Shelley Wachsmann

Research Interests

Specialty:

• Biblical archaeology
• Nautical archaeology
• Seafaring
• Cult
• Archery
  
  

Current Research Projects:

I am deeply fascinated by ships, the sea, and the ways in which cultures have interacted through maritime endeavors. My primary focus is on the eastern Mediterranean during its formative period, though my interests extend beyond this region. I am particularly intrigued by the cultic use of ships and their facsimiles—many of which never actually set sail. Due to the scarcity of shipwrecks from this era, my research has concentrated on interpreting ancient ship iconography. Around the turn of the millennium, I developed a keen interest in deep-submergence archaeology.

My field projects reflect these interests. In 2002, I directed a paleo-environmental study of potential Phoenician anchorages in Portugal. From 2003 to 2006, I led the Canadian team in a joint Canadian-Greek expedition searching for fleets lost during the Persian Wars of the early fifth century B.C. In 2007-2009, I spearheaded the Danaos Project, a deep-water survey examining the Crete-to-Egypt trade route in antiquity. In March 2012, driven by a long-standing fascination with Easter Island, I organized the first maritime remote-sensing survey of the crater lake Rano Raraku and explored maritime aspects of the Rapanui culture, collaborating with Dr. Jo Anne Van Tilburg’s Easter Island Statue Project. Most recently, as part of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, I directed The 2014 Ioppa Maritima Project. This project involved a geoarchaeological and geophysical land survey, along with a deep-water Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) examination of anomalies at depths ranging from 50 to 250 meters.

I have authored numerous articles and seven books, three of which have received international book awards. Notable works include Aegeans in the Theban Tombs (1987), which examines the depiction of Minoans in Egyptian tomb paintings from the XVIII Dynasty; The Excavations of an Ancient Boat from the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) (1990), my final excavation report on the Galilee Boat; and The Sea of Galilee Boat (1995; 2000; 2009; 2015 [Chinese]), a popular account of the same subject. My book Seagoing Ships and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant (1998) explores the maritime activities of the eastern Mediterranean during the first and second millennia B.C. The Gurob Ship-Cart Model and Its Mediterranean Context (2013) delves into the most detailed known representation of a Bronze Age galley used by both the Mycenaeans and the Sea Peoples. Understanding the Boat from the Time of Jesus: Galilean Seafaring (2015) serves as a guide to the archaeology of seafaring on the Sea of Galilee in antiquity. My forthcoming book, Late Bronze Age Metal Artifacts off Hahotrim, Israel (scheduled for spring 2025), will present the final excavation report of metal artifacts dating to around 1200 B.C.