Strata: 2016 BAS Scholarship Winners

A lot of planning and hard work goes into making every archaeological excavation season a success. This is seen not only during the season itself, but also in the months leading up to it and in the years following it when the excavated material is processed and published. One of the essential elements that keeps excavations running is volunteer participation.

Volunteers provide the manpower that allows archaeologists to uncover history. They scrape ancient floors and walls with their trowels; they swing pickaxes; they carry buckets of dirt; they gently excavate artifacts and remains with wooden skewers; they sift dirt to find anything that missed their initial collection; they wash and sort pottery; and they perform a million other tasks that are essential for an excavation to run smoothly. From students to retirees, novices to professionals, volunteers come from all over the world to help excavate the past.

Every year the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) provides scholarships to individuals who would not otherwise be able to participate in an archaeological excavation. This year BAS awarded 20 qualified individuals—from a pool of more than 125 applicants—scholarships of $1,500 each. This diverse group chose to excavate throughout the Mediterranean and Biblical world, including sites in Israel, Jordan and Spain.

On behalf of the scholarship winners, BAR offers our sincere thanks to the generous donors who made this year’s scholarship program possible:

Kenneth and Ann Bialkin

George Blumenthal

Edward and Raynette Boshell

Eugene and Emily Grant

Ms. Darlene Jamison

David and Jemima Jeselsohn

Victor R. Kieser

Leon Levy Foundation, Shelby White, trustee

John and Carol Merrill