Saving Gaza’s Cultural Heritage Amid War: The Courage of Local Guardians
By Loay Abu Alsaud Department of Tourism and Archaeology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine www.najah.eduEmail: loayabualsaud@najah.edu November 2025. The Gaza Strip is often described in news headlines as a land under siege, a place of relentless conflict and humanitarian crises. Yet beneath these headlines lies another, less visible story: the story of a rich and vibrant cultural heritage, threatened by war but preserved through the courage and dedication of local communities. Museums, mosques, churches, archaeological sites, and centuries-old traditions make Gaza not just a political landscape but also a historical and cultural treasure. Protecting this heritage is not only about saving objects—it is about preserving memory, identity, and resilience. The Threat to Cultural Heritage Since October 2023, the recent war…
To Make Things Grow: Reflections on a Research Project
By Dr. Yasmin Fedda, January 2026 Image 1: Katbeh and the first group of students on the opening day of Deir Amr Farm School, 1941 We all inherit stories, impressions, and feelings from the past, and some stay with us until we confront them. My great‑grandfather, Abd Al Ghaffar, was principal of a well‑known orphanage in 1940s Palestine: the Deir Amr Farm School, west of Jerusalem. The school was created for children orphaned during the 1930s revolt against British rule. Many came from rural areas whose villages were targeted by British forces. The school was established by the General Arab Orphan Committee of Palestine (Lajnat al‑Yatim al‑‘Arabiyya al‑‘Amma), headed by the educationalist Ahmad Samih al‑Khalidi and others. Their aim was…
FROM FURROW TO FLYING BOAT: THE EVOLUTION OF BRITAIN’S MANDATE-PERIOD AIR ROUTES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Thanks to financial support from the Palestine Exploration Fund and with the gracious permission of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, August-October 2025 saw the Desert Air Routes Project (the Project) continue its documentation of surviving physical infrastructure relating to the Mandate-period air routes which traversed the deserts of eastern Jordan and western Iraq between 1921 and 1948.
The Society for Palestinian Archaeology
Part 2: The Restoration and Documentation Project of the Shrine of Emad Al-Din on Mount Ebal, Nablus. By Loay Abu Alsaud Location: Mount Ebal, NablusHistorical Context: Early Ottoman Period to the present dayProject Start Date: April 17, 2023 The shrine of Emad Al-Din, located on Mount Ebal in Nablus, is a significant historical and religious site from the early Ottoman period (16th century CE). Over the years, the shrine fell into disrepair due to neglect, theft, and looting by treasure hunters, which caused severe damage to its structure and antiquities. Recognising its historical and cultural importance, the Society of Palestinian Archaeologists, in collaboration with the An-Najah National University Nablus as its academic partner, sought the necessary permissions from Ministry of Palestinian Antiquities, and…
The Society for Palestinian Archaeology
By Loay Abu Alsaud. Part 1. The Foundation of the Society The Society for Palestinian Archaeology was formally established on September 1, 2022, with a mission to advance the preservation, research study, and dissemination of Palestine’s extensive archaeological heritage. This organization emerged in response to the pressing need for a coordinated initiative dedicated to safeguarding Palestinian cultural and historical sites. These sites, which hold significant historical and cultural value, have increasingly faced threats from destruction, neglect, and misrepresentation. The Society aims to address these challenges by promoting research, enhancing awareness, and advocating for policies that protect and accurately represent Palestinian heritage. Through collaborations with local and international scholars, institutions, and communities, the Society seeks to ensure that Palestinian archaeology is…
Reflections on ethnographic fieldwork in rural Palestine at times of crises: tracing people and lifeways of Ottoman Beit Loya, Israel
By Roy Marom
“Read it not as a dead record of a former world or of an extinct race,” Claude R. Conder implored the readers of Tent Work in Palestine (1878), his narrative of the Survey of Western Palestine undertaken in the 1870s, “but as a living picture of manners and of a land, which can still be studied by any who will devote themselves to the task.” (vol. 1, xxi).
Prominent Palestinian Archaeologists of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
By Loay Abu Alsaud, Department of Tourism and Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. loayabualsaud@najah.edu Presenting a new collection of biographical information on formerly overlooked Palestinian archaeologists and those following in their footsteps, to the present day During the 19th and 20th centuries, accounts of Western expeditions and research dominated the archaeological history of Palestine. Owing to centuries of foreign control, Palestinians did not have their own archaeological research base. Nevertheless, during the early to mid-20th century, there were Palestinian archaeologists as integral members of Western teams, involved in tasks in all areas. Working side by side with westerners, a number of them acquired professional archaeological skills and expertise. The Western expeditions depended on…
Islamic Baydha Project 2022/2023: steps towards publication
During the past few years, the Islamic Baydha Project has been moving towards data processing and publication of the results from the study of the two mosques at the Islamic village. In 2019, the Islamic Baydha Project team had a final season of excavations at one of the mosques, a season funded by the Barakat Trust and the Altajir Trust, with the goal to examine the relationship between the mosque and the courtyard outside of it, as well as the relationship between the mosque and the earlier structures on which the mosque was built. With the start of the pandemic and the consequent difficulty in undertaking fieldwork, I have focused mainly on the processing of data and finds in preparation…
The Petra Hinterland Social Landscapes Project. Launch of First Season in 2022
By Will M. Kennedy After some considerable delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first field season of the Petra Hinterland Social Landscapes Project (PHSLP) was finally realized in June/ July 2022. It is assumed that Nabataean Petra was greatly impacted by a social structure that was rooted in family, clan or tribal traditions. While such socio-political aspects of Nabataean culture have already been extensively explored in urban Petra, investigations of similar aspects in the city’s hinterland are only beginning to gain wider scholarly attention. However, important archaeological sites may be identified in the Petraean hinterland as possible archaeological markers of distinct social landscapes in Petra’s surroundings. These include specific cultic sites such as rural sanctuaries or isolated cultic installations,…
Investigating changing socio-economic landscapes in the Early Bronze Age Levant through Zooarchaeology
By Gwendoline Maurer & Mariana Albuquerque UCL Institute of Archaeology. Back in February 2022, we received the great news in our inbox that The Palestine Exploration Fund had awarded us funding to travel to Haifa to carry out zooarchaeological research related to the Early Bronze Age of the Levant. By May 2022, we were once again back in Israel and found ourselves at the University of Haifa. There, we were warmly welcomed by Dr. Nimrod Marom, and his team, at the Laboratory for Mediterranean Archaeology (MAR). Their impressive reference collection was invaluable to our work. Surrounded by skeletons of Persian gazelles, ibex, jackals, wolves, and fallow deer, among others, we felt right at home. Fig. 1 – University of Haifa…
Taking up a significant portion of the Old City of Jerusalem, the al-Aqsa sanctuary is an exceptional historical and religious complex. With the Dome of the Rock dominating a central platform, its unique architectural design and empowering golden dome is instantly recognisable the world over.
For many Muslims and non-Muslim alike the complex is hidden behind a veil of politics and conflict, with the Dome of the Rock taking centre focus while the rest of the complex is largely ignored. In reality it is a magnificent open-air museum, shrine, campus and public park, all rolled into one.
Measuring in at 144 acres, the area contains hundreds of landmarks from raised prayer platforms, to water fountains, schools, shrines, tombs and gates, each a snapshot of a history that spans 14 centuries.
Bashar Tabbah will be taking us through a sample of his photographic work on the complex, exploring the evolution of the complex over the centuries.
Biography:
Bashar Tabbah’s passion for photography, exploration and history has dominated his life for the past 18 years. Living in Jordan surrounded by historical treasures highly influenced his passion and outlook. He primarily focuses on sites of historical and cultural significance and has travelled extensively, photographing over 400 locations internationally as well as 300 in Jordan.
