ASOR will soon be home to a remarkable resource for scholars working in the history of archaeology. ASOR, which was established in 1900, has been keeping records of its activities since its inception. These records are mainly housed in the Boston office, with a smaller amount of material in the Albright Institute in Jerusalem, and in the Harvard Semitic Museum.

The documents include numerous unpublished letters from figures such as Albright and Wright, minutes from Executive Committee meetings dating to the first decades of the 20th century, photographs of both archaeological sites and of their excavators, and records regarding ASOR’s involvement in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The goal of the archiving initiative is to organize these archival holdings in such a way that ASOR can become a center for research on the history of the discipline, and for the history of American relations with the Middle East at the turn of the century. In order to achieve this goal, we need to properly conserve both the documents and photographs, organize them appropriately, digitize selections, and create a finding aid.

Newsletter reports about the archives:

Summer 2007 newsletter report (Vol. 57 no. 2)
Spring 2007 newsletter report (Vol. 57 no. 1)
Fall/Winter 2006 newsletter report (Vol. 56 nos. 3 &4)

Sample materials from the Archives
The archives are rich in both textual and photographic materials. To view some of the more remarkable documents, click on one of the links below:

Firman for the APES 1875 expedition : This firman belongs to the organization that preceded ASOR, the American Palestine Exploration Society (APES).

Photograph of Jerusalem from the Dumas collection. This recently acquired photographic collection includes 67 albumen prints taken by the well-known photographer Tancrede Dumas in 1875.

Letter from G. E. Wright to Elizabeth Bechtel regarding ASOR’s acquisition of Dead Sea Scrolls materials.

Development News
As ASOR moves forward with this project, we continue to secure funding through both grants and donations. ASOR is currently applying for an NEH grant (submitted in July 2007), but a certain amount of cataloguing and assessment needs to be done in advance of the grant. We therefore appeal to the membership to help us raise funds needed to move this exciting project forward.

Donate to the ASOR Archival Project

For more information about the project, please contact the main ASOR office in Boston.

American Schools of Oriental Research
Located at Boston University
656 Beacon St., 5th floor
Boston, MA 02215

tel (617) 353-6570
fax (617) 353-6575

to ASOR Home Page

Last updated 7/20/07