Fulbright Fellow, archaeology scholar to give inaugural series lecture on Jordan’s contributions

 

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – La Sierra University’s Center for Near Eastern Archaeology is rolling out a new public lecture series with an inaugural talk this month featuring visiting Fulbright Fellow Dr. Ziad Al-Saad.

Al-Saad, a professor of archaeology at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan and a former director general of Jordan’s Department of Antiquities will present a lecture titled “Jordan: A Key Player in the History of Human Innovation & Technology.” The event will be held Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in La Sierra University’s Zapara School of Business, room 244, and also streamed on Zoom video conferencing.

Dr. Ziad Al-Saad, a visiting Fulbright Fellow at La Sierra University is an archaeology and cultural preservation scholar and a former director general of Jordan's Department of Antiquities. He is pictured here in the artifacts lab at La Sierra's Center for Near Eastern Archaeology. (Photos: Natan Vigna)

Al-Saad comes to La Sierra through his connections with La Sierra University archaeologists who have led multiple excavations in Jordan for decades. In 2010 while Al-Saad was heading the nation’s Department of Antiquities, he visited the Tall al-`Umayri dig site outside of Amman which was under the direction of La Sierra archaeologist Douglas Clark. “He came to visit our site, which few director generals did. This impressed us,” recalled Clark who now leads La Sierra’s Center for Near Eastern Archaeology and the annual Archaeology Discovery Weekend events held each November. 

Later in 2010 during visits to institutions in Southern California, Al-Saad gave a lecture for the center’s second annual Archaeology Discovery Weekend. Al-Saad and Clark maintained a friendship over the years and when Al-Saad applied for a Fulbright Fellowship, he chose La Sierra University as his fellowship residence in the United States.

During his tenure on La Sierra’s campus for the 2021-22 school year, Al-Saad is conducting research and writing on a variety of topics related to cultural heritage protection. He also taught a fall quarter class on preserving archaeological sites. He has contributed to the center’s newsletter, La Sierra Digs, sits on the Archaeology Planning Committee, and will now help launch the center’s new lecture series.

“The lecture series is a long-time dream of mine to spread the archaeological wealth and public outreach equally throughout the academic year,” said Clark. “We have Archaeology Discovery Weekend in the fall and always do a serious presentation or two during Alumni Weekend in the spring, but we had nothing to offer publicly during the winter. As with the other two annual events, the winter lecture series is aimed at popular audiences, including those with interest or experience in archaeology.”

For further information about the Winter Archaeology Lecture Series and Dr. Al-Saad’s presentation as well as online access and campus access protocol, visit https://lasierra.edu/cnea/winter-lecture/

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