Project Director
Debra Foran is Assistant Professor in the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. She earned her PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Toronto in 2003, where her dissertation examined the existence of a Byzantine mosaic workshop in Madaba. Dr. Foran has worked with the Tell Madaba Archaeological Project since 1998. She became Assistant Director of the project in 2001 and Director in 2006. She has more than 20 years of field experience in the Middle East and has participated in numerous projects in Jordan, Syria, and Tunisia.
Contact: dforan@wlu.ca
Co-Director
Andrew Danielson is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy and an editor on the Database of Religious History (DRH) at the University of British Columbia. He earned his Ph.D. in Levantine Archaeology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020. His research examines power dynamics and identity negotiation in the context of cross-cultural interaction, particularly in instances of human migration and long-distance economic interconnections. As an archaeologist, he explores this theme through an interdisciplinary dataset of material culture, inscriptions, and textual traditions related to the Iron Age Kingdom of Edom in the southern Levant. Andrew has enjoyed excavating with different projects in Jordan, Canada, and Israel.
Contact: andrew.danielson@ubc.ca
Director, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat Community Based Archaeology Program (KMCBAP
Jennifer Botica is responsible for establishing and teaching community engagement associated with the Khirbat al-Mukhayyat Community-Based Archaeology Program. She is working with members from the nearby village of Faysaliyah to identify local educational, interest, and capacity-building opportunities, as well as examine ethnographies associated with the site. Previously, she worked as a square supervisor, and then field supervisor for the Tell Madaba Archaeological Project in 2006-2007. Jenny is co-owner of Kleanza Consulting Ltd and is based at their Vancouver Island (Bowser) office. She is a permit holder and field director for coastal and interior BC and directs Kleanza’s education, training, communication, and heritage permitting policy initiatives. Jenny is also a faculty member in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at North Island College. She has developed curricula for First Nations, private industry, municipal and provincial governments, and public universities.
Contact: jennifer.botica@nic.bc.ca
Director, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat Survey Project
Gregory Braun is the Research Coordinator/Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research on Archaeological Ceramics at McMaster University. A Laurier alumnus, Greg completed his Ph.D. studies in Anthropology at the University of Toronto in 2015. His research focuses on ancient materiality – in particular, the ways in which the biographies of objects articulated with social and religious rituals in Neolithic societies. To this end, Greg has used various materials-science techniques to examine ceramic and lithic objects from North America, South Asia, and the Near East. Greg has worked in the Ontario CRM industry for over 15 years. His survey work with the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project focuses on the Mount Nebo Region, documenting the numerous Late Prehistoric sites and Byzantine caves surrounding Khirbat al-Mukhayyat.
Contact: greg.braun@mail.utoronto.ca
Logistics Manager
Mashoor Fsheikat has worked on archaeological projects in the Madaba region since 1996. In addition to managing the day-to-day activities of the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project, Mashoor also works for the Madaba Archaeological Museum.
Laboratory Director
Věra Doležálková is an Archaeologist/Pottery Specialist at the Central Bohemian Archaeological Heritage Institute in Prague. She is currently working on digitizing archaeological field notes in preparation for publication. She completed her MA in Classical Archaeology at Charles University (Prague, CZ) in 2016. Věra’s work with the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project focuses on ensuring the proper processing, registering, and recording of archaeological samples and artifacts as well as developing responsible archival and curatorial practices for our field laboratory.
Contact: vera.dolezalkova@uappsc.cz
Geomatics Specialist
Grant Ginson will be starting an MA in Anthropology at Trent University, with a focus on Landscape Archaeology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), in Fall 2023. He completed his BA in Near Eastern and Classical Archaeology at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2018. Grant first joined the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project in 2014 as a field school student. Since that time, he has participated in every excavation and survey season and numerous study seasons. Grant has become an integral member of the research team, lending his extensive geomatics knowledge to the project.
