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Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Schmidt

Junior professorship of Biblical Archaeology (Prof. Schmidt)

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Schmidt

Universitätsstr. 13-17
48143 Münster

T: +49 251 8325210
katharinaschmidt@uni-muenster.de

Consultation Hours

Termin nach Vereinbarung (e-mail)

Academic Profiles:

Participation in the Cluster of Excellence

Working Group: Seals in context: Seal decoration and seal practice as expressions of belonging
Field of research Transcultural entanglement and disentanglement
Head of project A3-42 Mountain-top sites in Edom: Disentangling politics, religion and economy in an Iron Age tribal kingdom

Research Foci
- Archaeology of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages of the Southern Levant and Mesopotamia
- Iconography and visual culture of the Southern Levant and Northern Syria
- Technology, crafts and raw materials with a special focus on glass
- Archaeometry (special focus: glass)
CV
Academic Education
2016
Doctorate (Dr. Phil.) at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, title of dissertation "Production, Distribution and Significance of Glass in Iron Age Mesopotamia. An Archaeological – Philological – Archaeometrical Approach"
2013 – 2016
Doctoral studies as research assistant at the Graduate School "Distant Worlds" at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich and visiting researcher for one term at the University College London
2007 – 2012
Studies in Near Eastern Archaeology (major), Near Eastern Languages and Prehistoric Archaeology (minors) at the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich and the Université Paris1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris
2012
Magister Artium in Near Eastern Archaeology at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich with the thesis: „Glasierte Gefäße in Obermesopotamien unter besonderer Berücksichtigung neuassyrischer Beispiele“
Positions
since 2023
Professor for Biblical Archaeology/ Archaeology of the Southern Levant at the University of Münster
2022 – 2023
Director of the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (AIAR) in Jerusalem
since 11.2020
Habilitation: Ammonite Sculpture
2016 – 2022
Director of the German Protestant Institute for Archaeology of the Holy Land (DEIAHL) in Amman
2020 – 2022
Cultural Heritage Project "Livelihood Support through Cultural Heritage Development. Creating decent jobs through employment-intensive cultural heritage conservation methods in the northern districts of Jordan and Iraq" in cooperation with UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), supported by the EU MADAD Fund: Management of the Gadara/ Tall Zarʿa component.
2016 – 2022
Administration of the DOJAM project "Documentation of Objects in Jordanian Archaeological Museums"
2018 – 2022
Excavation director of the excavations at Tall Zar‛a, Jordan, by the GPIA Amman, funded by the German Archaeological Institute.
2019 – 2021
Seminars at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (Vorderasiatische Archäologie)
2018 – 2019
Organisation and coordination of the special exhibition "Tall Zirā‛a - Mirror of Jordan's History" at the Jordan National Museum, Amman, funded by the Federal Foreign Office, Regula Pestalozzi Foundation
2016 – 2017
Excavation project "Eastern Badia Archaeological Project", Jordan, with a focus on the Late Neolithic period: trench supervisor (Directors: Prof. Y. M. Rowan, Oriental Institute Chicago, Prof. G. Rollefson, Whitman College)
2013 – 2016
Research assistant at the Graduate School "Distant Worlds" at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich (PhD)
2012 – 2015
Excavation project Dülük Baba Tepesi (Doliche) of the Asia Minor Forschungsstelle in Münster: Specialist for Iron Age pottery (Director: Prof. E. Winter)
2008 – 2010
Excavation project Tell Halaf, Syria: from 2009, area supervisor in the area of the Neo-Assyrian north-eastern palace (Directors: Dr. L. Martin, Prof. M. Novák)
2008 – 2009
Excavation project Sirkeli Höyük, Turkey: field supervisor (Director: Prof. M. Novák)
External Functions
since 2023
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies (JEMAHS) (Editorial board, Member)
since 2021
German Society for the Exploration of Palestine (DPV) (Member of the Board, International Relations)
since 2019
Freundeskreis der Asia Minor Forschungsstelle (Mitglied)
since 2013
Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (DOG) (Member)
since 2013
Deutscher Archäologen- Verband e.V. (dArV) (Mitglied)
Teaching
Winter Term 2025/26
- Intermediate seminar: Hauptseminar: Israel und Transjordanien: archäologische und historische Perspektiven (mit und ohne Hebräisch) [
  012058]
  (in cooperation with Christophe Nihan)
  - [21^st Oct 2025 – 3^rd Feb 2026 | Tue, 2.00 p. m. – 4.00 p. m. | weekly | ETH 204]
- Advanced seminar: Doktorandenkolloquium: Aktuelle Probleme Alttestamentlicher Forschung [
  012064]
  (in cooperation with Christophe Nihan and Rüdiger Schmitt)
  - [22^nd Oct 2025 – 4^th Feb 2026 | Wed, 6.00 p. m. – 8.00 p. m. | TwoWeekly | ETH 304]
- Practice: Übung: Die Geschichte und Archäologie Jordaniens. Übung mit optionaler Exkursion [
  012285]
  (in cooperation with Michael Blömer)
  - [13^th Oct 2025 – 2^nd Feb 2026 | Mon, 2.00 p. m. – 4.00 p. m. | weekly | ETH 106b]
Winter Term 2024/25
- Lecture: Vorlesung: Archäologie der Südlevante in der Bronze- und Eisenzeit (ohne Hebr.) [018061]
- Lecture series: Archäologie und Umwelt – Antike Gesellschaften und ihre Lebensbedingungen (Ringvorlesung Archäologie Diagonal) [M20] [099203]
  (in cooperation with Florian Kreppner, Angelika Lohwasser, Jan Lichtenberger and Engelbert Winter)
- Intermediate seminar: Hauptseminar: Jerusalem: Archäologische, historische und exegetische Perspektiven (ohne Hebräisch) [018067]
  (in cooperation with Christophe Nihan)
Winter Term 2023/24
- Lecture: Vorlesung: Einführung in die Biblische Archäologie [014127]
- Intermediate seminar: Hauptseminar: Archäologie im Königreich Ammon: Vorbereitung zur Ausgrabung auf der Zitadelle von Amman (ohne Hebräisch) [014126]
Winter Term 2021/22
- Seminar: Die eisenzeitlichen Königreiche in Transjordanien: Archäologie und Gesellschaftsstruktur am Rande mesopotamischer Großreiche [AM 1b / M 16.2] [097158]
Winter Term 2020/21
- Seminar: Archäologische Fallstudien: Von Fritte zu Glas: Entwicklung und Produktion des jüngsten antiken Werkstoffes [AM 1b / M 16.2] [093141]
Winter Term 2019/20
- Seminar: VMa/M 9.2: Siedlungsarchäologie I: Zwischen Jordan und Wüste. Archäologie und Geschichte der Spätbronze- und Eisenzeit in Jordanien [099192]
Publications
Books
Book (Monograph)
- Schmidt, K. 2019. Glass and Glass Production in the Near East during the Iron Age. Evidence from objects, texts and chemical analysis. Preprint. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Edited Collections
Books (Edited Collections)
- Soennecken, K., Leiverkus, P., Zimni, J., and Schmidt, K., eds. 2023. Durch die Zeiten – Through the ages. Festschrift für Dieter Vieweger. Essays in honor of Dieter Vieweger Norderstedt: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
- Schmidt, K., ed. 2022. The 2018 and 2019 Excavation Campaigns. The Iron Age, Hellenistic and Early Roman Period in Area 2, The Gadara Region Project (2001–2011). Final Report 9.. Preprint. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
- Picht, L., Schmitz, G., and Wiggering, L., eds. 2015. The Limits of Change. Was ist der Wert der beständigen Dinge?. Preprint. Berlin: Neofelis Verlag.
Exhibition Catalogue (Edited Collection)
- Schmidt, K., and Häser, J., eds. 2019. Mirror of Jordan´s History. Ausstellungskatalog zur Sonderausstellung im Jordan Museum am 1. Juli 2019. Preprint. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
Articles
Articles in Scientific Journals, Newspapers or Magazines
Research Articles (Journals)
- al Khasawneh, S., Schmidt, K., and Murray, A. 2023. “Luminescence dating of anthropogenic deposits from Tall Zarʿa in the Jordan Valley.” Archaeometry 65 (5): 972–986. doi: 10.1111/arcm.12871.
- Schmidt, K. 2022. “The ‘House with the Loom’ – an Iron Age II domestic complex on Tall Zar‛a: Preliminary report of seasons 2018 and 2019.” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 60: 549–558.
- Rollefson, Gary, Schmidt, Katharina, and Schick, Robert. 2022. “One Hundred Years of Archaeological Research in Jordan.” Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology 16 (3): 255–304. doi: 10.54134/jjha.v16i3.662.
- Schmidt, Katharina, and Gries, Helen. 2020. “The Core-formed Glass Vessels from Middle Assyrian Aššur.” Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie und Vorderasiastische Archaeologie 110 (2): 242–275.
- Kemp, V., Schmidt, K., Brownscombe, W., Soennecken, K., Vieweger, D., Häser, J., and Shortland, A. 2020. “The dating and provenance of glass artefacts excavated from the ancient city of Tall Zirā‛a, Jordan.” Archaeometry 62 (6): 1164–1181.
- Dussubieux, L., Schmidt, K, Rowan, Y.M., Wasse, A.M. R., and Rollefson, G.O. 2018. “Two Glass Beads from Wisad Pools in the Jordanian Black Desert.” Journal of Glass Studies 60: 303–306.
Review Article (Journal)
- Schmidt, K. 2023. “Hard Power: The Stone Statues of Ammon.” Biblical Archaeology Review 49 (4): 48–53.
Non-Scientific Contributions (Journals)
- Schmidt, K. 2022. “Die Bildwerke des Königreichs Ammon. Ein neues Projekt zu eisenzeitlichen Steinstatuen in Jordanien.” Antike Welt - Zeitschrift für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte 2 (22): 16–21.
- Schmidt, Katharina, and Bienkowski, Piotr. 2022. “Das Königreich Edom aus der Luft. Untersuchungen von Straßennetzen im Hochland Südjordaniens.” Antike Welt - Zeitschrift für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte 22 (2): 28–32.
Research Article (Book Contributions)
- Schmidt, K. 2023. “An Ammonite god in the British Museum.” in ‘To Aleppo gone …’: Essays in honour of Jonathan N. Tubb, edited by Irving Finkel, J.A. Fraser and StJohn Simpson. Oxford: Archaeopress. doi: 10.32028/9781803274706.
- Schmidt, K. 2023. “Der Schreckensglanz Aššurs‘ – Überlegungen zum Ende der Eisenzeit II B am Tall Zarʿa in Nordjordanien.” in Durch die Zeiten – Through the ages. Festschrift für Dieter Vieweger. Essays in honor of Dieter Vieweger, edited by K. Soenecken, P. Leiverkus, J. Zimni and K. Schmidt. Norderstedt: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
- Schmidt, K. 2023. “History of research on the Iron Age of the Amman Citadel جبل القلعة‎ (Jabal Al-Qal´a).” in Excavations, Surveys, Heritage. Essays on southwest Asian archaeology. In honour of Zeidan Kafafi, 249–271., Vol. 7 of marru, edited by S.Kerner/ H. Hayajneh/ O. al-Ghul. Münster: Zaphon Verlag.
- Schmidt, K. 2021. “New sensory experiences through technological innovation: Transparent drinking bowls in the Neo-Assyrian banquet.” in The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East, edited by Kiersten Neumann and Allison Thomason. New Yorke: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429280207.
- Schmidt, Katharina, and Gries, Helen. 2020. “Die kerngeformten Glasgefäße aus Gräbern in Assur.” in Zwischen Feldforschung und Ausstellung. Festschrift für Lutz Martin, edited by Nadia Cholidis, Elisabeth Katzy and Sabina Kulemann-Ossen. Münster: Zaphon Verlag.
- Schmidt, K., and Sallaberger, W. 2012. “Insignien des Königs oder Insignien des Gottes? Ein neuer Blick auf die kultische Königskrönung beim babylonischen Neujahrsfest.” in Stories of Long Ago. Festschrift für Michael D. Roaf, edited by H. Baker, K. Kaniut and A. Otto. Münster: Ugarit Verlag.