University of Evansville associate professor of archaeology Jennie Ebeling has been awarded the Annual Professorship at the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem for Fall 2015. Ebeling was awarded this fellowship to work on analysis and publication of the Jezreel Expedition. During this four-and-a-half month sabbatical in Jerusalem, she will analyze ground stone artifacts from the 2013-15 seasons at Jezreel, complete preliminary reports of the first three excavation seasons with co-director Norma Franklin, and conduct small survey and excavation projects at the site with members of the Jezreel Expedition.
The Jezreel Expedition is sponsored by UE and the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa. It is supported by consortium partners: Chapman University, Moravian Theological Seminary, University of Arizona, Vanderbilt University, Villanova University and Wesley Theological Seminary. The Jezreel Expedition is an American Schools of Oriental Research CAP-Affiliated field project and its field school is the first in Israel to be certified by the Register of Professional Archaeologists.
The expedition team is intent on revealing the history of settlement of “greater Jezreel†from late prehistory through the 20th century. It has unearthed evidence for a settlement over 4,000 years old from the Early Bronze Age, a Middle Bronze Age burial cave with Egyptian-style scarab seals and bronze jewelry, a large Iron Age (biblical period) winery, and more.
“This is perfect timing for a sabbatical,†said Ebeling, “because it is the midway point in our planned six-season project. I look forward to working more closely with Dr. Franklin and other members of the Jezreel team during my semester in Jerusalem and participating in educational and social activities at the Albright Institute.â€
Ebeling earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Religion from Rutgers University, and her MA and PhD in Near Eastern Archeology from the University of Arizona. A former Fulbright scholar, Ebeling has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lady Davis Fellowship Trust to conduct research in ancient technology, food and drink in antiquity, and women in Canaan and ancient Israel. She has co-edited books such as New Approaches to Old Stones: Recent Studies of Ground Stone Artifacts and Household Archaeology in Ancient Israel and Beyond and is the author of Women’s Lives in Biblical Times.
In 2011, Ebeling received the Dean’s Teaching Award from UE’s College of Arts and Sciences, and was awarded the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the UE Alumni Association in 2014. She currently chairs the Department of Archaeology and Art History at UE.
