The Iron Age Townscape of Busayra

About the lecture: This talk draws together past and recent research on the Iron Age townscape of Busayra, widely believed to be the administrative capital of the kingdom of Edom. Excavations during the 1970s revealed a suite of monumental public architecture and residential neighborhoods on the settlement’s summit. Recent research carried out by the speaker and his colleagues have returned to these partially documented buildings to better understand their role in the settlement and in the broader region. Geophysical research in unexcavated areas have determined that these were part of a larger townscape awaiting further study. This talk will describe these new discoveries as well as discuss opportunities to continue site development and community engagement activities in the future. About the Speaker: Benjamin W. Porter is an associate professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology in the University of California, Berkeley's Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. An archaeologist and anthropologist, Porter investigates the Bronze and Iron Age societies of the ancient Levant. He has carried out archaeological excavations at Dhiban and Busayra in Jordan. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, and the Max Van Berchem Foundation, among others.