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ASOR is a non-profit organization that promotes the study of the history and cultures of the Near East and wider Mediterranean world. Subscribe to our free newsletter Ancient Near East Today:
Our #ObjectoftheWeek is this limestone tablet from Sippar, Iraq, depicting the king Nabu-apla-iddina and the sun god Shamash, ca. 888-855 BCE. BM 91000. © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC By-NC-SA 4.0. #Babylonia #Tablet #Iraq
ASOR is pleased to announce 6 new projects have received ASOR affiliation since last summer. These projects cover sites in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, and Italy. Learn more about these new ASOR-affiliated projects: buff.ly/d214PsQ
A new report looks back on the successful outcomes of a 2023 ASOR Shepard Urgent Action Grant at Khramis Didi Gora in Georgia, where researchers documented threatened archaeological deposits at a Late Neolithic settlement in the South Caucasus. Read morehere: buff.ly/JeSeHcn #Georgia #Neolithic
Have you submitted your poster proposal for the Poster Session during the 2026 ASOR Annual Meeting (November 18–21) yet? Poster abstracts are due August 1! Read the 2026 Call for Posters to learn more: buff.ly/Xda2LRl
Explore the new 2026 issue for the Journal of Cuneiform Studies, featuring articles such as: Three New Kings of Assyria; An Old Babylonian Tablet with a Collection of Sumerian Hymns; A Hurro-Hittite Ritual for Kingship?; and more. View the Table of Contents here: buff.ly/tJ56SEx #Cuneiform
Our #ObjectoftheWeek is a calcite funerary stele from Yemen, ca. 100 BCE–100 CE. The Sabaean inscription mentions a woman named Ghalilat and invokes the protection of the god Attar. BM 125041. © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC By-NC-SA 4.0. #Yemen #Sabaean #Arabia
Thinking about presenting a poster for the 2026 ASOR Annual Meeting? Join the ASOR ECS Writing Group for “Preparing a Poster Abstract” — the first of two sessions on conceptualizing, composing, and submitting a poster abstract. 🗓️ Monday, July 20 | 11am EST | Virtual Register here: buff.ly/VqNVY1x
We did it again! ASOR has once more set a record participation rate with 955 donors giving $5+ in the 2026 fiscal year. It is truly gratifying to see our members and friends choosing to invest in ASOR and helping us make our work possible. Thank you to our generous donors!
In 2025, Olivia Spink received an Eric & Carol Meyers Scholarship to participate in the Tell Timai International Training Program in Egypt where she explored the rich history of ancient Thmuis and discovered a renewed passion for Egyptian archaeology. Read her fieldwork report here: buff.ly/0lKJU1T
Our newest ARS volume, The U-Shaped Building at Caesarea Maritima by Jane DeRose Evans and Jennifer Tobin, is now available. The volume explores a praetorium, the formation of ancient garden architecture, and the composition of Crusader and Ottoman Caesarea. Check it out here: buff.ly/0tvuAae
Our #ObjectoftheWeek is a clay seal from Iraq, ca. 2217-2193 BCE. This bulla label impressed with a cylinder seal is from Bismaya, ancient Adab, and dates to the Akkadian period. Credit: ISAC #Iraq #Mesopotamia #Akkadian
A silver drinking cup given by the Achaemenid Persian king was worth more than its weight in metal—but exactly how much more? Read the newest ANE Today, "The Meaning(s) of Achaemenid Silver": buff.ly/JbDkzE6 #Iran #Persia #Achaemenid 📸 © The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Mandy Porter, a master’s student at Columbia University, was a 2025 Strange/Midkiff Families Scholarship Recipient. In her second season at Kissonerga-Skalia, Cyprus, Mandy was the small finds registrar, studying prehistoric Cypriot material. Read her report here: buff.ly/jdLLRO4
Reminder to submit poster proposals for the 2026 Poster Session during the ASOR Annual Meeting, November 18–21, in Chicago and online. Abstracts may be submitted in the ASOR Online Portal until August 1! Read the 2026 Call for Posters to learn more: buff.ly/Xda2LRl
Our #ObjectoftheWeek is a cuneiform tablet recording the peace treaty between Ramesses II and Ḫattušili III—popularly known as the Treaty of Kadesh—ca. 1259 BCE. Displayed in the Istanbul Airport Museum. Photo credit: Jessica Nitschke. #Archaeology #Egyptian #Hittite
Unlike the great territorial states of the Bronze Age, Byblos gained influence through networks, rather than building an empire. Discover how it became an ancient maritime hub in the newest ANE Today: buff.ly/i3zYAyV #Lebanon #Byblos #BronzeAge 📸 Gédéon Programmes / Martine Francis-Allouche
Congratulations to the recipients of ASOR's 2026 Project Grants and Research Fellowships! Check out the awardees and their projects here: buff.ly/nvAIcsN #Archaeology
ASOR seeks Session/Workshop Assistants to support the hybrid 2026 Annual Meeting. In exchange, assistants receive Annual Meeting registration plus a set number of nights at the Hilton Chicago through the Thomas/Bishop Annual Meeting Endowment. Learn more: buff.ly/rLWvKmH
Laura Alvarez examines ancient Near Eastern concepts, analyzing mirrors from Mesopotamia and the Levant to explore how relationships were expressed in the Bronze Age. Read her report here: buff.ly/fAvNhRF 📸 Copper-alloy mirrors from the collections of the Louvre Museum
Good news, #ASOR supporters! 🎉 You can now give monthly. Set an amount that works for you, get reminders, and support archaeology year-round. Treasurer Emily Bonney says: “I can give more and stress less!” 👉 Donate: buff.ly/urAgpaf #MonthlyGiving #SupportASOR
Members, submit your poster proposals for the 2026 Poster Session during the ASOR Annual Meeting, Nov. 18–21, in Chicago & online. Poster abstracts of 250 words may be submitted in the ASOR Online Portal by August 1. Please read the 2026 Call for Posters to learn more: www.asor.org/am/2026/post...
ASOR is pleased to offer 10 Student Travel grants of $250 each for the 2026 Annual Meeting in Chicago this November. Students must be enrolled at an ASOR Institutional Member School to qualify for these grants. Applications are open until August 24, 2026: www.asor.org/fellowships/...
From Aristotle to John Adams, great minds of government have revered Carthaginian democracy as the purest expression of a people’s will. What impact did it have in the development of Greek institutions of democracy? Read the latest ANE Today here: buff.ly/OxyQ9zG #Carthage #Greece 📸 : ©Brett Kaufman
Friends of ASOR sincerely thanks all of our fantastic webinar speakers and everyone who attended a webinar during the 2025-2026 season. Check our webinars page later this year for updates about 2026-2027 webinars, and we hope that you will join us next season!
ASOR’s Committee on Publications announces a call for Editor(s) of the Bulletin of ASOR (BASOR). The new Editor(s) will serve a 3-year term starting January 2027. All applications received by September 1, 2026 will receive full consideration. Learn more about this opportunity: buff.ly/NAJiq3e
From behind-the-scenes museum tours to up-close encounters with artifacts and archives, Friends of ASOR spent two unforgettable days exploring Philadelphia through the lens of archaeology, art, and curation. Read about our tour of Philadelphia's museums here: buff.ly/GMGR13J
Through support from the U.S. Department of State, ASOR partnered with Libya’s Department of Antiquities to document and repair flood damage at the archaeological sites of Cyrene, Ptolemais, and Tocra in eastern Libya. Read more about these projects here: buff.ly/ExyiIjt #CulturalHeritage #Libya
Don't forget to tune in TONIGHT at 7:00 pm ET for the last FOA webinar of the season, presented by Dr. Danielle Candelora: “'I am the border': Borders and Immigration in Ancient Egypt”. If you haven't already signed up, click here to register for free: buff.ly/7hTWMJO