Archaeologists Win Award for Project Book

"Madaba Plains Project 6" given publication award

“Madaba Plains Project: The 1996 and 1998 Seasons at Tall al-‘Umayri and Subsequent Studies”was recently awarded the 2015 Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) Publication Award in the category of Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology. The volume is the sixth installment of the Madaba Plains Project Series that reports the discoveries at excavation sites within the Madaba Plains region of central Jordan. Excavations at Tall al-‘Umayri, one of the most important sites in the Madaba Plains, are directed by Larry Herr of Burman University and Douglas Clark of La Sierra University, and was sponsored by La Sierra University.

The volume was published by Andrews University Press in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeology at the University. Herr was the primary editor of the volume, and Clark, along with Larry Geraty (La Sierra University), Randall Younker (Andrews University) and Øystein LaBianca (Andrews University), also served as editors of the volume. Paul Ray, archaeological publications director, served as the associate editor.

“Madaba Plains Project—‘Umayri 6”consists of 15 chapters by 15 different authors connected with the project. The volume contains reports on four excavated fields and features special reports on the pottery, Early Iron Age I Egyptian and Egyptian-style objects, textile artifacts, ceramic technology, production technology of Bronze and Iron Age pottery, ground penetrating radar, an infant burial, and a pair of cymbals. Included are 107 photos, 157 pottery plates and site plan illustrations, eight tables, three maps and an index.

The award-winning book was a collaborative effort. Other Andrews University personnel were also involved in the publication: Robert Bates, adjunct faculty, handled editorial and photo cleanup; Rhonda Root, professor of art, did the cover artwork; L. Scott Baker, editorial and marketing coordinator at Andrews University Press, did the proofreading; and Eric Shults is the series cover designer.

The BAS Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology award is the second honor given to the Madaba Plains Project series; the fifth volume of the highly acclaimed series also won an award from The American Schools of Oriental Research. The current award, for the best books of 2013–2014, includes a shared prize of $500 and an award certificate. The announcement of the award was made in the September/October 2015 issue of the Biblical Archaeology Review, which hit stands in August.

The BAS was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit, nondenominational educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information about archaeology in the Bible lands. The BAS educates the public about archaeology and the Bible through its bi-monthly magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review, an award-winning website found at biblicalarchaeology.org, books and multimedia products (DVDs, CD-ROMs and videos), tours and seminars.

The Madaba Plains Project is a consortium of schools that excavate in the Madaba Plains of Transjordan. Larry Geraty is the founding director and Douglas Clark, Larry Herr, Øystein LaBianca, and Randall Younker serve as co-directors.