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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ZELJKO REZEK

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聽 SHARE

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ZELJKO REZEK

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

The whole season was pretty memorable, since the fieldwork took place in the Petra area in Jordan. Maybe what stands out the most was the exploration and visits to the sites of other time periods and cultures in the area. The site I have been working on is an Epipaleolithic site, dating into the terminal Pleistocene. It was a very nice experience to find and see contexts of other periods and influences–Neolithic, Bronze-Age, Nabatean, Graeco-Roman, Byzantine–in the same area, offering an insight into the deep-time changes in the culture, behavior and adaptation to the environment of human societies during the last 15,000 years.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

If possible, try to grasp the wider social and natural context of the past you are working on, by exploring the wider area of your field site and by putting it into a current social landscape. This gives the past another dimension.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

Yes, through my university.

What is the current status of your career or education?

The fellowship was a considerable financial aid in going abroad for that field season. During the same trip though, I have managed to develop contacts with some of the government offices and to obtain a prospect of starting my own research. Today, I am directing my own research and fieldwork in that country, which is about adaptations of human groups to Pleistocene environments of the Levant, put in the wider context of such adaptations in the neighboring regions like North Africa and Arabia.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ADAM BEAN

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ADAM BEAN

Adam photographing artifacts at the Karak Resources Project lab at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee.

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

The most memorable part of the 2011 season in Jordan for me was taking part in the discovery of two new Iron Age volute capital fragments, both within the same week. I have since been working on a study of these capitals along with others from Jordan, which I hope to publish in the near future.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

To other fellowship recipients I would simply say, take every possible advantage of the learning opportunities that working on an archaeological project in the Middle East offers, even if, like me, your primary areas of study are text-focused. There is no substitute for being “on the ground,” amidst the material remains of the ancient cultures we try to understand.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

I receive 17吃瓜benefits as a student at an 17吃瓜member institution, attend annual and regional 17吃瓜meetings regularly, and have presented papers at 17吃瓜meetings.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

After working in Jordan in the summer of 2011, I began a PhD in Northwest Semitics in the department of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University. I remain involved with the Karak Resources Project, and in 2013 I returned to Jordan to work on a research project of my own, using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (with equipment and training from the West Semitic Research Project) to document and study several ancient inscriptions.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

By helping with the costs of participating in the 2011 season of the Karak Resources Project in Jordan, the 17吃瓜Heritage Fellowship supported my first “on the ground” experience of archaeology in the Middle East, and also helped launch me into several areas of research interest as I have moved forward in my education. Three years later, I am still pursuing interests that were first cultivated during that experience.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CAROLINE CARTER

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

CAROLINE CARTER

Caroline with the cult statue of Apollo Patroos found in the Agora in Athens. She received a Platt Fellowship in 2012.

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

The most memorable moment during the 2012 season at Huqoq, Israel was the discovery of the mosaic floor in the synagogue! We gathered around as a student brushed away dirt to reveal two faces left mostly intact and a Hebrew/Aramaic. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

I would advise a fellow recipient to thank the 17吃瓜donors by participating by showing continued gratitude on the dig. Make the fellowship worthwhile- have fun and discover!

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

Last year I was not a member of ASOR. I decided to attend a new dig at Azoria, Crete in Greece.聽[Caroline was able to apply for a fellowship because her university has an institutional 17吃瓜membership.]

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

Currently, I am a senior majoring in Classical Archaeology and Ancient Mediterranean religions. I plan to take a year off then apply to graduate programs in Classics or Religious Studies for 2015.聽I am interested in the Greek and Roman influence in Judea.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

The Platt Fellowship that I received helped me to be able to attend my second season in Huqoq. Experience is essential for everyone pursuing to continue on in the field of archaeology. Sometimes we need a little help to get there.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ROBBYN LANNING

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ROBBYN LANNING

A photograph of Robbyn behind the lens of her camera near the Humayma site, taken by Swelem al Manaja鈥檃, June 2007.

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

The most memorable moment of my Platt-supported graduate fieldwork was arriving at the excavation site in Humayma, Jordan and meeting Swelem al Manaja鈥檃. Under the auspices of Dr. John P. Oleson, I had worked with Swelem in 2004 and 2006 as part of my role as photographer and co-curator for exhibitions at the Aqaba Museum and Humayma Visitor Centre; in 2007, Swelem had again agreed to collaborate with me.

When I arrived on site, Swelem excitedly showed me a large stone near the Roman wall he had discovered and saved (disguising it for months as his regularly-used seat at tea-time while he was working consolidating the wall for the Department of Antiquities). When we flipped the stone over it became obvious that this was no ordinary stone 鈥� I would soon learn the stone held the longest most substantial Nabataean inscription found at Humayma to date. Details about this event are featured in my thesis resulting from this field work,聽. In addition, an article in聽the Journal of Semitic Studies聽(2010, 55(2), 497鈥�507) about the inscription written by George Bevan and M. Barbara Reeves, entitled聽A New Nabataean Funerary Inscription from Humayma,聽credits Swelem for his excellent discovery.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

My best advice to a fellow recipient is to challenge yourself, take risks in your work, and do what you love whenever possible.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

I am not still affiliated with ASOR, though I follow on twitter () and often find myself reading . My career trajectory has shifted away from the Near East, and so it is just too much to keep up with on a formal basis.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

Currently I am the Administrator at the University of Victoria Centre for Studies in Religion in Society (CSRS). The CSRS is the leading centre in Canada for scholarly interdisciplinary research on topics at the intersection of religion and public life. We host several national public policy research networks, sponsor visiting fellowships for senior and junior scholars and members of the community, and produce a dynamic annual program of public lectures and seminars. Building from my research, curatorial and administrative experience, I am pursuing a path into the field of Library and Information Science to become an academic librarian. I am currently a first year Master鈥檚 of Library and Information Science student at the University of Washington鈥檚 iSchool 鈥� and I am聽loving听颈迟.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

Receiving the Platt Fellowship provided me with both an incredible honour and the real-world financial means to conduct my thesis research. The fellowship provided me the freedom to undertake a creative, collaborative and interdisciplinary project and to contribute (however minutely!) to discussions about the formation of cultural and national identities through the use of visual symbols and imagery. In addition, the hands-on experience I gained in the field as a result of the Platt Fellowship informs my daily work as the administrator of a well renowned interdisciplinary and globally-focused research centre.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? RUSSELL GENTRY

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

RUSSELL GENTRY

Russell swapping head-wear with one of the elders of the Bedouin tribe聽 with whom he has continually worked at Ayn Gharandal. This picture is from last summer, the AGAP 2013 season, when Russell served as a trench supervisor.

In 2010, Russell was awarded a Heritage Fellowship and participated in the Ayn Gharandal Archaeological Project in southern Jordan.

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

The most memorable moment of that season for me was when we discovered ancient Greek graffiti in the bathhouse which we were excavating near the Roman fort. I had been digging over a meter of unstratified sand for a week and was feeling somewhat discouraged when I looked over at the plaster wall we’d uncovered and saw a probable Chi-Rho symbol as well as other Greek writing and images including a sailboat.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

After the excavation in 2010, I took some time to travel around Jordan and Egypt while I was in the Middle East. I strongly advice fellowship recipients to maximize the value of their trip with extra travel if they can, since getting to Jordan and back can be very expensive.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

I was an 17吃瓜member last year and presented a paper at the 2013 Annual Meeting. I plan to renew again this year hopefully and look forward to continuing my membership throughout my career.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

I am planning on completing my MA at NC State in May and I hope to advance to a doctoral program in classical archaeology next year, though I am currently in the process of interviewing and awaiting admissions decisions.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

The fellowship allowed me to continue archaeological work in Jordan which has lead to my appointment on the Ayn Gharandal Archaeological Project as a square supervisor as well as my assignment as a trench supervisor at the Petra North Ridge Project in 2012 and area supervisor for this project in 2014.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? JUAN MANUEL TEBES

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

JUAN MANUEL TEBES

At the Wadi Khalid copper mines (Iron Age), Faynan, Jordan, 2013.

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

Some people may say the most memorable moments are those when you unearth some astonishing ancient artifact. For me, the greatest moments are those shared with your fellow diggers, while chatting at the excavation or enjoying some drinks in the evening.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

There will be times before traveling to a dig when you will be overwhelmed by strong emotions of anxiety and – why not? – fear. Don’t panic, those feelings are completely normal and believe me, everyone has them the first time one goes to the field. In the field you will know people like you and, after a few days, you will feel this is one of the most awesome experiences in your life!

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

Yes, I am still affiliated. I am involved as a member and I plan to attend the 2014 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

I was awarded my PhD in 2010; right now I am an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Argentina, Assistant Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, and Researcher at the National Research Council (CONICET, Argentina).

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

It would have been impossible for me to participate in archaeological excavations without the 17吃瓜grants. Participating in such projects is key for pursuing an academic career, because it is in the field where you actually learn real archaeology and where you meet and interact with archaeologists.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? MICHELE STILLINGER

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

MICHELE STILLINGER

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

This would be toss-up between taking a long relaxing float in the Dead Sea or finding a Nile perch fish otolith (inner ear bone) while screening.聽 A rare and small find with potentially big implications.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

Have people take pictures of you working in the field.聽 It is a nice reminder of how happy you are while you are doing your research and great for webpages and articles!

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

Yes.聽 Currently working on my dissertation based on my ASOR-funded field research.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

I will be finalizing my field research this summer and hope to complete my dissertation by 2016.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

The Heritage Fellowship not only allowed me to travel to Israel to collect my very first field samples, but my continued involvement with the 17吃瓜affiliated schools in charge of the excavation has resulted in new professional contacts, future research collaborations, and the opportunity to present my research in a welcoming environment at the 17吃瓜convention and other venues.聽 I have made life-long friends with the colleagues from the excavation and feel a part of the 17吃瓜community despite my primarily geological research.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ALEX RATZLAFF

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ALEX RATZLAFF

My 2007 Heritage Fellowship helped fund my work at the Roman Fort at Yotvata, Israel, as a senior staff member. And my 2008 Heritage/Platt Fellowship was used to support my participation as a senior staff member at Tel Kabri, Israel.

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

Every season in the field is filled with countless memorable experiences. The long days and hard work are always made worthwhile with an amazing discovery, a new understanding of the development of the site, or simply the satisfaction of a having uncovered a lost piece of history.

The easy answer to what my most memorable experience was from my work on these two digs would be to say it was one of the many remarkable discoveries we鈥檝e made: an ostracon at Yotvata, the earliest occupation under the palace at Tel Kabri, etc. But what stands out the most is a moment with one of my student participants at Yotvata in 2007. During the season, this particular student worked hard and was interested but never really felt connected to the significance of what he was doing at the site. In the last week of the dig as I was supervising the excavation of the fort鈥檚 postern gate (think back door), I had this same student working on the removal of material around the gate which had several layers of plaster with the faint remains of red paint. After we finished recording all the information regarding the plastered surface; it had been drawn, photographed, measured, described, etc., I asked the student to continue and remove a portion of the plastered section. He looked at me dumbed-founded and said he couldn鈥檛 because it had finally dawned on him that a Roman soldier had put that plaster up and now he, almost 1,700 years later, was going to remove it. It took all season but the student finally had the realization that he was directly interacting with the past in a place far removed from his daily life, he had the rare opportunity to be part of a shared history and work first-hand with the physical remains of antiquity.

This moment was more meaningful to me than all of the discoveries we made that season because I remembered when I first had that same realization years earlier and now I playing a part in introducing students to archaeology and how it felt it to interact with the past. While I obviously love excavating and the thrill of discovering something whether an unique artifact or understanding how the site developed, it has become truly rewarding teaching a new group of students each year.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

Recipients of these fellowships are given a valuable opportunity to either participate in an archaeological excavation for the first time or to continue their work at sites they have been participated in the past. For new participants I would advise that they take advantage of everything about the experience: meeting new people, really learning about the site and methodology if you plan to make a career of archaeology, don鈥檛 be afraid to learn from the people you are working with, have fun, travel around the area when you have time off, and just in general take advantage of everything the experience has to offer. For those returning to sites there isn鈥檛 much advice to give 鈥� you know what you鈥檙e doing just enjoy it, especially the time together with good friends.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

Currently I am transitioning from being an student at an Institutional Member, a benefit I always took advantage of as a graduate student at Boston University, to a Professional Member.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

I recently completed my Ph.D. at Boston University, Department of Archaeology. Following my completion I was awarded a two-year (2013-2015) Post-Doctoral Fulbright Fellowship with an appointment as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Maritime Civilizations, University of Haifa. My research focuses on the Roman development along the coast of the Western Galilee and the implications for cultural identity, specifically focused on the site of Achziv.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

The Heritage and Platt Fellowships allowed me to continue working at both Yotvata and Tel Kabri, alleviating some of the financial strain of traveling abroad as a graduate student. My continued participation in these excavations led to authoring chapters in the final and ongoing excavation volumes for both sites. My work at Yotvata directly influenced my dissertation research and my continued work on the Roman army. And I am still a senior staff member at Tel Kabri where we continue to make interesting new discoveries such as the Canaanite wine cellar we uncovered this past season.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? KATIE KEARNS

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

KATIE KEARNS

Helping聽 Dr. Maria Iacovou on the Palaepaphos Urban Landscape Project, in 2012, on Cyprus

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

I spent the Heritage award traveling to Cyprus, to participate in a geophysical survey of two important Late Bronze Age cities, to better understand their layout and development.聽 I learned the method of magnetometry survey and data collection, as well as how to interpret the results. As it was my first time on Cyprus, the 2-week trip was full of exciting and interesting discoveries, especially in visiting sites around the island and experiencing their great cuisine.聽 One memorable moment came when our team got to travel to the capital, Nicosia, and see its historic center and still-standing monuments, such as the famous Venetian walls.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

I would encourage any students who use these grants for archaeological fieldwork to have an open mind and to try to experience as much as they can during their time in another country, and to take in its culture.聽Try new foods!聽 In terms of fieldwork, volunteer to try new methods or learn new skills, which will be invaluable as you continue your research and build your own ideas about how to do archaeology.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

I am an 17吃瓜member who has gone to the last few Annual Meetings (Baltimore, San Francisco) as well as stayed at 17吃瓜institutions, namely the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) in Nicosia, Cyprus.

I’ve given a few papers at the Annual Meetings as well as organized a session.聽 I was a Fulbright student at CAARI in 2012-2013.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

I am currently finishing my PhD in classical archaeology at Cornell University, writing a dissertation on human-environment relationships in Iron Age Cyprus that uses a combination of scientific and archaeological methods to explore landscape and social change.聽 I continue to work on Cyprus in the summers doing the same geophysical project (KAMBE) as well as archaeological survey.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

The Heritage scholarship helped me travel to Cyprus in 2010, which instilled in me a great fascination for the island, its history, and its people.聽 I have kept coming back to do fieldwork and to visit new friends and colleagues, and I look forward to my next visit.聽 Scholarships such as this one are incredibly important for providing students with experiences like mine.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CHRIS HAYS

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17吃瓜FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

CHRIS HAYS

Chris teaching at Qumran on a Fuller trip to Israel in 2012

What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?

Finding a Neo-Assyria ballista stone in the square where I was excavating at Tell Halif. It was really amazing to stand at the top of the tell and imagine the Assyrian army marching through the valley toward it. The whole experience really helped to bring the history of the period alive for me.

What advice would you give a fellow recipient?

Immerse yourself in your excavations, but also make time to tour around and see other sites. There’s so much to absorb all over Israel and the Middle East.

Are you still affiliated with 17吃瓜as a member?

Yes, I am still an 17吃瓜member. I attend meetings, and I donate to its fundraising campaigns. Archaeology is more important to me now than ever. It seems to me that the public and my students really need guidance in interpreting what has been found and how it actually impacts our interpretation of sacred texts. They’re certainly not being well served by mass media in any form.

What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?

17吃瓜 a year after my grant, I accepted the D. Wilson Moore chair of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, Ca. Here, I teach ancient languages such as Hebrew, Aramaic, Ugaritic, and Akkadian, and I direct master’s and doctoral programs in ANES. I get to teach seminars on Historiography and on ANE Religion, which make a lot of reference to archaeological data.

How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?

I could never have been an effective teacher of ANE Studies, or even the Hebrew Bible alone, without a firsthand understanding of where archaeological data comes from — how a dig works, how finds are processed, the politics in the field, etc. My time on the 17吃瓜fellowship was an indispensable part of my education in those areas. Now that I take students to the Middle East myself, I tell them the same thing: It will transform the way you teach.