Glenn J. Corbett, the new Editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, answers 5 Questions about his training and experience that led him to fill this new role at the Biblical Archaeology Society. From South Carolina to Petra, it’s been an exciting journey!
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What caused you to pursue a career in archaeology?
GLENN J. CORBETT: I was raised with a deep appreciation for the past. I grew up in South Carolina, where historical sites and battlefields are always close at hand, and, as an Army brat, I also had the opportunity to live abroad at an early age, exploring European museums and medieval castles on weekend trips. And like so many of my generation, certainly the Indiana Jones films spurred a deep fascination with the “lost civilizations” of the ancient world. But, more than anything, what attracted me to archaeology was the idea of “discovery”—being able to reveal something, whether an artifact or a new understanding of the past, that had been previously lost, misunderstood, or simply unknown. For me, that is the real joy of archaeology.
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Where was your first dig?
GJC: My first dig experience was in high school, when I participated in an “archaeology weekend” to help excavate an old colonial-era settlement near my hometown in South Carolina. But my first experience in biblical archaeology was at the site of Ashkelon in southern Israel. I joined as a first-year student volunteer, when I was an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, helping excavate Late Bronze Age Canaanite tombs. I got hooked immediately. I was fortunate to stay on with the project for several summers and eventually became a square supervisor. Later, during my graduate studies at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, I also excavated at a small Early Bronze Age site in the Jordan Valley and then the famous Bronze Age mound of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh) in southern Turkey. My Ph.D. work ultimately took me to Jordan, where I became more involved in archaeological survey and epigraphic studies.
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When did you first join the staff of the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS)?
GJC: I first joined BAS as a part-time assistant editor in 2007. My wife and I had just moved to the Washington, D.C., area, and I was looking for steady work while finishing up my dissertation. Hershel was kind enough to bring me on, and, as one year rolled into another, I gradually carved out a larger role for myself as a full-time associate editor, helping edit the magazine but also working on special projects, including BAS publications and video lectures. I also eventually became web editor, helping develop BAS’s Bible History Daily blog and original online content. So over the course of just a few years, I got a great feel for not only the magazine, but also the broader educational programs and activities of the entire organization.
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You also lived in Amman, Jordan. What brought you there and for how long?
GJC: I lived in Amman for the better part of five years and, earlier in my studies, spent many summers there for research, so Jordan is really like a second home to me. When serving as ACOR (American Center of Research) Associate Director (2014–2017), it was incredibly rewarding to work with so many Jordanian, American, and international archaeologists who were deeply committed to the recovery and preservation of Jordan’s past. This was especially the case at Petra’s Temple of the Winged Lions, where I directed a project that involved the local community in the preservation of an ancient Nabataean temple that had been first excavated decades ago.a All too often, archaeologists have neglected host communities in their research projects, so working in Petra was an extraordinary opportunity to help foster, at least in one small corner of Jordan, a more inclusive archaeology.
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Do you have a favorite archaeological site?
GJC: That’s a hard one. Jordan’s beautiful Wadi Rum desert, where I spent so much time recording ancient Arabian inscriptions and rock art for my Ph.D., will always hold a special place in my heart. Rum is renowned for its towering sand-stone mountains and sweeping desert vistas, but even many archaeologists don’t realize just how much history and archaeology can be found tucked away in its cavernous ravines and boulder-filled wadis.
Glenn J. Corbett, the new Editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, answers 5 Questions about his training and experience that led him to fill this new role at the Biblical Archaeology Society. From South Carolina to Petra, it’s been an exciting journey!
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