atlanta. Its purpose was toassess ASOR’s current and recent fundraising results; to see whether we were readyto reposition ourselves to attract newresources; to see whether the membershipsees itself and its scholarship as importantand worthy enough to have a strongerservice umbrella; to see if our membershipservices and benefits are satisfactory, askingwhich programs are most successful andwhy; to consider our satisfaction level andthe image we present of ourselves; to lookat our relationships as compared to other

ASOR President’s Report

membership organizations; to assess ourresource development connections inhigher education and Washington, DC,where raising and applying additionaldollars would have the most positive impacton ASOR’s ability to implement its mission;to assess the internal and external obstacleswe would face in a fundraising drive; toexplore the degree to which our Board andmembership agree on the “needs,” andwhether or not now is the time for ASORto reposition for more effective fundraising,to determine the potential success of a fund

raising plan of action.The study was based on interviews or

questionnaire responses from 118 keyASOR members. While noting severalsuccess stories of ASOR over the pastseveral years, including the publicationsprogram and the annual meeting, it alsoattmpted to address ASOR’s challenges,resulting in these nine recommendations:

1. Now is the time to move forward, tostrengthen and ensure our future.

2. ASOR should raise and apply “firstContinued on page 4

4 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

Report of the Committee on Publications

At the ASOR annual meeting inNovember, Loren Basch presented a

Feasibility and Strategic CampaignPlanning Study for ASOR in which itspublishing program was cited as one of thestrongest and most effective of ASOR’sactivities. There are many who deservecredit for the continued strength of theprogram, and we are proud and pleased toplay a valuable role in disseminating thelatest archaeological research relating to theMiddle East in high-quality publications tothe scholarly community and the generalpublic alike.

Despite the strength of the program,there are many areas where it needs to growand develop. Specifically, there is a strongfeeling that BASOR’s physical appearanceneeds to upgrade if the flagship journal ofour society is to remain one of the premierpublications in its field. Improvementsshould include higher-quality paper and theaddition of color images, trends that canbe seen in other journals in the field. Withcosts for production continuing to rise, anendowment for BASOR is a high priority.Other areas of potential growth include amore expansive and interactive website forNEA, and an endowment to support theproduction of books.

On everyone’s mind is the need to getNEA back on schedule. Getting caught upwill depend on the efforts of many people.Editor Sandra Scham has appointedBenjamin R. Porter of the University ofPennsylvania as editor of the Arti-Factsfeature and Justin Lev-Tov of the Universityof Alabama as book review editor. Manyissues are in the works on topics includingPetra, gender and archaeology, dance,sacred spaces, food and wine, and thePersian period in the Levant. Althoughbehind, NEA continues to work towardvisually more pleasing issues with articlesthat are more accessible. Recent issues haveincluded more color and more and largerillustrations. We hope that these changeswill help to attract a broader audience tothe work of ASOR and its membership.

In the coming year we expect to producea number of excellent monographs. 100Years of American Archaeology in the Levant:Proceedings of the American Schools of

Oriental Research Centennial Celebration,Washington, DC, April 2000, edited byDouglas Clark and Victor Matthews, is setto appear in February, as is ASOR Annualvolume 58, The Near East in the Southwest:Essays in Honor of William G. Dever, editedby Beth Alpert Nakhai. BurtonMacDonald’s The Tafila-Busayra Archaeo-logical Survey 1999-2001, West-CentralJordan, is scheduled for this Spring. Inaddition, work is underway to produce aclassroom-friendly compilation of the seriesof articles devoted to the archaeologicalhistory of the southern Levant that haveappeared over the years in NEA under therubric Archaeological Sources for the Historyof Palestine. The project is beingspearheaded by David C. Hopkins, formereditor of NEA. Many more volumes are inthe planning stages.

COP has approved a new limited bookseries, tentatively titled the ASORIntroductory Series on the Archaeology ofthe Near East. The series is designed for acollegiate (undergraduate) audience,tapping the textbook market, as well as thepopular imagination. We hope to havevolumes for most of the countries of theNear East, including Egypt, Cyprus, Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Syria/Lebanon, Turkey,Iraq, Iran, and perhaps Saudi Arabia. Weanticipate that individuals traveling tothese areas will also find the volumes ofinterest. The editorial board for the projectis currently being configured.

ASOR’s three monograph series havegained momentum in the past few years andhealthy sales reflect this. In the last fiscalyear, ASOR sold more than 3,000 books, a33% increase over the previous year’s sales.In part this record is a result of the numberof books published, but it also testifies to thestrengthening of our marketing anddistribution through the David Brown BookCompany.

Much of the past year has been taken upwith the transition to in-house membershipand subscription fulfillment. Owing to theHerculean efforts of Chris Madell and KatieChaple in the Atlanta office, this transitionis complete, although the voyage ofdiscovery continues as we perfect thesystem.

money” to strengthen its professional staff,particularly in development.

3. First money for the professional staffwill come from recruiting new members tothe Board of Trustees.

4. A fundraising campaign should beorganized around the major programmaticpoints of consensus that currently exist.Among these are strengtheningmembership services, revitalizing theCommittee for Archaeological Policy(CAP) as a vehicle for strengtheningASOR’s relationship with the overseasinstitutes, translating ASOR’s subjectmatter to reach a popular audience,continuing and expanding the publiclecture program, developing ways toincrease the public impact of the AnnualMeeting and Publications, and taking aleading role in reintroducing theimportance of our research and scholarshipwithin the Academy.

5. Developing a new partnership withHigher Education to which billions ofdollars are annually given.

6. The return of the CAP as “the anchorof the fundraising drive”—after all it focuseson the core interest of the organization, i.e.the encouragement and support ofexcavations and related project research inthe Middle East and eastern Mediterranean.This implies a strengthening of ties to wherethis happens: AIAR, ACOR, and CAARI.

7. ASOR must get over its “push/pull”about the professional social science/humanities versus biblical studiesdichotomy that exists within themembership and become a “big tentorganization“ by welcoming diverseapproaches in the field.

8. Fundraising plans follow institutionalrepositioning.

9. Study the survey carefully andimplement a clear response.

ASOR’s new leadership has taken thismandate very seriously and it has becomethe blueprint from which we are working.Doug Clark has hit the ground running and,along with our exceptional staff in Bostonand Atlanta, deserves much credit for newenergy that has already been involved insome of the following developments:

1. Most board members have contributedto a fund to hire a new developmentdirector. Thanks to the initiative andsupport of Artemis and Martha Joukowsky,

President’s Report, cont’d from page 3

Continued on page 11

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 5

Atlanta hosted one of the largest annualmeetings in ASOR’s illustrious

history, providing a venue for scores ofacademic sessions and hundreds of papers,a large number of business and committeemeetings, and thousands of conversationsin the crush space between meeting roomsand session times. This report addresses the2003 Annual Meeting in Atlanta,organized around the five major committeesof CAMP, which have, in conjunction withthe Boston and Atlanta offices, done thereal work of organizing and pulling off theconference. We are indebted to all of thesepeople.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE(Eric Cline, Chair)

As in the past several years, the programfor the Annual Meeting was full tooverflowing. The 2003 Annual Meetingdrew the second largest crowd ever, withnearly 600 attendees. It was also one of themost diverse and timely in terms of thetopics and issues covered, which includedarchaeological ethics and antiquities,gender concerns, ancient texts andinscriptions, technology and web-based computer database use inarchaeology, and archaeo-logicalpreservation and presentation, notto mention a newly institutedpresidential panel on excavatingin today’s Middle East. In addition,the sessions covered virtually theentire geography of the ancientNear East, from Anatolia to Egyptand beyond, as well as nearly allarchaeological time periods, fromprehistory to the modern period.Having Professor Lord ColinRenfew present the opening nightplenary lecture was a major coupand the discussion (vigorousdebate!) that his lecture on therole of museums and scholars inpreserving the world’s diminishing heritagegenerated suggests something of the natureand extent of the problem. Renfrew’slecture was one of the highlights of the 2003program, as was the all-day, internationalworkshop on the Araba Project onWednesday at the Fernbank Museum beforethe official meetings began. Add to thesethe Thursday evening Public Lecture onJewish mercenaries in ancient Egypt by

Committee on the Annual Meeting and Program – Atlanta 2003

Edward Bleiberg of the Brooklyn Museum,which was followed by a reception and tourat the Michael C. Carlos Museum exhibiton Jews in Egypt at Emory University. TheFoundation for Biblical Archaeology,directed by Sheila Bishop, sponsored theexquisite reception. In all, there were 52different sessions with nearly 250 differentpresentations by more than 250 differentpresenters and presiders from 15 countries(Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus,England, Finland, Germany, Israel, Jordan,Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia,Scotland, Switzerland, and the USA), notincluding the Wednesday Wadi Arabahpresentations.

OUTREACH EDUCATIONCOMMITTEE

(Gloria London, Chair)This year in conjunction with its Annual

Meeting, ASOR held numerous events forthe public. The Teachers Workshop 2003was co-sponsored with the Carlos Museumand Middle Eastern Outreach Program ofEmory University, which drew 15enthusiastic teachers. Ellen Bedell and Neal

Bierling made the major presentationsduring the six-hour session.

The “Communicating Archaeology tothe Public” session featured Rami Khouri,a well-known and widely respectedjournalist and publicist for Middle Easternpolitics and archaeology, and now editor ofa major newspaper headquartered in Beirut.The session focused on archaeology andpublic education. Continued on page 13

Lawrence T. Geraty (ASOR President), Lord Colin Renfrew (PlenarySpeaker) and Douglas R. Clark (CAMP Chair) at the annual meetingin Atlanta.

Finally, in conjunction with the MichaelC. Carlos Museum exhibit on Jews inAncient Egypt, Edward Bleiberg, Curatorof the Brooklyn Museum of Art, addressedan audience of hundreds with a lecture ofthe same name. The event was co-sponsored by the Museum and EmoryUniversity’s Middle East OutreachProgram.

LECTURE SERIES COMMITTEE(Ann Killebrew, chair)

The ASOR Lecture Series is alreadyunderway for the 2003–2004 season. EmoryUniversity hosted three ASOR co-sponsored lectures in the Fall, includingWilliam G. Dever, “Who Were the EarlyIsraelites and Where Did They ComeFrom?” on Sep. 25, Elizabeth Bloch-Smith,“Life in Early Israel from the Perspective ofthe Dead” (Oct. 30) and Edward Bleiberg,“Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt” (Nov. 20).Two more lectures are planned for theSpring. On February 4, Ziony Zevit willspeak on “Israelite Religion During theBiblical Period” and on March 4, RobertTykok will speak on “Pre-Roman Sardinia

and its MediterraneanConnections.”

Other lectures and lectureseries are still undergoingdevelopment. One is beingplanned with Neil Silberman atthe Smithsonian in March.Another, to be co-sponsored bythe Cotsen Institute at UCLA,will most likely take place in theSpring. Others in the Cincinnatiarea and in Cambridge, inconjunction with the HarvardSemitic Museum, are also beingplanned.

REGIONAL AFFILIATIONSCOMMITTEE

(Suzanne Richard, chair)Future prospects for regional ASOR

entities appear strong: “Stage 1” in therevitalization of the ASOR regionalsocieties has been a success. This includedthe beginning of a dialogue between thenational office and the regional societies,some of which were already well-established, but others that had become

6 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

A History of ASOR’s Baghdad School, Part II

World War II brought the School’s workin Iraq to a halt, and E. A. Speiser,Chairman of the Baghdad School, wrylynoted in his report for 1941, “in the courseof the past season fieldwork in Mesopotamiawas under the direction of generals ratherthan archaeologists.” Nelson Glueck,ASOR’s Director in Jerusalem, who carriedon with his surveys in Transjordan duringthe war, represented the School incommunications with the Department ofAntiquities in Baghdad. Glueck had beenthe Baghdad School’s Annual Professor in1933–1934, when foreign excavatorstemporarily halted work in Iraq pendingchanges in the country’s antiquities laws.

Shortly after the War came to an end,the Baghdad School resumed its activities.Samuel Noah Kramer was Annual Professorin 1946–1947 and was able to work inmuseums in Istanbul and Baghdad. In 1946the School established the Journal ofCuneiform Studies, with an Editorial Boardconsisting of Albrecht Goetze, ThorkildJacobsen and Abraham Sachs. In 1947Goetze became Director of the BaghdadSchool, serving for ten years and playing aprominent role in the Baghdad School untilhis death in 1971.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the BaghdadSchool once again assumed a highly visiblerole in promoting fieldwork in Iraq. Itsupported Robert J. Braidwood’s PrehistoricProject, for example, naming Bruce Howeas Fellow in 1950-51 and Annual Professorin 1954–1955, 1959–1960 and 1963–1964.The School supported the early post-WW II seasons at Nippur, appointing fieldepigrapher Francis Steele its AnnualProfessor in 1949–1950 and 1951–1952.When the University of Pennsylvaniawithdrew from the Nippur excavations, theBaghdad School joined The OrientalInstitute in sponsoring the excavations.The principal focus of work during the yearsthat ASOR co-sponsored the Nippur

excavations was the temple of Inanna,whose Early Dynastic levels yielded uniquearchitecture and rich inventories ofsculpture. Thorkild Jacobsen, Nippur’sepigrapher, was Annual Professor in 1953–1954 and Goetze, the epigrapher in the fifth(1955–1956) and sixth (1957–1958)seasons, was Annual Professor in the formeryear. Richard C. Haines, who directed theexcavations, was Annual Professor in 1960–1961 and Donald P. Hansen, fieldarchaeologist, in 1962–1963. Hansen beganexcavations at Tell Abu Salabikh, wherehe made the important discovery of lateEarly Dynastic texts, published by RobertD. Biggs, shortly after the end of the 1962–1963 field season at Nippur. The BaghdadSchool also supported Hansen’s laterexcavations at al-Hiba (Lagash), a projecthe initiated in 1968 with Vaughn Crawford,who headed the School following Goetze.

In addition to its excavations, theBaghdad School played a prominent rolein innovative archaeological surface surveysconducted by Thorkild Jacobsen, VaughnCrawford and Robert McC. Adams. The

Given the current interest in ancient Mesopotamia and discussion of possible renewed American archaeological research in Iraq, we thought it timely to providea short history of ASOR’s research and presence in this region. From the early 1920s through the late 1960s, ASOR directly funded and assisted scholars in aseries of groundbreaking excavations and surveys. ASOR has become an institutional member of the American Association for Research in Baghdad (AARB),which aims to establish an archaeological research center in Iraq. Our membership in the AARB will give our Baghdad Committee a voice in revitalization ofarchaeological research in Iraq.

By Richard Zettler, Chair (ASORBaghdad Committee) and BrittHartenberger (ASOR)

School jointly sponsored Adams’ 1956–1957 Iraq Surface Survey of the Akkadregion. Adams was the Annual Professor for1966–1967, and then Resident Director ofthe Baghdad School in 1968–1969, whenhe used the Oriental Institute’s house atNippur as a base for his survey of the area,as well as excavations at Tell Abu Sarifa, aproject that aimed to disentangle Sassanianand early Islamic ceramic chronology.

Following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War andthe July 17, 1968 revolution that broughtthe Arab Baath Socialist Party to power,the situation for foreign archaeologists inIraq deteriorated. McGuire Gibson, theSchool’s Annual Professor for 1969–1970,reached Baghdad, but was not givenpermission to work. Following thehandwriting on the wall, the BaghdadSchool Committee, which had existedsince 1921, changed its name to theCommittee on Mesopotamian Civilizationin December 1969 and made the AnnualProfessorship into a Fellowship for “studyof Mesopotamian civilization—be itphilology, archaeology, or art history—inLebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, or anyother country where the pertinent materialsare available” (Board of Trustees minutes,Dec. 29, 1969). The first recipients of theMesopotamian Fellowship were StephenLieberman (1970–1971), Elizabeth Carter(1971–1972), and Norman Yoffee (1972–1973); the most recent Jennifer Pournelle(2001–2002), Sarah Graff (2002–2003) andBekir Gürdil (2003–2004).

Continued on page 9

Late Early Dynastic plaque (7 N 407) from the InannaTemple at Nippur, discovered during the 1960–1961 fieldseason.

Samuel Noel Kramer, second from right, stands with theDirector of the Iraq Department of Antiquities andDirector of the Iraq Museum in front of the ziggurat atAqar Quf. The photo was taken in 1946 during Kramer’syear as Annual Professor of the Baghdad School.

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 7

David W. McCreery, CAP Chair

At the November 2003 ASOR Annual Meeting in Atlanta,and the weeks that followed, the Committee on

Archaeological Policy (CAP), approved affiliation for a total of69 new and ongoing projects (31 field and 38 publication), withthe following geographical distribution.

• Tunisia — 1 publication project• Turkey — 1 field project• Cyprus — 3 field & 5 publication projects• Israel — 7 field & 14 publication projects• West Bank — 2 publication projects• Jordan — 19 field & 16 publication projects• Syria — 1 field project

Since we are now receiving and distributing all proposalselectronically, we have been able to cut costs, improve efficiency,and drastically reduce our meeting time from twelve hours to twoand a half hours. Despite our attempt to increase efficiency; inthe future CAP will need at least three hours of meeting time todeal adequately with the increasing numbers of project proposalsand policy issues.

This is obviously a difficult time to conduct fieldwork in theMiddle East and a number of projects were forced to scale down orpostpone their 2003 field seasons. Despite the obstacles, mostproject directors were busy this past summer pursuing their researchprograms both at home and abroad. The summer of 2004 appearsto be very promising with new projects going into the field andon-going projects re-initiatiating field work. ASOR remainsresolute in promoting continued research activity and on April 1,2003 announced the following grant awards funded by the TorchCampaign in the amount of $3,200.

Susan Cohen — Excavations at GesherRobert Haak & Susan Sheridan — Byzantine St. Stephen’sJohn Oleson — Huymayma Room at Aqaba MuseumDanielle Parks — Excavations at Kourion

Hopefully we will be able to make more, and more substantial,awards in 2004. This is of course dependent upon the success ofon-going fundraising efforts.

At the CAP Meeting on the evening of Thursday, November20, 2003 in addition to vetting the 69 proposals, the Committeeheard reports from the Center Directors, the Chairs of theDamascus and Baghdad Committees, and David Graf who is takingthe lead on the Saudi Initiative.

As my tenure as CAP Chair ends and I look forward to thefuture of CAP and ASOR, I would like to make the following

Report of the Committee on Archaeological Policy

observations. In the survey conducted by Loren Basch, a numberof comments indicate that CAP lies at the heart of ASOR’smission. I strongly agree with this assessment but if we are to beserious about “revitalizing CAP,” resources must be made available.Over the past six years, CAP has operated on a budget of $6,000,which I, and I think all former CAP Chairs, have been forced tocall upon our university’s to match in order to be able to function.That is clearly not enough funding to accomplish all the thingsCAP would like to do, including providing funding to projects,involving more CAP members on the annual tours, sponsoringspecial events, and making better use of the committee membersin terms of public outreach and fundraising efforts. If CAP’s role isrecognized as central to the mission of ASOR, that priority oughtto be more apparent in the fundraising effort and the annual CAPline item.

Perhaps the most important decision that CAP made during itsmeeting in November was the nomination of Dr. BurtonMacDonald as the next CAP Chair. The appointment wasconfirmed at the Board of Trustees Meeting on November 22, 2003.Professor MacDonald is well-known within ASOR. He is a life-time ASOR member who has served several terms on CAP, mostrecently as Secretary, and was instrumental in founding ASORCanada. A Professor at St. Francis Xavier College (N.S.) since1965, Burton has an extensive record of archaeological fieldworkin Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and Jordan over the past thirty years. Inaddition to his extensive field work, Professor MacDonald has anadmirable record of expeditious publications, which provides amodel for the priorities set for by CAP. Burton’s integrity,interpersonal and diplomatic skills will ensure his success as anoutstanding CAP Chair.

Finally, it should be acknowledged that the Committee onArchaeological Policy has taken a much more public stand overthe past few years than it did before. Although some lament thisas a “politicization of the organization,” I applaud it and thinkthat CAP and ASOR, after careful deliberations, should take amore public stand on the ethics of such issues as one’s engagementwith the antiquities market (whether directly or indirectly). ASORalso needs to take a strong stand in urging all governments,including our own, to work more diligently to protect the world’sarchaeological heritage during both times of war and peace. Thedirect connection between human suffering and poverty must alsobe acknowledged if we are to address seriously issues relating tocultural preservation. A peaceful and prosperous Middle East willnot eliminate the looting of archaeological sites, but it wouldconstitute a major advance in preserving sites and promoting futureresearch.

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8 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

ASOR Committee on Archaeological PolicyASOR AFFILIATED PROJECTS, 2003–2004

(TOTAL = 69 PROJECTS; 31 FIELD, 38 PUBLICATION)(# = project completed)

Tunisia (1 Publication) P.I. / Director(s)Carthage Punic Project - publication L. Stager, J. Greene

Turkey (1 Field )Reinvestigation of Tell Atchana/Alalakh - field K. A. Yener

Cyprus (3 Field, 5 Publication)Aredhiou-Vouppes: Bronze Age Farmstead Project - field L. Steel# Kalavasos- Kopetra Project (KKP) - publication M. Rautman & M. McClellan# Kholetria-Ortos Neolithic Excavations - publication A. SimmonsKourion-Amathus Gate Cemetery Excavation - publication D. ParksPolitiko Phorades Excavation (SCSP) - publication B. KnappSotira Kaminoudhia - field S. SwinyTroodos Archaeological Survey Project - field B. Knapp, V. Kassianidou, M. Given, S. Van LokerenVasilikos Valley Project - publication I. Todd & A. South

Israel (7 Field, 14 Publication)Byzantine St. Stephens Project - field S. Sheridan, R. Haak, M. DriscollCaesarea Maritima Vault Project - publication J.A. Blakely, W.J. BennetCombined Caesarea Expeditions (CCE) - field K.G. Holum, A. Raban, J. PatrichExcavations at Kedesh of the Upper Galilee - field S. Herbert, A. BerlinGesher Excavations - field S.L. CohenJoint Expedition to Tell el-Hesi - publication J.A. BlakelyLahav Research Project, Phases I-II - publication J.D. SegerLahav Research Project, Phase III - publication P. Jacobs, O. BorowskiMeiron Excavation Project - publication C. Meyers, E. MeyersNahal Tillah Excavation - publication T. LevyNeo-Assyrian Project - publication S. GitinPromontory Palace at Caesarea Maritima - publication K.L. GleasonSepphoris Acropolis Excavation - field J.L. ReedSepphoris Regional Project (1993-1997) - publication E. Meyers, C. MeyersSepphoris Regional Project (‘Ein Zippori) - publication C. Meyers, E. Meyers, J.P. DesselShiqmim Excavation, Phase II - publication T. LevyTel Miqne-Ekron Publications Project - publication S. Gitin, T. DothanTell el-Wawiyat Excavation Project - publication J.P. Dessel, B.L. Wisthoff, B.A. NakhaiUniversity of Puget Sound Excavation at Khirbet Cana - field D.R. EdwardsUSF Excavations at Sepphoris - publication J.F. StrangeZeitah Excavation - field R.E. Tappy

West Bank (2 Publication)# Joint Expedition to Tell Balatah - publication E.F. Campbell, Jr.Publication of Tell Tannek - publication K. Nashef, Hamid Salem, N. Lapp

Jordan (19 Field, 16 Publication)‘Ain Ghazal Project - publication G. RollefsonArch. & Environ. of the Dead Sea Plain - field P. Edwards, S. Falconer, P. FallAyl to Ras en-Naqb Archaeological Survy Project - field B. MacDonaldBir Madhkur Excavation and Survey - field A.M. Smith

Bioarchaeology of Byzantine North Jordan (Ya’amun) - field J.C. RoseExcavation of Neolithic ‘Ain Abu Nekheileh - publication D.O. HenryExpedition to the Dead Sea Plain in Jordan R.T. Schaub, M.Chesson, S. Sheridan

(Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira) - publicationGhwair I Neolithic - publication A. Simmons, M. NajjarHisban Final Publication Project - publication Ø.S. LaBianca & L.T. GeratyHumayma Excavation Project - field J.P. Oleson, R. M. FooteHumayma F103 Qasr-Mosque Complex - publication R.M. Foote

Humayma Geophysical Survey Project - field J.P. OlesonInvestigation of Levantine Mousterian - publication D.O. Henry

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 9

Jebel Harat Fidan - field T. Levy, R. AdamsJordan Valley Village Project S. Falconer, P. Fall, J. Jones (Tell Abu en-Ni’aj) - publicationJordan Valley Village Project (Tell Dhahret J. Jones, S. Falconer, P. Fall Umm al-Marar) - fieldKataret es-Samra Project - publication A. Leonard, Jr.Kerak Resources Project (al-Mudaybi‘) - publication G.L. MattinglyKhirbet Iskander Excavation - field S. Richard, J. Long# Limes Arabicus Project - publication S.T. ParkerMiddle Paleolithic of NW Jordan (Ar Rasfa) - publication J.J. SheaOrigins of Arid-Zone Pastoralism in the S. Levant - field P. Wilke, L. Quintero, G. Rollefson (Bawwab al-Ghazal, Azraq)Petra Garden & Pool-Complex Excavation Project - field Leigh-Ann BedalPetra Great Temple - field M.S. JoukowskyRoman Aqaba Project - publication S.T. ParkerTafila-Busayra Archaeological Survey (TBAS) - publication B. MacDonaldTall Jalul Excavations (MPP) - field R.W. Younker & D. MerlingTall Hisban Project, Phase II (MPP) - field Ø.S. LaBiancaTall al-‘Umayri (MPP) - field L. Herr, D.R. ClarkTell Madaba Archaeological Project - field T.P. HarrisonTell Nimrin Project - publication J.W. Flannagan, D.W. McCreery, K.N. YassineUmm el Jimal Project - publication B. deVriesWadi Araba Earthquake Project - field T.NiemiWadi Ramm Recovery Project - field M.B. Reeves & D. DudleyWadi ath-Thamed Project (Kh. Mudayna) - field M. Daviau

Syria (1 Field )

Renewed Excavations at Tell Qarqur in the Orontes R.H. Dornemann

Valley, Syria - field

In addition to awarding theMesopotamian Fellowship, the Committeeon Mesopotamian Civilization hascontinued to publish and support theJournal of Cuneiform Studies. Upon Goetze’sdeath in 1971, Erle Leichty became Editorand served for twenty years, contributingnot only his time, but providing financialsupport as well. When he stepped down in1991, William L. Moran, who had justretired from Harvard University, took overas Editor, and a new Editorial Board (GaryBeckman, Elizabeth Carter, PiotrSteinkeller and Matthew Stolper) beganwork. For various reasons, Moran gave upthe position and Piotr Michalowski(University of Michigan) replaced him.

The Committee began publishing aDirectory of Mesopotamian Scholars in1985, a project John A. Brinkman, AnnualProfessor in 1968–1969, continues today.The Committee also published a semi-annual newsletter entitled Mar Sipribetween 1988 and 1993. The newsletter,edited by Paul Zimansky (BostonUniversity), was devoted to currentresearch in Iraq. In the late 1980s theCommittee was able to resume its support

for excavations in Iraq thanks in large partto a generous contribution from P.E.MacAllister, current Chairman of ASOR’sBoard of Trustees. Baghdad ExcavationAwards funded projects at the sites of Tell

Hamide, Tell Abu Duwari(Mashkan-Shapir), AbuSalabikh, and Tell al-Deylam(Dilbat).

Directors of the BaghdadSchool during its existenceincluded George A. Barton(1923–1934), E. A. Speiser(1935–1946), AlbrechtGoetze (1947–1956),Vaughn Crawford (1956–1968). Following Crawford’stenure in late 1968, theChairman of the BaghdadSchool Committee becamethe de facto head of theBaghdad School/Committeeon Mesopotamian Civili-zation. Chairmen of theBaghdad School Committeehave included Samuel NoahKramer (1955–1964),Donald P. Hansen (1964–1970), John A. Brinkman

(1971–1985), McGuire Gibson (1985–1986), Jerrold Cooper (1987–1993),Elizabeth Carter (1994–1996), PaulZimansky (1997–2002), Richard L. Zettler(2002–present).

Continued from page 6

Staff of the Nippur expedition during 1955–1956, showing from right toleft, Albrecht Goetze, Richard C. Haines, Donald P. Hansen, VaughnCrawford, and Abdul-Qadr al-Tikriti, the Iraq representative.

10 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

ACOR Fellows’ Reports 2003

Da’Janiya HinterlandSurvey Project

John Rucker(University of Missouri, Columbia)

ACOR/CAORC Fellowship

The Roman fort at Da’Janiya, about 40km north of Ma’an, just west of the DesertHighway was built circa AD 300. It is thelargest and best preserved fortification onthe Roman limes between the two legion-ary forts at Lejjun and Udruh. The fort atDa’Janiya is something of an anomaly, sinceat just over 100 m by 100 m, it covers overfour times the extent of the typical castellumin Jordan. There has been some test exca-vation within the fort itself, limited to es-tablishing the dating of the construction;but until this project there has been no sur-vey of the area surrounding the fort. Thisproject was conducted during my tenure atACOR as a CAORC Fellow.

Historical and ArcheologicalStudy of the Ajlun Areaunder the Ayyubids and

MamluksNeil D. MacKenzie(Independent Scholar)

ACOR/CAORC Fellowship

This project is the continuation of aproject begun in 2000 on the Ajlun districtunder the Ayyubids and Mamluks, with fourbasic aims:

1. To provide an integrated study of theAjlun area under the Ayyubids andMamluks in political, economic, and social/religious aspects;

2. to study of the relationship of the castleand Ajlun town to the outlying communi-ties (between Wadi Rajib and Wadi Yabis);

3. to inquire into the absence, or misun-derstanding, of material relics between theearly Abbasids and the Ayyubids in this area;and,

4. to create a corpus of plans of villagemosques during the Ayyubid/Mamluk pe-riod.

The methodology consisted of a surfacesurvey of relevant archeological sites, a studyof historical and geographical texts relevantto the Ajlun area, and a comparison withrelated sites in other parts of Jordan.

In terms of survey, I examined sites thatwere generally already known, but with astrict concentration on their Ayyubid/Mamluk contexts, and a broader examina-tion of their Byzantine- Islamic relics. Theseincluded town sites, fortifications, agricul-tural and industrial elements (water mills,mines, iron working) and religious/social in-stitutions (mosques, mashhads, and akhanqah). Some twenty-five sites were ex-amined, with specific concentration on theimmediate suburbs of the castle. In additionmany outlying sites not examined in 2000were surveyed. I was particularly interestedin Baun—a major religious center during theMamluk period—but the modern town hadcovered virtually all traces of this occupa-tion. Better luck awaited me, however, inceramic finds, where I may have found keyindicators to solving the hiatus following theearly Abbasids. I also found and createdplans of several village mosques, and I be-

lieve I have enough material to begin acorpus of these buildings for northwesternJordan.

I studied medieval historical and geo-graphical texts, for example, Ibn Shaddad,Abu al-Feda, al-Dimashqi, Qalqashandi, forinformation on local politics, commerce andagriculture, religious activity, and other el-ements effecting settlement activity. Theseinclude catastrophic events, such as wars,plagues, earthquakes, floods and locustswarms, which engendered significant de-population and probable village abandon-ment during the later medieval period.

Comparisons were made with other sitesin Jordan. These include major Ayyubid/Mamluk sites such as Kerak and Shawbak,as well as other sites with substantialAyyubid/Mamluk occupation such asHesban, Pella and Amman citadel. Whilethere is obviously considerable variation inlocal ceramic production, more work is re-quired on comparative settlement patternsof these Islamic sites.

The ultimate product of this research willbe a comprehensive study of the Ajlun areaunder the Ayyubids and Mamluks as a semi-rural district, which will complement pre-vious works on the major urban centers ofCairo, Damascus and Aleppo.

Steatite Artifacts in JordanDiane Grubisha

(University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)ACOR/CAORC Fellowship

My research focused on the study of steatiteartifacts in Jordan. Very little research hasbeen done previously on this subject, thus,a lot of my work involved gathering data.

Steatite is a metamorphic rock composedprimarily of talc. It is also referred to as soap-stone or soft-stone. Steatite is easily carvedand can be fashioned into a variety of items.The types of objects found in Jordan prima-rily consist of cooking pots, decorated bowls,lamps and incense burners.

There are no sources of steatite in Jordan.Evidence suggests that the vessels recoveredare probably from the Arabian Peninsula,where there are many quarries. Importa-tion of steatite vessels into Jordan begins inthe Late Roman Period, circa late third toearly fourth centuries CE, based on the re-mains of two cooking pots found at Aila.The importation continues in limited num-bers through the Byzantine period at thesites of Aila, Lejjun, and possibly Mt. Nebo.Importation greatly increases in the EarlyIslamic Period at many sites throughout thecountry.

Studies of steatite artifacts in Jordan arequite limited. My research at ACOR soughtto build a body of knowledge regarding thisitem of material culture. I undertook thestudy of approximately half of the steatitecorpus from the site of Aila in the form of aMaster’s thesis in the US. At ACOR I wasable to study the other half of the assem-blage and complete a typology of these arti-facts to serve as a basis to study steatite fromother sites. The methodology used in thestudy is a form of ceramic analysis.

Also, my research involved a study of ste-atite artifacts of other sites in Jordan frommuseum collections and individual sites.With this data, I am looking for bothdiachronic and synchronic distribution pat-terns in Jordan and I would like to test thehypothesis that these artifacts might bemarkers of migration of people from theArabian Peninsula.

The eventual goal of my research is topublish this information so it can be avail-able for scholars in Jordan and the region.

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 11

The Evidence for CulturalInteraction in the Art and

Archaeology of the Latin EastJames Schryver

(Cornell University)ACOR/CAORC Fellowship

The Archaeology of the Crusaders inTransjordan is in some respects still in itsinfancy. Crusader period (twelfth centuryCE) remains from sites such as al Al haveyet to be identified. At other known sitessuch as Ain al Habis, very little archaeo-logical work has been carried out. Take atrip there without any climbing gear and youwill quickly see why. In addition, wherework has been carried out, the analysis ishindered by the gaps in our knowledge con-cerning the relevant pottery that are alsolamented in most recent publications con-

cerning the related periods Islamic archae-ology of Jordan, such as the Fatimid,Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.

Referred to as the “Crusader interlude”in much of the literature, its study has forthe most part been seen as a subset of stud-ies focusing on the Islamic archaeology ofthe region. There is a danger inherent inthis terminology. “Interlude” periods areoften glossed over or simply ignored in stud-ies focusing on those periods preceding andfollowing. In addition, where Crusadersmonuments have been incorporated intolater buildings, as at Kerak and Shobak, theremaining portions of these “interlude” pe-riod monuments may be ignored (or worse)as efforts regarding other phases (often thelatest) are carried out. An important ex-ception to this is the exciting work that isbeing undertaken by an Italian team fromthe University of Florence in and aroundPetra.

These challenges make the rewards ofstudying this topic all the more worthwhile.Taking the results of the Petra studies andadding to them the bits and pieces of infor-mation that are being produced at othersites, a more complex picture of Crusadersettlement and involvement in the areathan expected begins to emerge. Finds suchas the Crusader coins produced in recent ex-cavations at Umm Qais present interestingquestions about the relationships of the Cru-saders with the local population. How didthey get there? Where did they come from?And as more and more studies produce in-formation about their presence, and others,such as my own focus on this period, thispicture becomes clearer. Many obstacles stillexist, however my research has shown thatthe archaeology of the Crusaders in Jordanrepresents a unique solution to the specificsituations they faced in the Transjordan. Asa result, it is an archaeology that is differentfrom the other areas of Crusader settlementin the Levant. As such, it represents an im-portant aspect of the history of the MiddleEast as a whole, and one that it definitelyworthy of more focused study.

This project was envisioned as a smallscale, very intensive archaeological surveyaround the fort. Realities of site type anddensity required a broader approach, includ-ing vehicular as well as pedestrian survey,which proved successful. In the course offive weeks of fieldwork, 43 sites were vis-ited and recorded, including watchtowers,roads, and agricultural sites contemporarywith the fort, as well as Nabataean and lithicperiod sites. Other periods were representedas well, but precise dating awaits analysis ofthe pottery. These findings allow some lim-ited field conclusions: the fort at Da’Janiyais situated on a nearly perfectly flat plain,surrounded by extinct volcanic cones. Thepresence of watchtowers on these cones pro-vides a wide area of control for the fort.There are also two separate ancient roads,running north to south within the surveyarea. There is not an extensive settlementaround the fort itself, and the fort does seemto be placed to guard the agricultural zoneto the west.

David Rosenstein, P.E. MacAllister, andmany others, we have identifieddevelopment counsel and designed aprocess that will help us accomplish ourgoals in this area.

2. Doug Clark has initiated the drafting

of a “case statement,” which is coming tothe board and which seeks to set out whatis significant and urgent for ASOR toaccomplish.

3. Job descriptions are being developedand revised.

4. The most pressing and urgent funding

President’s Report, cont’d from page 4

BurtonMacDonaldElected to Chairthe Committeeon Archaeo-logical Policy(CAP).

needs are being identified in preparation forthe campaign.

5. We are cultivating a number ofimportant potential board members butfurther suggestions from any and all wouldbe appreciated.

6. B. W. Ruffner is working hard to learnthe ropes as Finance Committee Chair andis leading an effort to simplify financialreporting so ASOR’s finances are not onlysound but transparent.

7. Ed Gilbert is chairing a newinvestment committee whose goal is ofcourse maximizing our income, but also toserve our needs better.

8. We are reworking aspects of ASOR’scommittee structure to make it morerepresentative and effective, including theformation of an implementation committeeto make sure we are following through onthe promise of the Basch Report mentionedabove.

9. We have a new bequest to report:$50,000 from Floyd Myron Johnson, Jr. Itcertainly comes at an ideal time. At thesame time, we do not forget the blessing toASOR of other bequests earlier in the yearfrom Mildred F. Alberg, Mina B.Abramowitz, and Leon Levy. Members andfriends remembering and supportingASOR’s mission in this way are crucial forour ongoing growth and development. Toall who are responsible for these gifts weoffer heartfelt thanks.

10. In an effort to be responsive tomembers and their concerns, theadministration has committed itself toensuring transparency and communicationin the work of the organization.

This is a dynamic and exciting time forASOR as we enter the second century ofits existence. With your help we aredetermined to successfully meet the newchallenges and possibilities.

12 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

By Douglas R. Clark

My vision for ASOR grows from itsmission statement and finds

expression in its vitality, relevance andviability.

VITALITYASOR has a long history of active

engagement in the scholarly pursuit ofknowledge about the ancient Near East. Ithas sought with energy and conviction tocorral the considerable talent and drive ofhundreds of intrepid researchers. Withinthis context, ASOR finds its mostimportant evidences of vitality in severalarenas.

Of course, the excavations and relatedresearch in the Middle East contributesignificantly to the strength of theorganization. Given the importance offresh, cutting-edge archaeological researchbased on the best methodologies,technologies and standards of ethicalbehavior, ASOR’s excavations, approvedthrough the accrediting procedures of theCommittee on Archaeological Policy, haveshown themselves highly competent andcompetitive. This is an important aspect ofthe life and wellbeing of the organizationand deserves continued support anddevelopment. ASOR scholars should notonly be the best in their fields, but theyshould also be at the top of media contactlists when events around the Middle Eastare in the news, especially to help clarifyissues of concern to all members of ourglobal community.

The publications program of ASOR alsoprovides ample evidence of the vibrancy ofthe organization. The Publications Officestaff along with the current cadre of editorsand the leadership of the Committee onPublications make for a dynamic program.With continued maintenance and growth,ASOR publications will keep providing afirst-rate outlet for scholarly research as wellas an ongoing source of quality informationfor a wider audience.

Certainly at the heart of ASOR’sactivities, which serve not only ASORitself, but the overseas centers as well, isthe annual meeting. Its remarkable success

over the past several years speaks well ofthe investment of time and energy madeby numerous participants on committeesresponsible for various aspects of theconference. Supplementing this is thecurrent expansion of influence into theeleven North American regional groupswith which ASOR has joined in one typeof affiliation or another. To envision andenable continued growth and developmentof these efforts will enhance the vitality ofASOR significantly.

In addition, the potential of educationaloutreach from ASOR has hardly beentapped. As part of our mission, we takeseriously the need to educate the public,especially North American educators,about the ancient Near East for the greaterunderstanding of, appreciation for andpreservation of its rich cultural heritage.Outreach activities associated with theAnnual Meeting, teacher workshops, theASOR Lecture Series and co-sponsoredregional conferences contribute to therealization of this objective.

All of these factors signal significantpotential for growth, a necessity, it appearsto me, for lasting vitality. ASOR would bewell served by paying special attention toexpansion of individual memberships (whywould not 2,000 members be possiblewithin five years, especially given the roleof the Lecture Series, outreach functions,enhanced organizational publicity andregional activities?); institutionalmemberships; subscriptions, especially toNear Eastern Archaeology; attendance at theAnnual Meeting (without losing our“family” atmosphere, is attendance of 800-900 in five years not possible?); and anenlarged vision of the possibilities fordevelopment.

RELEVANCEIssues of relevance center around three

factors: 1) the organizational structure ofASOR, especially how ASOR relates to theoverseas centers; 2) the services theorganization provides its members in theirvarious interests and research; and 3) thecontributions ASOR makes to the wider

educational enterprise among the public.Currently, ASOR’s research oppor-

tunities, annual meeting and publicationsprograms address all three factors, albeitwith varying degrees of success. Concernsrelated to ASOR and the centers deservefurther discussion and elucidation. Apotential pandora’s box, it neverthelessdemands intentional conversation. Thisshould not be seen as a threat to anyelement, but rather as a way of clarifyingties and ensuring a positive future.Hopefully, with greater attention to publiclectures, regional activities and formalefforts in public relations, ASOR willbecome more and more successful inachieving its educational goals for a wideraudience.

VIABILITYThe viability of ASOR’s future will

depend to a large degree on the continuedenthusiastic participation and support of itsleaders and members, its adherence tohistoric principles and standards, its focuson its academic mission and thedissemination of results to membership andthe wider public. But, while these are strongforces well at work within ASOR, and willbe for the foreseeable future, the financialunderpinnings absolutely must come up toa higher standard. Running an organizationlike ASOR in hand-to-mouth fashion willsimply not do. This is to fault no one whoworks to overcome our financial plight. Iam encouraged with recent achievementsin this regard: the tedious and painfulswitch to an accrual-based accountingsystem, some success with the TorchCampaign, movement toward moreintentional board development, increasedenergy and focus on institutionalmembership growth, commitments on thepart of the new leadership to dedicate timeand energy to fundraising and foundationsupport, further conversations aboutplanned giving. But only as ASOR findsways to increase significantly its fund-raising capacity and endowments, will itever realize its full potential.

My Vision for ASOR

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 13

By Philip J. King

Leon Levy was one of the finest people Ihave ever known. He was so intelligent,so kind, so generous, so inclusive, sounpretentious. During my years asPresident of ASOR (1976–1982) he, alongwith Joy Ungerleider, Dick Scheuer and afew others, were the backbone of ASOR.Were it not for their munificence, ASORwould not have survived. The presidencyof ASOR is never an easy job, but in mycase, with the support (in all areas) of Leon,the burden became a pleasure.

I recall the first Trustees meeting Leonattended in 1976. I was hoping all wouldgo smoothly, lest he be “turned off” by thecontentiousness that sometimescharacterized those meetings. True to form,that meeting was especially contentious; Iwas certain Leon would not remain onboard. I was very wrong. When Iapologized for the raucousness, he told methat such animated participation was a signof vitality, and that it encouraged him tostay on as a Trustee during my tenure andfor several years afterwards.

Leon was intensly interested in everyaspect of the ASOR enterprise, especiallythe excavations. He and his wife, ShelbyWhite, who shared his enthusiasm for theancient world, visited practically all ofASOR-sponsored digs, and others as well,on both sides of the Jordan. They did notallow the divisive political realities of theMiddle East to deter them from supportingdigs quite apart from their location.

To sponsor a dig from start to finish wasLeon’s great ambition. He used to tell meto find him a creative archaeologist, not

Leon Levy: In Memoriam

simply a technician, and he would see theproject through to publication. This wasrealized when Larry Stager undertook theAshkelon excavations. Every season Leonand Shelby arrived at Ashkelon toparticipate in the digging. Leon’s skills didnot match Shelby’s, so he was quite contentto tour the site each day with Larry Stager,whom he interrogated about every stratumand every sherd while not losing sight ofthe longue duree.

Leon and Shelby were keenly aware ofthe importance of publishing the results ofexcavations, especially in view of the poorpublishing record of many Near Easternarchaeologists. To correct the deficiencyhe established the Shelby White-Leon LevyProgram for Archaeological Publications towhich all archaeologists are free to apply.Each year for the past seven of its existencethe White-Levy Program has awardedgrants in a generous amount. To myknowledge, this Program is unique.

Archaeology was only one of Leon’sinterests. Few know how broadly hisphilanthropy extended, a subject he neverdiscussed. He used to say facetiously thathe loved to make money, but even more heloved to give it away. Those of us who knowhow generous he was to archaeology ingeneral and to ASOR in particular aresaddened when myopic people, includingsome recipients of his largesse, are so quickto disparage him.

I was always so pleased when heintroduced me as his “rabbi.” I have lostone of my best friends.

A Special Note of Thanks to Sheila Bishop

The Annual Meeting of ASOR is a costly endeavor. Most of the expense is borneby participants through their registration fees, as well as other sources of support, but it isespecially nice when someone or some group covers or contributes to the expense of oneof our events. P.E. MacAllister has often underwritten the opening reception. Othershave done something similar. We are all in their debt.

Given the special opportunity afforded us to bridge the distance between ASORscholars attending the Annual Meeting and the Atlanta public by means of the Thursdayevening Bleiberg lecture at the Carlos Museum, we all benefited from the generosity ofanother ASOR member. Sheila Bishop, Director of The Foundation for BiblicalArchaeology, kindly underwrote the spectacular reception at the Carlos. Our sincerethanks to Sheila for helping us cap off a fine evening in splendid fashion with superbrefreshments.

CAMP, cont’d from page 4

Rami Khouri addresses ASOR at a special ses-sion on “The Future of American Archaeologyin the Post-Saddam Middle East”

inactive. With continued funding, goodprogramming and hard work, the regionalsocieties should continue to grow. “Stage2” should include official letters ofaffiliation from ASOR, regularized fundingof a sufficient amount to allow the regionalsocieties to develop a greater partnershipwith SBL, AAR and AOS, betterprogramming and plenary speakers, andpublicity.

Eight of the eleven regional societiesappear to be well established now, in termsof their co-sponsorship with SBL (or otherorganization), their annual call-for papers,programming, and concerns (especiallyamong the newer groups), to grow theirprograms and expand participation amongASOR members. We have had a goodresponse to the Newsletter deadline forsubmission of the Call for Papers. Theseparate Regional Affiliations page on theASOR website is a good first step atcoordinating all the societies. Buildingupon these strengths, we hope to regularizeseveral items (publicity [through the ASORwebsite, newsletters, teacher workshops,etc.], funding requests, etc.), to discuss waysto bring the affiliations to a full complementof eleven, and to discuss various ideas topromote and develop interest in theregional groups by the general ASORmembership.

HONORS AND AWARDSCOMMITTEE

(Martha Risser, chair)A full report on ASOR’s evening of

honors and awardswill appear in the Springissue of this Newsletter.

14 ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003

W O R L DA R C H A E O L O G YBibliography ofArchaeological Excavationsin the Southern Levant

Near Eastern Studies: Abzu, and themultiple rich image databases being createdin the discipline.

Scholarship is enhanced by technologicalinnovations that facilitate communicationand expedite the efficient sharing ofresearch and ideas. No less than otherdisciplines, the study of the ancient NearEast promises to be enriched significantlyby the development of a singular, far-reaching resource for research that will bewidely accessible to professionals andamateurs alike. To that end, ETANA bringstogether a consortium of universities andacademic societies in order to develop andmaintain a comprehensive, unified Internetsite for the study of the ancient Near East.

ETANA is a cooperative project of:American Oriental Society | AmericanSchools of Oriental Research | CaseWestern Reserve University | CobbInstitute of Archaeology at Mississippi State| Oriental Institute of the University ofChicago | Society of Biblical Literature |Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute ofArchaeology of Tel Aviv University |Vanderbilt University | VirginiaPolytechnic and State University

Support for ETANA has been providedby funding from the Andrew W. MellonFoundation (8/00 to 2/02, 6/01 to 8/02) andthe National Science Foundation(Continuing grant IIS-0325579).

ETANA-Abzu-news

We are pleased to announce theavailability of a new mailing list that willserve to inform the public of developmentsat ETANA: Electronic Tools and AncientNear Eastern Archives, and of additions toAbzu, ETANA’s guide to the ancient NearEast on-line. Instructions for adding youraddress to the list can be found at:

https://listhost.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/ETANA-Abzu-news

The ETANA project seeks to serve as amodel of how a discipline-specific contentsite in ancient Near Eastern Studies can beconstructed to become the dominant sitefor that discipline. ETANA will take aleadership role in developing standardsspecific to this discipline, test altruisticfunding models, utilize OpenArchivemetadata standards and create discipline-specific harvest engines to work with thesemetadata. ETANA will create a structurewhereby scholarship can be accessible fromdata capture to finished scholarship on asingle site. It will host data capture andaccess, core texts and born-digitalpublications in an environment of rightsmanagement, appropriate levels of peerreview, and archival permanence. ETANAencompasses the primary portal in ancient

The proliferation of archaeologicalresearch in the southern Levant in recentyears has resulted in a veritable flood ofinformation.

Unfortunately, existing bibliographictools fail to provide efficient and effectiveaccess to this information. Instead,researchers must consult a variety of toolswhich are difficult to use, notcomprehensive and not widely available.Fortunately, the World Wide Web providesan unprecedented opportunity to addressthis problem. One step towards therealization of this potential is the“Bibliography of ArchaeologicalExcavations in the Southern Levant”(BAESL), a web-based database designedto provide bibliographic access toinformation in all formats on archaeologicalexcavations in the southern Levant fromthe beginnings of scientific exploration inthe 19th century to the present. Expandingon the work of such scholars as EleanorVogel and Larry Herr, BAESL includescomplete bibliographic data on scholarlymonographs, popular books, editedcollections, reference works, articles, bookreviews, preliminary reports, theses,dissertations, microforms and publicationsin various electronic formats, including websites. BAESL supports both simple andsophisticated queries using a full set ofboolean operators and allows searching bykeyword, title, author, site name andarchaeological period. Users may print outcitations or download them in a variety offormats. Facilities are also provided for usersto report errors and recommend additionsto the database. BAESL will be updatedon a quarterly basis and will remain freelyavailable to anyone with access to theWorld Wide Web. A beta version ofBAESL containing nearly 15,000 referencesis now available for searching at http://library.weber.edu/cm/wkotter/baesl.cfm.

AncientNearEast.net

The Excavation Volunteers page inAncientNearEast.net has been updated toprovide further outline details ofExcavation Opportunities for 2004 andestablish links back to excavation websitesand email contact addresses: www.ancientneareast.net/volunteers.html

This page will be progressively updatedas new information comes to hand over thenext few weeks and months. Experimentswill also be conducted as to the optimumformatting for this page and its information—all suggestions will be received withinterest.

As usual, Israel is well representedamongst excavations seeking volunteers. Inorder to provide a wide variety of

excavation opportunities, however, wewould also very much like to hear fromdirectors of excavations in Jordan, Turkey,Cyprus and elsewhere. Egyptianexcavations are also more than welcome,though we recognise the unique security /personnel issues that excavation in Egyptentails which might preclude an openlisting.

AncientNearEast.net is a popular portalsite (in excess of 500 visitors a day) and canhelp provide excellent publicity for anyrelevant expeditions. Directors andcoordinators of excavations proceedingnext year (2004) should forwardinformation to the editor@ancientneareast.net ASAP in order to have their initiativeincluded in our listing (free of charge,naturally!)

ASOR Newsletter Vol. 53/4 • Winter 2003 15

February 20–22, 2004SOMA 2004. The eighth annual meeting for postgraduate researchersin Mediterranean Archaeology, Trinity College Dublin. The symposiumprovides an informal setting for predoctoral researchers across Europeand beyond to come together to present and discuss their works inprogress. Contact: email: soma@tcd.ie; web: www.tcd.ie/Classics/soma/somahome.html

February 20–24, 2004Midwest Region of the American Schools of Oriental Research. OlivetNazarine University Bourbonnais, IL. Contact K. L. Younger, TrinityInternational University, 2065 Half Day Rd., Deerfield, IL 60016, email:lyounger@trin.edu.

March 6–7, 2004ASOR Southwest Regional Meeting. The Harvey Hotel, Dallas (DFWAirport; 972 929-4500). Contact: Stephen Von Wyrick, University of MaryHardin-Baylor. Email: swyrick@umhb.edu

March 12–15, 2004214th meeting of the American Oriental Society. DoubleTree Hotel(Mission Valley), 7450 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92108. Con-tact: www.umich.edu/~aos/

March 21–22, 2004Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Region of the Society of Bibli-cal Literature with the American Schools of Oriental Research willbe held at Whittier College in Whittier, CA. Contact: (Bible and Ar-chaeology) Tammi J. Schneider, School of Religion, The ClaremontGraduate University, Claremont, CA 91711, 909-607-3217,Tammi.Schneider@cgu.edu; (The Archaeology of the Ancient Near East)Beth Alpert Nakhai, The University of Arizona, 816 E. University Blvd.,Tucson, AZ 85721, 520-206-9748, bnakhai@email.arizona.edu.

March 26–28, 2004Across the Ages: Archaeological Transitions and the Reconstructionof Old Testament History. Evang. Freizeitheim Aichenbach -Schorndorf. Contact: Peter van der Veen, van_der_Veen@t-online.de.

March 28–29, 2004ASOR Midwest States Regional Meeting. Holity Inn Westport, St.Louis, MO. ASOR invites paper proposals on any aspect of ancient NearEastern or Mediterranean archaeology, the history and culture of theancient Near East, or graphic displays of ancient architecture, materialculture, or everyday life. Send proposals to: Dr. Victor H. Matthews,Southwest Missouri State University, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield,MO 65804. Ph: (417) 836-5529. Fax: (417) 836-8472. Email:vhm970f@smsu.edu

March 28–April 3, 20044th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient NearEast - 4ICAANE, Berlin. Contact: www.4Icaane.de.

April 1–2, 2004The Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society, Oglebay’s Resort in Wheel-ing, WV. Contact: Suzanne Richard, Box 3161, Gannon University, Uni-versity Square, Erie, PA 16541. Email: Richard@Gannon.edu

April 13–17, 2004Computer Applications & Quantitative Methods to Archaeology. Prato,Italy. Contact: Email: info@caa2004.org. Web: www.caa2004.org.

April 16–17, 2004Upper Midwest Regional Meeting of the AAR, SBL and ASOR. LutherSeminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Contact: http://umw-aarsbl.org/proposal.htm.

April 17–18, 2004Becoming Divine: Concepts of Immortality in the Ancient World.Contact Richard Short (short@fas.harvard.edu). Abstracts of no morethan 500 words should be mailed to the following address by Novem-ber 15, 2003: Dept of the Classics, ATTN: Graduate Conference, 204Boylston Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.

April 19–22, 2004The Levant in Transition: the Intermediate Early Bronze Age. A Four-Day International Conference. Clore Education Centre, British Museum.Contact: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ane/anenoev.html

C A L E N D A RC O N F E R E N C EMay 7–9, 2004

Association of Ancient Historians. Ann Arbor, MI. Theme: Percep-tions of Change: In the Ancient World, Of the Ancient World. Contact:www.lsa.umich.edu/aah.

May 7–9, 2004Pacific Northwest Regional ASOR Conference. University of BritishColumbia and Simon Fraser University. Contact: Douglas Clark, WallaWalla College, clardo@wwc.edu.

May 20, 2004The 4th Middle Bronze Age Study Group Workshop. Nelson GlueckSchool of Biblical Archaeology, Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem.Theme: Social Constructs of the Middle Bronze Age. Contacts: ArenMaeir (maeira@mail.biu.ac.il), David Ilan (dilan@huc.edu) and EzraMarcus (ezra@research.haifa.ac.il).

June 4–5, 2004Dialogues between Sculpture and Archaeology. International Con-ference at the Henry Moore Institute. Contact: Liz Aston,Henry MooreInstitute, e-mail: liz@henry-moore.ac.uk.

June 18–21, 20043d International Conference: “Hierarchy and Power in the History ofCivilizations.” Co-sponsored by the Russian Academy of Sciences, theCenter for Civilizational and Regional Studies and the Institute for Af-rican Studies, 30/1 Spiridonovka St., 123001 Moscow, RUSSIA. Tel.: +(7 095) 291 4119; Fax: + (7 095) 202 0786. E-mail: civ-reg@inafr.ru. Con-tacts: Prof. Dmitri M. Bondarenko, Dr. Igor L. Alexeev, and Mr. Oleg I.Kavykin preferably by e-mail <conf2004@hotmail.com>, or either byfax (+ 7 095 202 0786), or by ordinary mail (Center for Civilizationaland Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 30/1 SpiridonovkaSt., 123001 Moscow, Russia). Tel: + 7 095 291 4119.

June 20–22, 2004Confronting Catastrophe in the Ancient World. Contact: Dr ErhanAltunel, Osmangazi University, Eskesehir, ealtunel@ogu.edu.tr or DrIain Stewart, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. Tel: +44(0) 141 330 6653 or ext. 6653; Fax: +44 (0) 141 330 4894; E-mail:istewart@geog.gla.ac.uk.

July 25–28, 2004SBL International Meeting. Groningen, The Netherlands. Contact:www.sbl-site.org.

July 25–28, 2004European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS) and the Europeanbranch of the Society for Biblical Studies will jointly convene an inter-national meeting in Groningen, the Netherlands. Contact:www.shef.ac.uk/bibs/EABS/news.htm.

August 2–6, 200450th rencontre assyriologique internationale. Theme: Fauna and Florain the Ancient Near East. To be held at the Skukuza (Kruger NationalPark, South Africa). Contact: http://www.unisa.ac.za/rai50/.

September 17–19, 2004Hittites, Greeks and Their Neighbors in Ancient Anatolia: An Inter-national Conference on Cross-Cultural Interaction. Emory Univer-sity, Atlanta, GA. Keynote speaker: Walter Burkert. Abstract deadlineMarch 21, 2004. Contact: Billie Jean Collins, Department of Middle East-ern Studies, S312 Callaway Center, Emory University, Atlana, GA 30322.Email: bcollin@emory.edu.

October 21–23, 2004Fiscality in Mycenaean and Near Eastern Archives, Naples, Italy. TheConference, organised by M. Rosaria De Divitiis and Massimo Perna,will be held at the Soprintendenza Archivistica della Campania inNaples, PalazzoMarigliano, via S. Biagio dei Librai n.39, 80138. Con-tact Massimo Perna: via F. Crispi 72, 80121 Napoli, Italia. e-mail:massimo-perna@rdm-web.com.

September 5–9, 2005Sixth International Congress of Hittitology. Università di Roma - LaSapienza. Contact: rita.francia@tin.it.

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