Overview

In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Madaba Plains Project, this volume reflects on the decades of archaeological fieldwork experience at Tall Hisban, Tall al-`Umayri and Tall Jalul. In addition to lessons learned and issues addressed, the volume presents the backstories that represent the heart and soul of the MPP, focusing on those that illuminate the efforts to interpret and narrate these archaeological sites. Founding directors, co-directors, and a selection of the core staff and veterans explain the trajectory of their efforts to understand and narrate the place where they have been working by discussing their professional ties, sources of inspiration, personal aspirations and ambitions, regrets and triumphs, accumulative understandings, and remaining questions. They then offer reflective accounts of how their long-term interactions with the local communities have not only helped to build bridges of friendship and cooperation, but shape and inform their understanding of the goals and limitations of their scientific mission and future potential.

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9781800506558

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Reviews

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Douglas R. Clark (PhD Vanderbilt 1984) is Director of the Lawrence T. Geraty & Douglas R. Clark Center for Near Eastern Archaeology at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. He also co-directs the Madaba Plains Project excavations at Tall al-'Umayri, Jordan, currently in publication phases. He has taught and held administrative positions at several universities and has also authored, edited, or co-edited 18 volumes and nearly 200 articles, and has made 230 presentations worldwide. Volumes include The Madaba Plains Project: Forty Years of Archaeological Research into Jordan's Past, for which he was lead editor, and the Madaba Plains Project, 'Umayri series, for which he is co-editor and author. He first excavated in 1973 at Tall Hisban, also part of the Madaba Plains Project. Along with colleagues from the US, Italy, and Jordan, he began in 2015 a multi-year project of establishing the Madaba Regional Archaeological Museum in Ma daba , Jordan. Oystein S. LaBianca (PhD Brandeis 1987) is a senior research professor of anthropology at Andrews University and associate director of its Institute of Archaeology. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of over 20 books on Jordanian archaeology, including the 14-volume Hesban Final Publication Series. LaBianca is a founding co-director of the Madaba Plains Project, excavating at Tall Hisban, Tall al-'Umayri, and Tall Jalul, and senior director of the Hesban Cultural Heritage Project, a community archaeology initiative focused on engaging the local community in the care, protection, and presentation of this important site. He has served on the boards of the American Society of Overseas Research and the American Center of Research. LaBianca has been a visiting scholar at Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and Bergen universities and has received grants from National Geographic, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of State, and the Research Council of Norway. Randall W. Younker (PhD University of Arizona 1996) is Professor of Archaeology and History of Antiquity and Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He received his MA and PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Arizona under William G. Dever. Randy has been a field archaeologist for the last 40 years in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Sicily, and Turkey where he has directed, co-directed, or served as a field specialist. Currently, he is senior director for excavations at Tall Jalul, part of the Madaba Plains Project, and Senior Co-director of the San Miceli excavation in Sicily. He also presently co-directs a survey in Eastern Turkey. He has served on the Board of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) and chaired their Nominations and Outreach committees. He has co-authored and co-edited 12 books and published or co-published over 100 scholarly and professional articles and reviews.

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