Academic program

2I. Peoples of the Mountain: Settlement Dynamics in the Galilean Highlands II

Webster
Theme: The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods in Galilee—Society, Ethnicity, and Materiality

CHAIR: Andrea M. Berlin (Boston University)
PRESENTERS:
10:40

Uzi Leibner (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “Material Culture, Settlement, and Ethnicity in Hellenistic Period Galilee”‎ (20 min.)

11:05

Roi Sabar (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “Ethnic Boundaries and Settlement History in the Eastern Upper Galilee during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods: Results of a High Resolution Site Survey” (20 min.)

11:30

Mordechai Aviam (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee), “Phoenician Material Culture Influence in Upper Galilee during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods” (20 min.)

11:55

Jacob Ashkenazi (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee) and Mordechai Aviam (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee), “Economic Growth and Religious Materiality in Christian Galilee in Late Antiquity” (20 min.)

12:20

A.D. Riddle (Trinity International University), “The Evidentiary Bases for Mapping Ancient Roads in Southern Lebanon” (20 min.)

2J. Houses and Households in the Near East: Archaeology and History I

Hancock

Theme: Foundation Deposits and Household Ritualized Burials. Presentations explore the purpose of foundation deposits in domestic contexts and offer a particular focus on the burial of humans, including infants, and animals as part of these ritualized deposits.
CHAIRS: Aaron Brody (Pacific School of Religion) and Sharon R. Steadman (SUNY Cortland)
PRESENTERS:
10:40

Introduction (5 min.)

10:45

Miriam Müller (Leiden University), “Foundation Ceremonies in Near Eastern and Egyptian Domestic Architecture” (15 min.)

11:05

Yağmur Heffron (University College London), “Domestic Space and Religious Admixture in Kültepe-Kanesh” (15 min.)

11:25

Haskel Greenfield (University of Manitoba), Tina Greenfield (University of Saskatchewan), Elizabeth Arnold (Grand Valley State University), Aren Maeir (Bar-Ilan University), “A Bunch of Asses: Recent Asinine Discoveries from Early Bronze Tell es-Safi/Gath” (15 min.)

11:45

Melissa Cradic (University of California, Berkeley), “Residential Burial and Social Memory in the Middle Bronze Age Levant” (15 min.)

12:05

Timothy Matney (University of Akron), “Infant Burial Practices as Domestic Funerary Ritual at Early Bronze Age Titriş Höyük” (15 min.)

12:25

Burcu Yıldırım (Middle East Technical University), Laurel D. Hackley (Brown University), and Sharon R. Steadman (SUNY Cortland), “Sanctifying the House: Child Burial in Prehistoric Anatolia” (15 min.)

1:00–1:55pm Junior Scholars’ Panel
Harbor 1

CHAIR: Heather Dana Davis Parker (Johns Hopkins University)

1:10
Vanessa Juloux (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University), “What Exactly Are the Digital Humanities and Why Should Scholars of the Ancient Near East Care?”

2:00–4:05pm Session 3
3A. The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq II

Harbor 1

Theme: Recent research focused on the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age (Neo-Assyrian Period) in the Kurdistan Region.
CHAIR: Jason Ur (Harvard University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Introduction (5 min.)
2:05

Claudia Glatz (University of Glasgow), and Jesse Casana (Dartmouth College), “Sketching out Imperial Handlungsräume in the Zagros-Mesopotamian Interface—Recent Results from the Sirwan Regional Project and Khani Masi Excavations” (15 min.)

2:25

Hasam Qasim (Directorate of Antiquities, Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq), “A New Neo-Assyrian Palace at Sêmêl Hill Rescue Excavations of the Duhok Directorate of Antiquities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq” (15 min.)

2:45

Shin Nishiyama (Chubu University), “Iron Age Village and City in Iraqi Kurdistan: Results from Qalat Said Ahmadan and Yasin Tepe” (15 min.)

3:05

Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault (École Pratique des Hautes Études / Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University), “Before the Assyrians, After the Assyrians: News from Qasr Shemamok” (15 min.)

3:25

Lisa Cooper (University of British Columbia), “Archaeological Reflections of Identity in the Late Assyrian Period Remains at Bestansur, Kurdistan” (15 min.)

3:45

Jason Herrmann (University of Tübingen) and Paola Sconzo (University of Tübingen), “Environmental Influences on Survey Results and Settlement Patterns, Eastern Ḫabur Region, Iraqi Kurdistan” (15 min.)

3B. Archaeology and Biblical Studies I

Harbor 2
Theme: This session explores the intersections between and among history, archaeology, and the Jewish and/or Christian Bibles and related texts.

CHAIR: Jonathan Rosenbaum (Gratz College)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Introduction (5 min.)

2:05
Aaron Demsky (Bar-Ilan University), “Rabbi Estori Haparhi, the Father of Biblical Historical Geography” (15 min.)
2:25
Dale Manor (Harding University), “Toys ‘R’ Us at Tel Beth-Shemesh” (15 min.)
2:45
Peter Feinman (Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education), “Rethinking Israel: The 400-Year Stories of the Hyksos and Israel” (15 min.)
3:05
Richard Hess (Denver Seminary), “Cultural Contexts Compared: The Onomastic Profiles of the Books of Joshua and Judges” (15 min.)
3:25
Amit Dagan (Bar-Ilan University) and Aren Maeir (Bar-Ilan University), “‘And the Gods of the Philistines’ (Judges 10:6): Understanding Philistine Cultic Practices in Light of Archaeological and Textual Evidence” (15 min.)
3:45
Robert Miller (The Catholic University of America), “The Archaeology of Midianite Religion and Yahweh’s Southern Origins” (15 min.)
3C. Archaeology of Israel II

Harbor 3

Theme: This session focuses on the presentation of data from recent excavations of Bronze and Iron Age sites in Israel.
CHAIR: J. P. Dessel (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) and Rachel Hallote (Purchase College SUNY)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Introduction (5 min.)

2:05

Haggai Cohen Klonymus (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “The Renewed Excavation in Teluliyot Batashi—A View from the Southernmost Wadi Rabah Sites” (15 min.)

2:25

Marcin Czarnowicz (Jagiellonian University in Kraków), Krysztof Ciałowicz (Jagiellonian University in Kraków), Agnieszka Ochał-Czarnowicz (Jagiellonian University in Kraków), Yuval Yekutieli (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), Eli Cohen-Sasson (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), Eliot Braun (Jagiellonian University in Kraków), Dmitry Yegorov (Israel Antiquities Authority), and Ianir Milevski (Israel Antiquities Authority), “Tel Erani: The Jagellonian and Ben-Gurion Universities and Israel Antiquities Authority Excavations (2013-2017)” (15 min.)

2:45

Geoffrey Ludvik (University of Wisconsin–Madison), “Hard Stone Beads and Socio-Economic Interaction in the Intermediate Bronze Age: Tracing Foreign Connections with Israel in the Third Millennium B.C.E.” (15 min.)
3:05

Jacob Damm (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles), “Pots and People: Imperial Collapse and Identity Negotiation at New Kingdom Jaffa” (15 min.)

3:25

Jeffrey Blakely (University of Wisconsin–Madison), “The So-Called ‘Governor’s Residencies’ at Tell el-Hesi” (15 min.)

3:45

Zvi Lederman (Tel Aviv University), “Water for the Royal Horses: Rethinking Iron Age II Water Systems” (15 min.)

3D. Ancient Inscriptions III
Burroughs
CHAIRS: Heather Dana Davis Parker (Johns Hopkins University) and Michael Langlois (University of Strasbourg)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Introduction (5 min.)
2:05
Janling Fu (Harvard University), “A Thick Description of the Tabnit Sarcophagus” (15 min.)
2:25
Andrew Burlingame (University of Chicago), “Eshmunazor’s Last Full ‘Measure’ of

Devotion? An Old Reading and a New Interpretation of KAI 14:19” (15 min.)

2:45

Dov Gera (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), “The Greek Inscriptions from Maresha” (15 min.)

3:05
Gil Gambash (University of Haifa) and Assaf Yasur-Landau (University of Haifa), “Governor of Judea, Patron of Dor: A New Inscription of Gargilius Antiquus” (15 min.)
3:25
Gaby Abou Samra (Lebanese University), “The Arabic Inscriptions in Deir Es-Salib Church in the Qadisha Valley (Lebanon)” (15 min.)
3:45

General Discussion (20 min.)

3E. Southern Phoenicia Initiative I (Workshop)
Carlton
The Southern Phoenicia Initiative is a newly formed working group that seeks to establish research ties across key sites in the region of southern Phoenicia. We aim to use the workshop to outline common agendas of the group, develop research questions, and propose common protocols for projects.
CHAIR: Becky Martin (Boston University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Introduction (5 min.)

2:05

Ilan Sharon (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “The Southern Phoenicia Initiative: Defining Space and Chronology” (10 min.)

2:15

Ayelet Gilboa (University of Haifa), “Early Iron Age Phoenicia as a Construct and Tool” (10 min.)

2:25

Becky Martin (Boston University), “‘Phoenicianism’ in the Persian Period: Definitions and Problems” (10 min.)

2:35

Jessica Nitschke (Stellenbosch University; University of Cape Town), “Southern Phoenicia in the Hellenistic and Roman Eras” (10 min.)

2:45

Assaf Yasur-Landau (University of Haifa), “The Contribution of Underwater Archaeology to the Study of Southern Phoenicia” (10 min.)

2:55
Discussion (20 min.)
3:15
Meir Edrey (Tel Aviv University), “Burial Diversity in Phoenicia and Its Social Implications” (15 min.)
3:30

Paula Waiman-Barak (University of Haifa), “Phoenician Maritime Transport Containers of the Early Iron Age, a Provenance Analysis” (15 min.)

3:45

Discussion (20 min.)

3F. Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Bronze and Iron Ages III
Lewis
CHAIR: Eric Lee Welch (University of Kansas)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Introduction (5 min.)
2:05

Itzhaq Shai (Ariel University), Debi Cassuto (Bar-Ilan University), and Chris McKinny (Texas A&M University Corpus Christi), “Tel Burna Archaeological Project: The Results of the 2016–2017 Seasons” (15 min.)

2:25

Hoo-Goo Kang (Seoul Jangsin University), “The City Gate of Tel Lachish Level V: Where Is It?” (15 min.)

2:45

Gerald Mattingly (Johnson University) and Mark Green (Indiana State University), “Where the Lines of Evidence Converge: Dating the Origin of Khirbat al-Mudaybi‘, on Central Jordan’s Karak Plateau” (15 min.)

3:05

Yifat Thareani (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Jerusalem), “Movers and Shakers of the Ancient Near East: Assyria’s Deportation Policy in Light of the Archaeological Evidence from Tel Dan” (15 min.)

3:25

Assaf Kleiman (Tel Aviv University) “The Invisible Kingdom? Settlement Oscillations in the Northern Jordan Valley and State Formation in Southwestern Syria” (15 min.)

3:45

David Kertai (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “The Architecture of the Gaze: Palace J/K at Zincirli” (15 min.)

3G. Connectivities in The Near East: Social Impact of Shifting Networks I
Otis
Theme: Connectivity and its impact from the Neolithic period through the Bronze Ages will be the focus of this session, covering regions from Anatolia, the Levant, and reaching Egypt. Chronological discourse as well as a look into material culture will be presented.
CHAIR: Barbara Horejs (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology [OREA], Austrian Academy of Sciences)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Barbara Horejs (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology [OREA], Austrian Academy of Sciences) and Arkadiusz Marciniak (Poznan University), “Connecting and Constructing: Pathways to the Late Neolithic of Central and Western Anatolia” (20 min.)

2:25

Christoph Schwall (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology [OREA], Austrian Academy of Sciences), Barbara Horejs (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology [OREA], Austrian Academy of Sciences), Moritz Numrich (Curt-Engelhorn-Centre Archaeometry), and Ernst Pernicka (Curt-Engelhorn-Centre Archaeometry; Institute of Geosciences, Heidelberg University), “The Early Bronze Age Gold Treasures of Troy and Related Finds: Indicators for the Connectivity of Rising Elites?” (20 min.)

2:50

Felix Höflmayer (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology [OREA], Austrian Academy of Sciences) and Katharina Streit (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “Tracing Transformations in the Southern Levant at the Transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age” (20 min.)

3:15

Katharina Streit (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “Fluctuating Connectivity of the Levant and Mesopotamia—A Longue Durée View of Long Distance Ties from the Pottery Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age” (20 min.)

3:40

Bettina Bader (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology [OREA], Austrian Academy of Sciences), “Technological and Morphological Differences in Pottery Production in Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period (1700–1550 B.C.): Signs of Changing Regional Connectivity?” (20 min.)

3H. Madaba Plains Project at 50: Tall Jalul
Stone
CHAIR: Randall Younker (Andrews University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

David Merling (Andrews University) and Randall Younker (Andrews University), “In the Trenches at Jalul: Struggles, Strategies, Discoveries” (20 min.)

2:25
Constance Gane (Andrews University), “Jalul and the Empires of the North” (20 min.)
2:50
Paul Gregor (Andrews University), “Tall Jalul: What Happened to Amorite Heshbon?” (20 min.)
3:15
Paul Ray (Andrews University), “Jalul and the Mesha Inscription: Was Tall Jalul Biblical Bezer?” (20 min.)
3:40
Randall Younker (Andrews University), “Jalul and the Modified High Chronology for the Iron Age IIA–B” (20 min.)

3I. The Synagogue at Horvat Kur
Webster
CHAIR: Byron R. McCane (Florida Atlantic University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Stefan Münger (Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Bern), “Introduction to the Kinneret Regional Project” (10 min.)

2:15

Tine Rassalle (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Rick Bonnie (University of Helsinki), and Annalize Reeder (University of Augsburg), “Architecture and Stratigraphy of the Horvat Kur Synagogue Area” (15 min.)

2:35

Philip Bes (Leiden University) and Dennis Braekmans (Leiden University), “Fifty Shades of Clay: Roman and Byzantine Pottery from the Horvat Kur Synagogue (Galilee, Israel)” (15 min.)

2:55

Patrick Wyssmann (University of Bern), “The Numismatic Evidence from Horvat Kur” (15 min.)

3:15

Jürgen Zangenberg (Leiden University), “The ‘Mysterious’ Stone Table and Its Functional Context in the Synagogue at Horvat Kur (Galilee)” (15 min.)

3:35

Byron R. McCane (Florida Atlantic University), “The Mosaic Floor in the Horvat Kur Synagogue: Context and Interpretation” (15 min.)

3:55
Discussion (10 min.)

3J. Houses and Households in the Near East: Archaeology and History II
Hancock
Theme: Social Identity and Material Culture. Presentations explore the interconnection between houses and structures, material culture, and the social identity imparted by both building and objects.
CHAIR: Laura Battini (Laboratoire PROCLAC–Collège de France, Paris)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Monique Vincent (La Sierra University), “Households, Communities, and Dimensions of Social Identity in the Early Iron Age at Tall al-‘Umayri, Jordan” (20 min.)

2:25

Clemens Reichel (University of Toronto / Royal Ontario Museum), “House or Household? Intricate Overlaps between Domestic and Administrative/Economic Space in Late Chalcolithic Hamoukar” (20 min.)

2:50

Janelle Batkin-Hall (University of Michigan), “Live and Let Dye: Fabrication and Dye Characterization of Roman-Period ‘Dolls’ from Karanis, Egypt” (20 min.)

3:15

S. Thomas Parker (North Carolina State University), “Ceramic Imports to Petra: Domestic versus Funerary Contexts” (20 min.)

3:40

Heather D. Baker (University of Toronto), “Quantifying the Use of Space in the Babylonian House of the First Millennium B.C.” (20 min.)

3K. Object, Text, and Image: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Seals, Sealing Practices, and Administration I

Griffin

Theme: Object, Text, and Image: Views through Object and Administrative Function and Context
CHAIRS: Sarah J. Scott (Wagner College) and Oya Topcuoglu (Northwestern University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Introduction (5 min.)
2:05
Denise Schmandt-Besserat (University of Texas), “Early Administrative Technologies: Tokens And Seals” (15 min)
2:25
Holly Pittman (University of Pennsylvania), “Appropriated Images: What Do They Tell Us about Cultural Interaction in the Bronze Age of Exchange?” (15 min)
2:45
Clelia Paladre (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, French National Center for Scientific Research—CNRS), “The Early Third Millennium B.C.E. Seal Impressions from Susa Housed in the Louvre Museum—A New Contribution” (15 min)
3:05
Diana Stein (Birkbeck, University of London), “A New Angle on the Contest Scene: Exploring Its Context on Seals and Sealings of the Third Millennium B.C.” (15 min.)
3:25
Ann-Kathrin Jeske (University of Vienna), “Reassessment of Seals and Scarabs to Reconstruct Egyptian Engagement in the Southern and Central Levant” (15 min)
3:45
Marta Ameri (Colby College), “Imagery and Material Choice in the Glyptic Arts of the Harappan World” (15 min.)

4:20–6:25pm Session 4

4A. The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq III

Harbor 1

Theme: Recent research focused on the Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, and Islamic Periods in the Kurdistan Region.
CHAIR: Jason Ur (Harvard University)
PRESENTERS:
4:20

Introduction (5 min.)

4:25

Rocco Palermo (University of Groningen), “Empires and the Rural Landscape: New Data from the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project and the Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey for the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods” (15 min.)

4:45

Tina Greenfield (University of Saskatchewan), “Frontiers of Empires—A Zooarchaeological Perspective of the Neo-Assyrian and Hellenistic Presence along the Zagros Foothills of Kurdistan” (15 min.)

5:05

Gianfilippo Terribili (Sapienza University of Rome) and Camilla Insom (L’Orientale University of Naples), “In the Shade of a Tree: Religious Patterns in the Kurdistan Region from Late Antiquity to Modern Times” (15 min.)

5:25

Kyra Kaercher (University of Cambridge), “Excavations at Gird-i Dasht, 2013–2016” (15 min.)

5:45

Luca Colliva (Sapienza University of Rome), “Preliminary Results of the MAIKI—Italian Archaeological Mission in Iraqi Kurdistan—2016 and 2017 Campaigns” (15 min.)

6:05

John MacGinnis (British Museum), “The Darband-i Rania Archaeological Project” (15 min.)

4B. Archaeology and Biblical Studies II

Harbor 2

Theme: This session explores the intersections between and among history, archaeology, and the Jewish and/or Christian Bibles and related texts.
CHAIR: Jonathan Rosenbaum (Gratz College)
Introduction (5 min.)
PRESENTERS:
4:20
Rami Arav (University of Nebraska at Omaha), “‘I was a city wall, and my breasts were like towers; then I was in his eyes as one who brings peace’ (Song of Solomon 8:10): Walls and Towers in the Archaeology of the Iron Age Southern Levant” (15 min.)
4:40
Jean-Philippe Delorme (University of Toronto), “Pekah and Aram-Damascus: An Onomastic Investigation into the Name of Pekah of Israel and its Historical Implications” (15 min.)
5:00
Mitka R. Golub (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Shira J. Golani (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “Judean Personal Names in the Book of Jeremiah in Light of Archaeological Evidence” (15 min.)
5:20
Yossi Nagar (Israel Antiquities Authority), Hanania Hizmi (Israel Antiquities Authority), and Yevgeny Aharonovich (Israel Antiquities Authority), “The People of Qumran—New Discoveries and Paleo-demographic Interpretations” (15 min.)
5:40
Oren Gutfeld (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Ahiad Ovadia (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “Old Cave–New Project: The Renewed Excavations in Qumran Cave 53” (15 min.)
6:00

Clint Burnett (Boston College), “Gaius (Caligula) and His Almost Sojourn in Yahweh’s Temple” (15 min.)

4C. Archaeology and History of Feasting and Foodways

Harbor 3
CHAIRS: Margaret Cohen (W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research), Deirdre Fulton (Baylor University), and Elizabeth Arnold (Grand Valley State University)

PRESENTERS:
4:20

Introduction (5 min.)

4:25
Melissa Sharp (University of Tübingen), “Under the Influence: Communal Drinking, Ceramic Styles, and Identity in the Third Millennium B.C. Syrian Jezirah” (15 min.)

4:45

Daniel Griswold (University at Buffalo), “Feasting and Elite Emulation in the Fifteenth Century Sharon Plain” (15 min.)

5:05

Lidar Sapir-Hen (Tel Aviv University), “Livestock Animals as Symbol and Wealth in the Late Bronze Age–Iron Age in the Southern Levant” (15 min.)

5:25

Elizabeth Arnold (Grand Valley State University), Deirdre Fulton (Baylor University), and James Fulton (Baylor University), “Feeding the Philistine City: An Isotopic Investigation of Animal Resources at Ashkelon in the Iron Age I” (15 min.)

5:45

Laura Mazow (East Carolina University), “The Host and the Hosted: Commensal Politics, Feasting Traditions and Cultural (Mis)understandings at Samson's Wedding” (15 min.)

6:05

Andrew Danielson (University of California, Los Angeles), “Edom in Judah: A Case Study on ‘Edomite’ Presence, Interaction, and Identity in the Negev” (15 min.)

4D. The History of the Early Alphabet

Burroughs

CHAIRS: Orly Goldwasser (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Thomas Schneider (University of British Columbia)
PRESENTERS:
4:20

Introduction (5 min.)

4:25

Ben Haring (Leiden University), “The Earliest Alphabet as a Case of Bricolage” (15 min.)

4:45

Aaron Koller (Yeshiva University), “Early History of the Alphabet: The First Half-Millennium” (15 min.)

5:05

Orly Goldwasser (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “The Role of Egypt in the Development of the Alphabet during the Second Millennium B.C.E.” (15 min.)

5:25

Alice Mandell (University of Wisconsin–Madison), “Script Choice and Iconicity in Canaan: Rethinking the ‘Short’ Alphabetic Texts” (15 min.)

5:45

Christopher Rollston (George Washington University), “The Early Alphabet West and East: Ugarit, Megiddo, and Babylonia” (15 min.)

6:05

Thomas Schneider (University of British Columbia), “Egyptian Transcription Systems for Semitic Languages and the Semitic Alphabet Sequences” (15 min.)