Strata: “Condemned to the Mines” Wins Best BAR Article

The Biblical Archaeology Society is proud to announce “Condemned to the Mines: Copper Production & Christian Persecution” by Mohammad Najjar and Thomas E. Levy (BAR 37:06) as the winner of the Best of BAR for articles published in 2011–2012. The article describes how the grueling work in ancient Faynan, Jordan, copper mines—a virtual hell on earth—was reserved not only for slaves and criminals but also for persecuted Christians.

Awarded posthumously, the runner-up is “In Search of Herod’s Tomb” by Ehud Netzer (BAR 37:01).

The winners were selected by judges Daniel M. Master and Sandra A. Scham. Master is professor of archaeology at Wheaton College in Illinois, codirector of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon and editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology (2013). Archaeologist Scham teaches at Catholic University in Washington, DC. She is coeditor of the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies.

This $500 award is made possible by the support of Frederick L. Simmons, Esq., of Glendale, California.