Academic program

6E. Archaeology of Cyprus II

Carlton

Theme: This session focuses on current archaeological research in Cyprus from prehistory to the modern period. Presentations include reports on archaeological fieldwork and survey, artifactual studies, as well as more focused methodological or theoretical discussions.
CHAIRS: Nancy Serwint (Arizona State University) and Walter Crist (Arizona State University)
PRESENTERS:
10:40
Thomas Landvatter (Reed College), “Cremation Practice and Social Meaning in the Ptolemaic East Mediterranean” (15 min.)
11:00
Karolina Rosińska-Balik (Jagiellonian University in Kraków), “Architectural Features of the Agora of Paphos (Cyprus)—Some Remarks” (15 min.)
11:20
Nancy Serwint (Arizona State University), “The Workshops of Ancient Arsinoe” (15 min.)
11:40
Pamela Gaber (Lycoming College), “The 2017 Season of the Lycoming College Expedition to Idalion, Cyprus” (15 min.)
12:00
R. Scott Moore (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Brandon Olson (Metropolitan State University of Denver), and William Caraher (University of North Dakota), “The Circulation of Imported Fine Wares on Cyprus in the Roman and Late Roman Periods” (15 minutes)
12:20

Ann-Marie Knoblauch (Virginia Tech), “Excavating Cesnola: Public Interest in Archaeological Field Techniques in 1880s New York” (15 min.)

6F. Antiochia Hippos of the Decapolis and Its Territorium

Lewis

Theme: Antiochia Hippos (Sussita) of the Decapolis is the last polis to be unearthed in the Land of Israel. The city, founded upon Sussita Mountain, is the center of on-going archaeological research started at 2000. In recent years, the research has expanded to Sussita’s saddle-ridge area and the Territorium of Hippos.
CHAIR: Michael Eisenberg (University of Haifa)
PRESENTERS:
10:40
Introduction (5 min.)
10:45
Chaim Ben David (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee) and Mechael Osband (University of Haifa; Ohalo College), “The Territorial Borders and the Rural Settlements of the Hippos District during the Roman and Byzantine Periods: the Current State of Research and the Contribution from the Recent Excavations at Khirbet Majduliyya” (15 min.)
11:05
Adam Pažout (University of Haifa), “Regional Defenses in the Territory of Hippos: A Spatial Analysis Approach” (15 min.)
11:25
Michael Eisenberg (University of Haifa), “The Urban Expansion at Hippos (Sussita) during the Roman Period: a Newly Excavated Sanctuary at the Saddle-Ridge” (15 min.)
11:45
Arleta Kowalewska (University of Haifa), “The Southern Bathhouse of Antiochia Hippos” (15 min.)
12:05
Stephen Chambers (Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Canada), “A Story in Glass: How Distribution Patterns Assist in the Reconstruction of the History of the Northeast Insula” (15 min.)
12:25
Mark Schuler (Concordia University, St. Paul), “Re-visioning Structures and Spaces: a History of the Northeast Insula at Antiochia Hippos” (15 min.)
6H. Ambiguity in the Ancient Near East: Mental Constructs, Material Records, and Their Interpretations I

Stone
Theme: Papers in this session explore interaction with the divine world, and the labeling and classification of divine beings.

CHAIR: Daniel E. Fleming (New York University)
PRESENTERS:
10:40
Daniel E. Fleming (New York University), Introduction (5 min.)
10:45
Seth Richardson (University of Chicago), “Uncertain Omens and the Ambiguous Future: Prediction and Query as Figure and Ground” (15 min.)
11:05
Elizabeth Knott (New York University), “What’s in a Name? Ištar as Common Noun and Divine Name” (15 min.)
11:25
Nancy Highcock (New York University), “City and God: The Materiality of Old Assyrian Assur” (15 min.)
11:45
Michael Stahl (New York University), “Challenging the Concept of the ‘City God’: ^dNIN.URTA’s Social and Political Agency at Emar” (15 min.)
12:05
Jennifer Singletary (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen), “The Holy Ones: Taxonomies of Divine Beings in the Hebrew Bible” (15 min.)
12:25
Lauren McCormick (Syracuse University), “Fleeting Identity in the Judean Pillar Figurines” (15 min.)
6I. Meeting the Expenses: Ancient Near Eastern Economies II

Webster

Theme: Measuring Value—Hoards and Systems of Weight. The economies of the Ancient Near-East, moving beyond the dichotomy between “ancient” and “modern” economy. In this year our theme includes measuring systems and ways of defining value, wealth deposits (hoards), and economic modes of exchange.
CHAIR: Lorenz Rahmstorf (University of Göttingen)
PRESENTERS:
10:40
Introduction (5 min.)
10:45
Karl Petruso (University of Texas at Arlington), “A Theory of Everything in Ancient Weight Metrology?” (15 min.)
11:05

Raz Kletter (University of Helsinki), “Major Changes on the Road to Small Change: Scale Weights, Hoards, and Modes of Exchange” (15 min.)

11:25

Graciela Gestoso Singer (CEHAO–Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina), “Beyond Amarna: Hoards, Tribute, Gifts, and Exchange of Metals in the Levant” (15 min.)

11:45

Eran Arie (The Israel Museum, Jerusalem), “A New Jewelry Hoard from Iron Age I Megiddo” (15min.)

12:05

Tzilla Eshel (University of Haifa), Naama Yahalom-Mack (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Sariel Shalev (University of Haifa), Yigal Erel (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Ayelet Gilboa (University of Haifa), “Silver Hoards in the Bronze and Iron Age Southern Levant: How was the Quality of Silver Monitored?” (15 min.)

12:25
General Discussion (20 min.)

6J. New Studies on Tel Azekah

Hancock

CHAIR: Yuval Gadot (Tel Aviv University)
PRESENTERS:
10:40
Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv University), “Fortifications, Destructions, and the Life in Between: Azekah after Five Seasons of Excavations” (5 min.)
10:45
Joshua Errington (Tel Aviv University; Macquarie University), “Processes in the Site Formation of Tel Azekah: A Test Case for the Modification of Landscape in the Longue Durée” (15 min.)
11:05

Sabine Kleiman (Tel Aviv University) and Maya Hadash (Tel Aviv University), “Azekah’s Regional and Inter-regional Connections during the 13th and 12th Centuries B.C.E.: A Narrative from Its Ceramic Evidence” (15 min.)

11:25
Lyndelle Webster (Tel Aviv University), “A Radiocarbon-Based Chronology for Late Bronze Age Tel Azekah” (15 min.)
11:45
Karl Berendt (University of Alberta), “The People Left Behind: Disaster Skeletal Assemblage at Tel Azekah, Israel” (15 min.)
12:05
Ido Koch (Tel Aviv University) and Sarah Richardson (University of Manitoba), “A Late Bronze Age III Workshop at Tel Azekah” (15 min.)

12:25
Alexandra Wrathall (Tel Aviv University), “The Resettlement of Azekah: The Iron Age IIA-IIB Ceramic Transition” (15 min.)

12:45–2:00pm ASOR Members’ Meeting
Harbor 1
2:00–4:05pm Session 7
7A. Archaeology of Lebanon II

Harbor 1

Theme: The focus of this session is on current archaeological fieldwork and researches in Lebanon.
CHAIR: Hanan Charaf (Lebanese University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Jeanine Abdul Massih (Lebanese University) and Shin Nishiyama (Chubu University), “New Archaeological Observations and Documentations in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon” (20 min.)
2:25
Paul Newson (American University of Beirut), “Landscape Archaeology in the Central Bekaa: Challenges and Opportunities” (20 min.)
2:50
Zeina Fani Alpi (Lebanese University) and Frédéric Alpi (Institut Français du Proche-Orient), “Eros/Putti Figures during the Greco-Roman Period in Lebanon” (20 min.)
3:15
Anis Chaaya (Lebanese University), “New Insights into the Medieval Castle of Gbail/Byblos, Lebanon” (20 min.)
3:40
Nada Hélou (Lebanese University), “An Early Image of the Virgin on a Tomb from Tyre: An Iconographical Approach” (20 min.)
7B. Art Historical Approaches to the Near East I

Harbor 2

Theme: Challenging the Past. Papers in this session challenge previous approaches to art objects and offer new interpretations of these works.
CHAIR: Allison Thomason (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Pedro Azara (UPC-ETSAB, Barcelona) and Marc Marin (UPC-ETSAB, Barcelona), “Sumer and the Modern Paradigm” (20 min.)
2:25
Virginia Herrmann (University of Tübingen), “Appropriation and Emulation in the Iron Age Gate Sculptures from Zincirli-Sam’al” (20 min.)
2:50
Ariel Winderbaum (Tel Aviv University), “Images of Belief in Iron Age IIA Jerusalem: Iconic Inspection into the Belief Systems of Jerusalem at the Genesis of the Judahite Kingdom” (20 min.)
3:15
Alison Barclay (Saint Mary’s University), “New Thoughts on the ‘Syrianizing’ Bronzes from Mt. Ida, Crete, Ninth-Eighth Centuries B.C.E.” (20 mins.)
3:40
Shannon Martino (School of the Art Institute) and Matthew Martino (University of Chicago Laboratory Schools), “Visualizing Museum Collections in Place and through Time” (20 min.)
7C. Glass in the Ancient Near East

Harbor 3

CHAIRS: Katherine Larson (Corning Museum of Glass) and Carolyn Swan (University College London, Qatar)
PRESENTERS:

2:00

Introduction (5 min.)
2:05
Tori Benson (Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University), Angela McDonald (Centre for Open Studies, Glasgow), and Andrew J. Shortland (Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University), “Analysis of Near Eastern Early Glass Beads Found in Egypt and a Hint to the Origin of Glass?” (25 min.)
2:35
Katharina Schmidt (German Protestant Institute of Archaeology, Amman), “Innovations in Iron Age Mesopotamian Glass Technology” (25 min.)
3:05

Laure Dussubieux (The Field Museum), “Production and Circulation of the Glass Beads from Kish, Iraq” (25 min.)

3:35
Katherine Eremin (Harvard Art Museums), Elizabeth LaDuc (University College London), Elizabeth Molacek (Harvard Art Museums), Patrick Degryse (Centre for Archaeological Sciences, Leuven), and Andrew J. Shortland (Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University), “Glass within the Tethys Pavement at Harvard University: Analysis and Interpretation” (25 min.)

7D. Archaeology of Jordan I

Burroughs

Theme: Early Bronze through Iron Ages
CHAIRS: Marta D’Andrea (Sapienza University of Rome) and M. Barbara Reeves (Queen’s University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Michael Orellana Mendez (Andrews University), “Building an Iron IIB-IIC Pottery Assemblage for Tall Jalul” (20 min.)

2:25

Trisha Broy (Andrews University), “Working toward a Definition of the Collared-rim Pithos” (20 min.)

2:50

Friedbert Ninow (La Sierra University; Friedensau Adventist University), Monique Vincent (La Sierra University), and Kent Bramlett (La Sierra University), “The 2017 Season of Excavation at Khirbat al-Balu‘a—In Search of Patterns of Settlement” (20 min.)

3:15

Robert D. Bates (Andrews University) and Paul J. Ray, Jr. (Andrews University), “Between the Roads: An Update on the Iron Age Roads at Tall Jalul 2016–2017” (20 min.)

3:40
Wilma Wetterstrom (Semitic Museum, Harvard University; Ancient Egypt Research Associates) and Joseph Greene (Semitic Museum, Harvard University), “Unpublished Plant Remains from Tell el-Kheleifeh Provide New Insights into an Edomite Entrepôt” (20 min.)

7E. Archaeology of Cyprus III

Carlton

Theme: Presented in honor of Stuart Swiny, this session contains research inspired by his contributions to Cypriot archaeology. The papers demonstrate the continued breadth of his influence on the practice and interpretation of archaeology in Cyprus and expand on diverse aspects of his scholarship including settlement patterns, games, and subsistence strategies.
CHAIRS: Nancy Serwint (Arizona State University) and Walter Crist (Arizona State University)
PRESENTERS:

2:00
Katelyn DiBenedetto (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), “The First Permanent Settlers of Cyprus: Pushing the Neolithic Boundaries” (15 min.)

2:20

Walter Crist (Arizona State University), “Changing the Game: Bronze Age Gaming Stones from Cyprus” (15 min.)

2:40

Louise Steel (University of Wales Trinity Saint David), “What Happened in Room 103 at Aredhiou?” (15 min.)

3:00

Kevin Fisher (University of British Columbia), “From Duplex to Courtyard House: Re-assessing Bronze Age Social Change on Cyprus” (15 min.)

3:20

A. Bernard Knapp (University of Glasgow), “Piracy and Pirates in the Prehistoric Mediterranean” (15 min.)

3:40

Joanna S. Smith (University of Pennsylvania), “Facing a Crowd: Dedicatory and Museum Displays of Cypriot Art” (15 min.)

7F. Archaeology of Iran

Lewis

CHAIR: Holly Pittman (University of Pennsylvania)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Introduction (5 min.)

2:05
Golnaz Hossein Mardi (University of Toronto), “The Petrographic Analysis of the Dalma Pottery in Central Zagros, Iran” (15 min.)
2:25
Marcin Wagner (University of Warsaw), “The Temple of Fire from Topaz Gala Depe in Southern Turkmenistan” (15 min.)
2:45
Possum Pincé (Ghent University), “The Production and Distribution of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in the Kur River Basin (Fars, Iran)—New Insights Based on Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry and Thin Section Petrography” (15 min.)
3:05
Serenella Mancini (Sapienza University of Rome) and Agnese Fusaro (University of Barcelona), “Estakhr (Fars): An Archaeological Reassessment of the Pottery Corpus” (15 min.)
3:25
Breton Langendorfer (University of Pennsylvania), “Serpentine Surfaces: Snakes and Animated Textures in the ‘Intercultural Style’ Objects from Jiroft, Iran” (5 min.)
3:45
Benjamin Mutin (Harvard University; French National Center for Scientific Research—CNRS) and Omran Garazhian (University of Neyshabur), “Recent Archaeological Research in the Southern Periphery of the Lut Desert, Iran” (15 min.)

7G. The CRANE Project I

Otis

Theme: Large-Scale Data Integration and Analysis in Near Eastern Archaeology
CHAIR: Timothy P. Harrison (University of Toronto)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Sandra Schloen (University of Chicago) and Miller Prosser (University of Chicago), “Integration as Inspiration: Achieving Research Goals Using the Online Cultural and Historical Research Environment (OCHRE)” (20 min.)
2:25
Stanley Klassen (University of Toronto), “CRANE Data Integration: Results after the First Five Years” (20 min.)
2:50

Darren Joblonkay (University of Toronto), “Archaeological Data Mining: A Digital Key to Unlocking the Past” (20 min.)

3:15
Andy Chow (University of Toronto) and Eugene Fiume (University of Toronto), “The CRANE Ceramics Project: The Challenges of Automated Sherd Matching” (20 min.)
3:40
Stephen Batiuk (University of Toronto), “3D Visualization Tools for Analysis, Publication, and Public Outreach” (20 min.)
7H. Ambiguity in the Ancient Near East: Mental Constructs, Material Records, and Their Interpretations II

Stone

Theme: From the archaeological record to the textual record, the papers of this session explore the applicability of modern classifications to ancient evidence.
CHAIRS: Elizabeth Knott (New York University) and Lauren McCormick (Syracuse University)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Bruce Routledge (University of Liverpool), “Duration Not Sequence: Rethinking Tell Formation at Tall Dhiban, Jordan” (20 min.)
2:25
James Osborne (University of Chicago), “Ambiguous Nation-States: Diaspora and the Rise of the Syro-Anatolian Culture Complex” (20 min.)
2:50
Jacob Lauinger (Johns Hopkins University), “The Statue of Idrimi Inscription: Composite Text or Pastiche?” (20 min.)
3:15
Vanessa Juloux (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University), “What about Considering an Author’s Intentionality for Revisiting a Text-Genre of a Narrative Story? A Concrete Example with the Cycle of Ba‘lu and ‘Anatu” (20 min.)
3:40

General Discussion (25 min.)

7I. Archaeology of the Southern Levant I

Webster

CHAIR: Owen Chesnut (North Central Michigan College)
PRESENTERS:
2:00

Introduction (5 min.)

2:05
Holly Winter (University of Sydney), “Palaces of the Dead: A New Perspective on Middle Bronze Age Palaces in the Southern Levant” (15 min.)
2:25
Nurith Goshen (University of Pennsylvania; Israel Museum), “Building for Power: The Role of Construction in the Establishment of MBA South Levantine Rulership” (15 min.)
2:45
Shay Bar (University of Haifa), Ayelet Gilboa (University of Haifa), and Michael Eisenberg (University of Haifa), “Renewed Excavations at Tel Shiqmona: The Project, the Iron Age Strata, and the Transition from a Small Village to a Border Town between Israel and Phoenicia” (15 min.)
3:05

Shirly Ben-Dor Evian (Israel Museum; Tel Aviv University), “Follow the Negebite Ware Road: The Copper Exchange Network in the Early Iron Age Southern Levant” (15 min.)

3:25
Heidi Fessler (Independent Researcher), “Transit Corridors and Assyrian Warfare Strategy in the Kingdom of Israel” (15 min.)
3:45

David Sugimoto (Keio University), “Construction Period and Function of the Tower at Burj Beitin, Palestine: Preliminary Considerations Based on Recent Excavations” (15 min.)

7J. Caesarea Maritima Session in Memory of Kenneth G. Holum: Renewed Excavations, Recent Discoveries

Hancock

Theme: After a general pause early in the new millennium, archaeological research at Caesarea, King Herod’s celebrated port city, has once again taken center stage since 2014. The papers here present a preliminary look at the important and illuminating results, in particular as they relate to the discoveries of the 1990s.
CHAIR: Peter Gendelman (Israel Antiquities Authority)
PRESENTERS:
2:00
Peter Gendelman (Israel Antiquities Authority) and Mohamad Hater (Israel Antiquities Authority), “The Western Façade of the Roma and Augustus Temple Platform” (20 min.)
2:25
Rivka Gersht (Tel Aviv University; Oranim Academic College of Education), “Caesarea Sculpted Stones: New Excavations, New Perspectives” (20 min.)
2:50
Uzi Ad (Israel Antiquities Authority) and Yoav Arbel (Israel Antiquities Authority), “New Discoveries in the Harbour Quarter: The Northern Warehouse Complex” (20 min.)
3:15

Jacob Sharvit (Israel Antiquities Authority), “Sunken Treasures from Sebastos, Caesarea’s Harbor, and the Continuity of an Ancient Haven” (20 min.)

3:40
Beverly Goodman Tchernov (University of Haifa), “Caesarea Tsunamis: New Islamic-Era Evidence from Abandoned Warehouses” (20 min.)
4:20–6:25pm Session 8
8A. GIS and Remote Sensing in Archaeology

Harbor 1

Theme: Reports on archaeological research on the ancient Near East using geospatial or remote sensing technologies.
CHAIR: Kevin D. Fisher (University of British Columbia)
PRESENTERS:
4:20
Marco Ramazzotti (Sapienza University of Rome), “Encoding the Space: The Epistemic Frames of the Atlas of the Ancient Near East (AANE)” (20 min.)
4:45

Jeffrey C. Howry (Harvard University), “Journeys of the Curator—Recreating the Travelogues of David Lyon in the Near East” (20 min.)

5:10

Carrie Fulton (University of Toronto), Andrew Fulton (Independent Scholar), Andrew Viduka (Flinders University), and Sturt Manning (Cornell University), “Using Photogrammetry in Large-area Survey of the Late Bronze Age Anchorage at Maroni-Tsaroukkas, Cyprus” (20 min.)

5:35
Howard Cyr (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), “Connecting the Dots: Benefits of an Integrated Geoarchaeological and Geophysical Approach at `Ayn Gharandal, a Late Roman Fort in Southern Jordan” (20 min.)
6:00
Jane C. Skinner (Penn State University), Jamie Quartermaine (Oxford Archaeology), Michal Artzy (University of Haifa), and Ann E. Killebrew (Penn State University), “An Integrated Use of GIS, Photogrammetry, and LiDAR to Reconstruct Tel Akko, Israel and Its Hinterland” (20 min.)
8B. Art Historical Approaches to the Near East II

Harbor 2

Theme: Bringing Art to Life. Papers in this session seek to reconstruct practices and spaces of past worlds and material encounters by adopting innovative approaches to the visual culture, architecture, and material traces of the ancient Near East.
CHAIR: Kiersten Neumann (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
PRESENTERS:
4:20
Helen Dixon (Wofford College), “The ‘Look’ and ‘Feel’ of Levantine Phoenician Sacred Space” (20 min.)
4:45
Avary Taylor (Johns Hopkins University), “Experiencing ‘Embroidered’ Spaces: The Garment Details in the Bas-Reliefs at the Northwest Palace of Nimrud” (20 min.)
5:10 - CANCELLED
Türkan Pilavcı (Columbia University), “Channeling the Liquid, Doubling the Act: Ovoid Shaped Relief Vases in Hittite Libation” (20 min.)
5:35
Liat Naeh (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “What May (and May Not) Be Divided in Half: Images of Plants, Hathor-like Goddesses, and Banquet on Bronze Age Inlays in the Levant” (20 min.)
6:00
Agnete Lassen (Yale University), “Hidden and Revealed—Kassite Seal Stones in the Yale Babylonian Collection” (20 min.)
8C. Rethinking Israel
*Joint session with the Society of Biblical Literature

Harbor 3
Theme: Israel Finkelstein will be retiring soon from his teaching post at Tel Aviv University. His impressive scientific work is varied archaeologically, chronologically, geographically, and thematically. In this session we wish to celebrate a unique tome in honor of his work, with the title “Rethinking Israel,” where scholars and friends from different fields of research re-examine, re-evaluate, or respond to subjects that Israel has written about, reflecting on the selected subject from their own perspective.

CHAIR: Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv University)
PRESENTERS:
4:20
Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv University), “Introductory Remarks on Rethinking Israel” (5 min.)
4:25
Neil Silberman (University of Massachusetts Amherst), “The Ever-Changing History of Israel” (20 min.)
4:50
Eric Cline (The George Washington University), “Israel and Archaeology: Person, Place, and Influence” (20 min.)
5:15

Matthew J. Adams (W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research) and Yuval Gadot (Tel Aviv University), “Megiddo through the Ages” (20 min.)

5:40
Dafna Langgut (Tel Aviv University), “More Than Meets the Eye: Microarchaeology at Megiddo” (20 min.)
6:05
Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University), “Rethinking Israel? A Proper Answer” (20 min.)
8D. Archaeology of Jordan II
Burroughs
Theme: Hellenistic to Modern Periods
CHAIRS: Marta D’Andrea (Sapienza University of Rome), M. Barbara Reeves (Queen’s University)
PRESENTERS:
4:20
Debra Foran (Wilfrid Laurier University), “The 2017 Excavations at the Ancient Town of Nebo (Khirbat al-Mukhayyat)” (15 min.)
4:40

Cynthia Finlayson (Brigham Young University), “The Nabataean Coins of Ad-Deir: New Numismatic Evidence from the Ad-Deir Plateau, Petra” (15 min.)

5:00

Leigh-Ann Bedal (Penn State Behrend) and Robert Wenning (University of Münster),“Hidden in Plain View: An Overlooked Betyl in the Shadow of Petra’s Khazneh” (15 min.)

5:20
David Culclasure, (American School of Classical Studies at Athens), “Supplying the Roman Military in Wadi Arabah during Late Antiquity” (15 min.)
5:40

Noor Mulder-Hymans (University of Groningen), “The Bread Ovens and Egg Ovens of Tell Abu Sarbut in the Roman and Abbasid Period” (15 min.)

6:00
Arwa Massadeh (Department of Antiquities of Jordan), “Al-Balu‘a between the Site and People” (15 min.)