Strata: $10,000 Prizes Offered for ASOR Papers

The Biblical Archaeology Society announces two prizes of $10,000 each for the best academic papers presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), to be held this November in San Diego.

The John Mancini Prize, named for John Mancini of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will be awarded for the best paper on the Archaeology of Early Christianity and the Patristic Period.

The other prize is supported by a contribution from Sami Rohr of Bal Harbour, Florida, who made it a condition of his support that it be named for BAR editor Hershel Shanks. The Hershel Shanks Prize will be awarded for the best paper on the Archaeology of Late Antique Judaism and the Talmudic Period.

ASOR is the premier American professional organization of Near Eastern scholars and archaeologists.

A paper may be nominated by the presenter or anyone else. A copy of the paper must be sent to the Biblical Archaeology Society by January 31, 2008. In order for the prize to be awarded, there must be at least three entries for the applicable prize. All decisions of the judges will be final. The winners will be announced in BAR.