Laith Alshboul

Laith Alshboul is a PhD candidate in Near Eastern archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin and a member of the Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies. He holds an MA and BA in archaeology from Yarmouk University and has extensive fieldwork experience as an area supervisor at sites including Tell Ushayer, Tell el-Husn, Tell Damiyah, Umm Qais, Umm us-Surab, Faynan, Khirbet Mudaynah al-Aliyah, Madaba, and Alkarak. His doctoral research, “A Reassessment of the Iron Age in the Northern Jordanian Plateau (1200–550 BCE): A Typological, Chronological and Petrographic Analysis,” aims to establish a local chronological framework based on the morphological development of ceramic assemblages from well-stratified contexts at Tell Ushayer (Irbid, Jordan). This analysis is integrated with a systematic fabric classification that sheds light on pottery production techniques and the technological choices of Iron Age communities. During his tenure as the 2026–2027 Kenneth W. Russell Fellow, he will conduct a final reexamination of the Tell Ushayer ceramic assemblage at the Dar es-Saraya Museum. The primary goal of this research phase is to employ digital microscopy to finalize and standardize fabric classification and to refine the typological framework within its stratified contexts. The anticipated outcomes will enhance the regional chronological model and contribute to a more precise understanding of settlement dynamics during the Iron Age.