Roman Hobsbawm Bamping

Roman Bamping is a PhD student at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. His research relates to cultural connections between human populations in the Levant and Arabia during the Neolithic period; he specializes in the analysis of chipped stone (lithic) technology such as arrowheads, axes, and other tools, along with the waste products left over from their manufacture. Since 2023 he has been working as a lithic analyst for the Prehistoric Al Ula and Khaybar Excavation Project (PAKEP) in Saudi Arabia and the Eastern Badia Archaeological Project (EBAP) in Jordan, whose teams have been investigating human occupation of the eastern Levant and northern Arabia during the Neolithic. The datasets from these two projects provide the basis of his doctoral research. His research project at ACOR during his fellowship will involve the analysis of lithic artifacts that were recovered by him and/or fellow EBAP team members during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 field seasons and stored at ACOR. Preliminary analyses in the field and the lab have already shed light on several interesting aspects of the prehistory of the eastern Badia of Jordan, such as outlining connections between groups within this area, and indeed between these peoples and those in the rest of Jordan, Arabia, and southwest Asia. Further analysis will hopefully continue to facilitate a better understanding of the extent of these connections, and any other unique and important aspects of the Neolithic of eastern Jordan.