Excavation and Research Projects

Ariel University and Lipscomb University are jointly leading the upcoming archaeological excavation at Tel Ashdod. The partnership is further strengthened with the participation of Colorado Christian University, bringing academic support, student engagement, and fresh perspectives to the international project.

Ashdod is an ancient Levantine large metropolis located near the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the 5 cities of the Philistine Pentapolis. As one of the key Philistine sites, Ashdod represents a momentous and important project for understanding the history of the southern Shephelah in the Old Testament, where the text states that the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant after they defeated the Israelites in battle.

In March 2025, a small-scale excavation was carried out in the area of the biblical-period gate to prepare for conservation work planned by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. This targeted dig provided valuable insights into the gate’s structure while ensuring the preservation of its archaeological heritage.

The large-scale excavation, scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026, will bring together researchers, students, and volunteers from Israel and the United States to work side by side – blending research excellence with cross-cultural dialogue and a deeper historical understanding of the region.

The El Araj Excavation Project (Bethsaida/Julias) started in 2016 under the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at Kinneret College (Israel), directed by Dr. Mordechai Aviam, alongside with Dr. R. Steven Notley (education director) from Pillar College.

Lipscomb/LCA joined the El Araj Excavation project in 2026, led by Dr. Chris McKinny (associate director), who brings LCA students and consortium members to investigate the amazing site of El Araj.

El Araj is a Hellenistic through Ottoman era ruin at the mouth of the Upper Jordan River on the northern banks of the Sea of Galilee. The ancient identification of the site has been one of the core research questions of the project. Excavations have revealed the remains of the Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader settlement, including a large church — the "Church of the Apostles" — that directly connects the ruin with Peter. The evidence seems to overwhelmingly point to the fact that El Araj is the location of Bethsaida/Julias — the hometown of Simon Peter, Andrew, and Philip, according to the New Testament Gospels. Ongoing work is aimed at exploring both the Roman polis of Julias (1st-3rd centuries CE), as well as its earlier Hasmonean Judean underpinnings. 

The Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall Project is a joint endeavor of the University of Memphis and the Université de Québec à Montréal in Canada.

The LCA joined the project in 2016 led by Egyptologist Dr. Mark Janzen. The focus is on the famous west wall of the Cour de la Cachette, which bears the famous Hittite Peace Treaty of Ramesses II and battle scenes and inscriptions from his son Merneptah.

The Temple of Karnak is one of the premier sites in all of ancient Egypt. It is a massive site, one of the largest religious complexes ever built, sitting at over 220 acres. It is a monumental site where Egyptian pharaohs added structures over 2,000 years, culminating in breathtaking features like the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 massive columns.

 The overall goals of the project are to make a complete scientific record of all the hieroglyphic texts and relief carvings from the Hypostyle Hall, to make these inscriptions widely available to scientists and the worldwide public through traditional publications and via digital technologies like the internet, and to conduct scholarly research and analysis of the Hypostyle Hall to better understand those aspects of Egyptian civilization reflected in its inscriptions, including its history, religion, politics, society and culture.

Since 2023, the LCA and its students have participated in the Abila Archaeological Project on the Jordan/Syrian border at the invitation of Dr. Dave Vila of John Brown University. These excavations continue to provide insight into the region's transition from Roman Christianity to Islam, as well as revealing insights into the important Decapolis city of Abila. Excavations at Abila began in the 1980s under the direction of Dr. Harold M. Mare of Covenant Theological Seminary. 

Located among the well-watered fields of northwest Jordan, the ancient city of Abila was once part of the Decapolis—an informal league of cities located in what is today Jordan, southern Syria, and northeast Israel. Abila was occupied from the Early Bronze Age down into the 10th–11th centuries CE, and was located on a strategic trade route from Nabataea to Damascus. Excavators have found five Byzantine churches, a Roman bath complex, an eighth-century CE monastic complex, beautifully painted Roman and Byzantine tombs, Bronze and Iron Age occupation areas, and miles of underground water tunnels. Ongoing work focuses on finishing the excavation of two Byzantine churches and then continuing the excavation of the Bronze and Iron Age strata on the north tell, and an eighth-century CE market located beside a Byzantine plaza.

The Ilibalyk Expedition started in August 2016 and is conducted by a joint team from the Lanier Center for Archaeology and from the Republic of Kazakhstan, who partnered with the private archaeological company Archaeological Expertise (headed by Dr. Dmitriy Voyakin). The project centers around Ilibalyk, a medieval Silk Road city, now located within the modern village of Usharal in the Almaty Oblast near the Chinese border. Particular interest in the site was kindled after the discovery of a Nestorian gravestone near the site in 2014, and the project was partially initiated to explore the possible presence of Nestorian Christianity in modern Kazakhstan, which would be the earliest evidence of Christianity in the region. 

The Tel Gezer Excavation and Publication Project was a consortium of institutions under the direction of Dr. Steven Ortiz and Dr. Samuel Wolff. It was a multi-disciplinary field project investigating the Iron Age history of the ancient biblical city of Tel Gezer.

Gezer was one of the most important and prominent sites in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, due in part to the strategic position it held at the crossroads of the Via Maris (the Way of the Sea), an ancient coastal trade route. The city of Gezer is mentioned in several ancient Egyptian inscriptions.

 After 10 years in the field, the project completed its final season in the summer of 2017 and is now focused on lab work and publication. 

The Kourion Urban Space Project is a multinational effort, committed to working in partnership with local Cypriot archaeologists and students. It is under the direction of Dr. Thomas Davis. 

In the excavations led by David Soren of the University of Arizona (1984-1987), Soren unearthed a domestic structure which came to be known as the Earthquake House. Dr. Davis, the principal investigator of the current project, served as field director of those excavations in the first two seasons. The excavations confirmed the destruction of this building by the earthquake and its lack of subsequent disturbance by revealing not only a complete artifact assemblage in situ, but also the remains of five victims that had been killed during the event. Such sudden and complete destruction makes Kourion one of only a few sites around the ancient Mediterranean to provide archaeologists with the opportunity to analyze artifact assemblages in the context of their daily use rather than after they have been discarded. 

The Tel Burna Excavation Project excavates the ancient site believed to be biblical Libnah, located in the Shephelah of Israel. The project is directed by Dr. Itzhaq Shai of Ariel University and Dr. Steve Ortiz of the Lanier Center for Archaeology at Lipscomb University. The principal areas of excavation are exploring a large Late Bronze Age (13th century BCE) Canaanite  town, including a cultic area, and the later Iron Age Judahite fortified town, including the newly discovered city gate. The summer of 2024 marked the project's 14th and final season in the field.

Renewed excavations at Nuri, northern Sudan, began in 2017 under Pearce Paul Creasman (ACOR, Amman). Under Dr. James K. Hoffmeier, along with a team from Lipscomb University (LCA), new work focused on a temple near Taharqa’s pyramid, first uncovered by George Reisner ~100 years ago. The Temple had been completely buried by sand for a century, and the excavation involved relocating and clearing the building. The reliefs are under study, but no royal names have been identified so far. Dating remains uncertain; attribution to Taharqa is possible but unconfirmed. The temple near Taharqa’s pyramid at Nuri may have been his funerary temple, but lack of inscriptions or royal names makes dating and attribution uncertain. Its continued use by later kings highlights differences between Egyptian and Cushite funerary traditions.

Gezer, Israel

The Tel Gezer Regional Survey began as a supporting project to the Excavation & Publication Project, and whose purpose was to carry out a systematic high resolution archaeological survey of the region surrouding the ancient city of Gezer.  

The survey located several of the thirteen known bilingual boundary stones inscribed with "Region of Gezer" and documented 1,260 archaeological features across 55% of the survey area. 

The Regional Survey is now in its publication phase.