News and Events

3 November 2025 ACOR is honored to announce the inaugural Professor Thomas W. Davis Annual Lecture: Prof. Dr. Anas Haj Zeidan, director general of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) of the Syrian Arab Republic, will present “Illicit Trafficking of Syrian Cultural Properties: Trading Methods and Challenges of Restitution.” In addition to addressing the […]

17 October 2025 “During my time as an undergraduate, I enrolled in a course called “Technology in Prehistoric Periods.” At 19, the word “technology” still made me think of computers, but I signed up out of curiosity. Prof. Maysoon Al-Nahar introduced us to the fascinating world of stone tool technology using Neolithic assemblages from Tell

6 October 2025 The American Center of Research, a nonprofit institution dedicated to advancing knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and present, seeks two Field Archaeologists. These full-time positions requires residence in Amman, Jordan, and are primarily intended to assist the organization in a major excavation to be conducted during the next two

5 October 2025; updated 7 October 2025 PLEASE NOTE THAT PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE EVENT IN PERSON: https://forms.office.com/r/yjkzJ9AR0Q ACOR presents a special lecture, cohosted with Fulbright Jordan at their offices in Abdoun (Amman), by Dr David Vila, Distinguished Professor of Religion and Philosophy at John Brown University. Archaeology has a role to play

21 September 2025 “Prior to this field school, my only archaeological experience and exposure came from classes I had taken at the University of Alberta, volunteer work I had done with one of my professors, and travels I had taken with my family. Never once had I stepped foot on a site intending to contribute

20 September 2025 The next issue of our newsletter (37.1) is now available online! It will be arriving in mailboxes soon. This issue features: Download your copy!

16 September 2025 About the Lecture The lecture is a summary of the archaeological evidence that H.E. Dr. Fawzi Abudanah has collected from the hinterland of Petra since 2003. The fieldwork projects, which he directed or co-directed, revealed important information regarding urban and economic activities. The volume and distribution of the latter are very significant

22 August 2025 “I had the privilege of staying at the American Center of Research during the months of May, June, and July of 2025 and conducting research on depictions of Midian/Madyan in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur’an. Historically, Midian/Madyan is believed to have been located in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula, with its northernmost

13 August 2025 Advances in Archaeological Practice 13.1 has just been published, and ACOR is pleased to announce that the cover features one of our photographs. Congratulations to those who worked on this new issue, which we think will be of interest to members of our readership who follow anti-illicit trafficking of antiquities efforts in Jordan.  The

5 August 2025 (updated 6 August 2025) It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Patricia Maynor Bikai on August 5, 2025. Having earned a PhD in biblical studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, she undertook archaeological fieldwork that stretched from Lebanon, where she worked in the 1970s,