2025 - Archival Research into the Palestinian Excavations of the American School of Oriental Research, Stephen Porter

Stephen Porter’s PhD research investigates the relationships between local land users and foreign archaeologists in Palestine during the British Mandate period. This grant will allow Stephen to go to the archives of the American Heritage Centre in Wyoming, USA where he will gather data to construct a case study from the ASOR excavations that examines these relationships and their developments during the Mandate period and their effect on archaeological research.

This project focuses on the relationship between local populations in Palestine during the British Mandate (1920-1948) and the foreign archaeologists who conducted research on their land. The Mandate offers a suitable period for study as the Department of Antiquities for Palestine (DAP) generated a large archival resource as a result of its own excavations and its management of cultural heritage resources. Research in this field has focused on the careers of twentieth-century field directors and academics, but more recently the careers of Palestinian archaeologists have been examined to understand the colonised population and its relationship with the Mandate government. This project aims to extend this discussion by including local land users who might access archaeological sites for agriculture, grazing or as a source of building materials and those who lived sites in a colonised region in which land ownership would become an important issue.

Stephen Porter is a PhD candidate at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology.

Photo credit: American School of Overseas Research