Dr. Sheridan has served as director of the St. Stephen's project since its inception in 1994. Her research foci include analysis of ancient diet and disease w/particular interest in childhood health/adaptability, occupational stress, and female reproductive status.  Other projects in the Near East have included analysis of remains from Qumran, and from the Late Bronze/early Iron Age site of Tel Dothan. She has also worked on populations from Sudan (Nubians) and the American Southwest (Hohokam). [homepage]

Dr. Haak studies the minor prophets using the early texts and archaeology of Israel/Palestine.  He has traveled extensively in the Near East, participating in numerous digs and directing the summer abroad program for Augustana College.   He joined the project this Fall as student fieldtrip coordinator, leading outtings to the Byzantine site of Scythopolis (Beit She'an), the monasteries of Martyrius, Gerasimus, and Euthymius, the port city of Caesarea, and a two-day trip to the Galilee.  He likewise joined the group for a hike thru the Wadi Kelt to Choziba.

Professor Barkay excavated the Iron Age tombs on the grounds of the École Biblique in the early 1970's.  It is from these tombs that the Byzantine bones used in the current study were exhumed.  Professor Barkay lectured on the history of the site, providing a temporal depth to the Byzantine habitation.  He led the students on a guided tour of the École grounds, explaining the architecture of the two major tomb complexes, and the material culture found around the grounds.

Rev. Driscoll has been involved with the St. Stephen's project since 1997, when he added his expertise of liturgical practice to the study of daily activity patterns and asceticism.  His research interests include 9th century Carolingian liturgy in Western Europe.  He lectured this summer on Eastern Orthodox liturgy in Byzantine Palestine, and guided the students to numerous pilgrimage sites on the Mount of Olives and in the Old City of Jerusalem.    [homepage]

Dr. Goren led the students on a tour of his current excavations at Kefar HaHoresh in the Carmel region of Israel.  This Neolithic site has yielded several plastered skulls and interesting burial patterns indicative of an ancient graveyard.  The students witnessed an active excavation, were able to interact with several members of the excavation team, and witnessed new discoveries as yet unpublished.

Dr. Magness consulted on the identification of the material culture at St. Stephen's commingled with the human remains.  She published the authoritative text on the region's Byzantine ceramic chronology, as well as dozens of articles on Byzantine archaeology.  She has excavated several sites in the Mediterranean region, presented over a hundred lectures on her research, and serves on the board of numerous institutes/foundations related to Near Eastern archaeology and Classics.  This summer, she lectured on Roman/Byzantine archaeology in Jerusalem, and led the students on a tour of sites from this period in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Bob has worked extensively in Israel/Palestine for approximately 15 years, supervising excavations at Beit She'an and Tel Rehov.  He is finishing his doctorate in archaeology at the Hebrew University, and currently serves as the field trip coordinator for the Albright Institute.  He led the all-day Wadi Kelt tour for the summer field school, pointing out Roman/Byzantine ruins along the way to the monestary of Choziba (St. George's).  He also taught the students about the flora and fauna of the region. 

Professor Phillips led a tour of early hominid sites in the Carmel region of Israel.  He took the students to the cave sites of Tabun, El Wad, Skhul, and to the Neolithic site of Kefar HaHoresh.   Students were introduced to early hominid finds, an understanding of the topography of the region, and an overview of the debate surrounding the chronology of our early ancestors.

Robert Schick led a comprehensive tour of Islamic sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including a detailed survey of sites around the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque.  He likewise pointed out important architectural features around the city, monuments of importance to Islamic history, and provided a temporal perspective on the city immediately following the destruction of Byzantine St. Stephen's.

Dr. Shoemaker recently finished a NEH Fellowship at the Albright Institute, conducting research related to an upcoming book on the image of Mary in late antiquity.  He spoke to the Summer Field School about Byzantine monasticism in the Near East, with particular emphasis on Egypt and Palestine.  His lecture provided an important historical/textual context for the biological and archaeological components of the field school.  [homepage]

Professor Spencer gave a lecture on the history of Israel/Palestine, providing an important temporal depth for the students' research.  Students drew upon information from this lecture throughout the course at numerous archaeological site visits, and in discussions about the current social/political situtation of the region.

Jerremy began working for the project in the Fall 1998 "Human Osteology" course conducting research on the biomechanics of kneeling.  He continued with the project during the summer 1999 collecting data on non-metric postcranial traits, in Jerusalem.  He served as field trip coordinator for the summer school, drawing upon his familiarity with the project, faculty, region and languages (he lived in J'salem for a year). 

Jaime began her work with the project by helping organize the library holdings and acquire new materials.  She continued in the Spring 1999 in a collaborative "Directed Research" project on pilgrimage, and then in the summer 1999 in Jerusalem.  Her expertise in dental anthropology proved particularly useful for the group research project on diet reconstruction using a variety of dental traits.