Kyle Egerer (left) and Peter Cobb (right) survey a field near an ancient quarry (photo by CLAS 2011)
By Kyle Egerer and Peter Cobb
We, Kyle Egerer and Peter Cobb, were recipients of the ASOR Heritage Fellowship for the 2011 season of the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey (CLAS) in Western Anatolia. Upon applying for this fellowship, we both wrote letters of intent explaining our academic backgrounds, ambitions, and respective goals for the 2011 CLAS campaign in Turkey.
In his letter, Peter elaborated on how this fellowship would provide him with adequate time and resources to do a detailed study of the pottery that CLAS had collected over multiple seasons. This fellowship provided just that and more. Peter also had the opportunity to work closely with several visiting ceramics experts who taught him about cultural periods beyond his core focus of the 2nd millennium BCE. Peter’s 2011 research at CLAS has laid the groundwork for his dissertation.
Kyle described in his letter how his interest for Lydia grew out of a past research project and why he wanted to receive practical training in archaeological survey methods. This fellowship assisted Kyle in getting to central Lydia and in learning numerous archaeological survey techniques from CLAS; it also put him in a position to meet other practitioners of the trade. While on site, he was introduced to two geophysicists based out of Freiburg, Germany, who later offered him a position as part of their archaeological prospection team.
The ASOR Heritage Fellowship enables students and researchers to access different parts of the Middle East and Anatolia, to learn about archaeological practice in this region, and to interact with many cultures. Our work and research today would not be possible without organizations like ASOR and without the support of its generous donors. Thank you again for the opportunities you have made available to us!
