The Baghdad and Damascus Committees of ASOR
ASOR committees focusing on work in Syria and Iraq have been functioning for decades to coordinate American research efforts in these countries while actual Institutes are not possible. Committee members include scholars from around the country.
The Baghdad Committee (whose formal name is the Committee on Mesopotamian Civilization) oversees the production of the Journal of Cuneiform Studies, has published a newsletter on archaeological and other research in Iraq, has coordinated field projects throughout Iraq, and for a period of time had an Institute functioning in Baghdad. The committee offers the Mesopotamian Fellowship for researchers studying the region, through the generosity of the James B. Nies bequest. Read a history of ASOR's Baghdad School which operated in Iraq from 1923-1969.
The Damascus Committee has been functioning for a shorter period of time. It serves as a clearinghouse for information on projects in Syria, expedites research work in that country as much as possible, supports the excavation of a key ancient site at Tell Qarqur in the Orontes River Valley, and has provided a newsletter for interested researchers.
ASOR members present reports on their current research in Mesopotamia and Syria at our Annual Meeting. Read abstracts from the 2004 Meeting from the sessions Archaeology of Mesopotamia I and Archaeology of Mesopotamia II, and those from nearby areas such as those in Archaeology of Syria and Anatolia session I and session II
THE COMMITTEE ON MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION (BAGHDAD)Mesopotamian
Fellowship: Application information