.:. Archaeology
The goal for this site is to provide information on archaeological excavations and surveys in which Professor Douglas Edwards of the University of Puget Sound served as director or consultant. This includes data organized into reports, articles, databases, photographic records, multimedia, geospatial / GIS environments, digital archives and information on specific sites for archaeologists, scholars, students and the general public.
The Website Links on the sidebar to the right contain some general information pertaining to the three major projects listed below. More specific information in the form of articles; maps; galleries of photographs, videos, drawings and reconstructions; and bibliographies can be found in the links of each of the general Project pages to the right. Beyond that, extensive scholarly, textual, database, geospatial datasets, fieldwork, photographic and video information pertaining to these projects is also available on the individual project "archive" websites via the general Project pages. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the material found in these webpages, please do not hesitate to contact the website administrator at Contact UPS.
.:. Major Projects
Khirbet
Qana
Archaeological Project, Israel
Khirbet Qana and its environs represent an intriguing location on the north side of an important trade route, the Bet Netofa Valley. It was a destination for Christian pilgrims as early as the 5th century CE who believed it the site where Jesus turned water to wine. Imported rooftiles and ceramic ware indicate that the village participated in long range trade networks. Literary tradition suggest that one of the 24 priestly courses settled there after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Jewish presence is evident in stone vessels, miqveh, the earliest synagogue in Galilee, and a Jewish amulet. A Christian pilgrim cave, an industrial area that includes presses and a columbarium, numerous cisterns and Roman tombs, and Roman and Byzantine architectural remains litter the landscape. On-going excavations began in 1998.
Chersonesos
Archaeological Project, Ukraine
The ancient city of Chersonesos is located at the southwest tip of the Crimea within the modern city of Sebastopol. In 1994, teams from the United States, the Ukraine, and the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos created the Black Sea Project. Excavations were conducted around the so-called 1935 basilica, which provided extensive information about earlier excavations as well as the discovery of a Roman synagogue over which the 6th century Christian basilica was built. This site contains extensive records of the five years of work.
Galilee
Survey Project, IsraelThe Galilee Survey Project is a joint venture of Israeli, Canadian, and U.S. archaeologists to systematically gather site information on the occupation of Lower Galilee with particular attention to the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. It integrates data from past surveys and excavations with a planned intensive survey and on-going excavations. The goal is to discern the impact on villages, cities, and the landscape as first the Roman and then the Byzantine empires encounter, interact, and control this area. Special attention is devoted to cultural, economic, social, and political shifts as reflected in the archaeological record.
Doug Edwards (1950 - 2008), The Man and His Missions
Douglas Edwards was a distinguished professor of Religion at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) in Washington State. Doug had a PhD in New Testament and Christian Origins from Boston University where he also took several archaeology courses in the Department of Archaeology. His first venture in field archaeology occurred as a area supervisor at Sepphoris, Israel in 1986, where he worked another six years. He helped excavate rooftiles with the stamp of the 6th legion Ferrata at Kefar Hananya and led his first excavation as co-director at Yodefat or Jotapata. In 1994-1998, he co-directed excavations at ancient Chersonesos (modern Sebastopol) in the Ukraine and in 1998, he also initiated excavations at Khirbet Qana (Cana of the Galilee), where he continued to work until 2007. An expert in GPS (global positioning systems) and GIS (geographic information systems), his most recent work included a survey of sites in Lower Galilee as well as consulting on a number of archaeological projects in Greece, including the Iklaina, Stymphalos, Kenchreai, SHARP (Korphos) and Sikyon Projects.
