Southern Levant
Central Jordan
Balu’a Regional Archaeology Project
I serve as Area Supervisor for the excavation of an Iron Age II domestic structure in the lower city of Khirbat al-Baluʿa, as part of the Baluʿa Regional Archaeological Project (BRAP). Beginning in 2026, I will direct a household-focused excavation designed to investigate daily life, foodways, and provisioning strategies at the household scale within this major Iron Age urban center. The project integrates excavation of a domestic unit with faunal and isotopic analyses, building high-resolution datasets on animal management, diet, and provisioning. I am also leading a regional isoscape survey to establish local environmental isotope baselines (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), which will provide the comparative framework needed to interpret herd mobility, foddering strategies, and the geographic origins of food resources. This initiative extends the methodologies I developed in my dissertation on Early Bronze Age Tell el-Hesi into an Iron Age context, offering a long-term comparative perspective on how ancient households and cities sustained themselves in marginal environment
Balu’a
Madaba Plains Project-`Umayri
I am the chief faunal analyst for the legacy faunal remains from Tell el-‘Umayri, contributing to a large international publication team directed by Dr. Douglas Clark. In this role, I am responsible for the analysis and interpretation of all animal remains recovered during this decades-long excavation. As a major Early Bronze Age urban center, Umayri offers a valuable comparative case for my dissertation research on foodways in the Greater Hesi Region. My work helps ensure that this important legacy assemblage is fully analyzed and meaningfully integrated into broader discussions of urban provisioning and animal management in the Southern Levant.
