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