Zincirli Expedition: Acknowledgments

Introduction

Site and Setting

Early Excavations

New Discoveries

Research Goals

Acknowledgments

The Neubauer Expedition to Zincirli is funded by the Neubauer Family Foundation of Philadelphia, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. The project staff are grateful to Joseph and Jeanette Neubauer for their consistent support, encouragement, and advice in mounting this ambitious long-term effort to understand the ancient Mediterranean world whose cultures have enriched our own. The director of the Oriental Institute, Gil J. Stein, has been instrumental in initiating the project and guiding its development.

Thanks are due also to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey and in particular to Ertuğrul Günay (minister of culture), Orhan Düzgün (former director-general of antiquities) and Osman Murat Süslü (current director-general of antiquities), and Melik Ayaz (head of excavations and surveys); to the staff of the Gaziantep Museum, especially Ahmet Denizhanoğulları (museum director) and Ahmet Beyazlar, Burhan Balcıoğlu, and Mehmet Önal (museum archaeologists); to the governorship of Gaziantep and in particular Süleyman Kamcı (provincial governor), Salih Efiloğlu (culture director), and Mehmet Aykanat (deputy culture director); to government officials of the İslahiye and Nurdağ districts and in particular to Resul Kır (İslahiye district governor) and Emrah Yılmaz (former Nurdağ district governor); and, last but not least, to the residents of Fevzipaşa and Zincirli, especially Hasan Bal and İsmet Ersoy (the current and former mayors of Fevzipaşa, respectively).

All of the color photographs shown in this website were taken by Eudora Struble. The geomagnetic survey maps were prepared by Jason Herrmann under the direction of Dr. Jesse Casana of the University of Arkansas. The architectural plans were prepared by Benjamin Arubas and Octavian Reicher. The artifact drawings were done by Karen Reczuch.

The leaders of the expedition are grateful to the dozens of professionals and students who have participated in the field seasons of 2006 to 2010. They have accomplished a great deal by their diligence and skill, and their good humor and friendliness have made the expedition an enjoyable social experience. The expedition’s archaeologists and archaeology students have come from the following universities: the University of Chicago, Gaziantep University, Bilkent University (Ankara), Boğaziçi University (Istanbul), Selçuk University (Konya), Trakya University (Edirne), Oxford University, Tübingen University, University of Pisa, University of Arkansas, Tel Aviv University, and Haifa University. It is a multinational team consisting of citizens of the following countries: the United States, Turkey, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

Finally, to the scores of local men and women hired from in and around Zincirli to excavate and protect the site goes the credit for carefully retrieving the treasures of ancient Sam’al.