Our Staff

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Our

Staff

A global collaboration bridging institutions in Israel, Germany, and the United States.

A Global Collaboration

Our team is organized to maintain the highest standards of archaeological research while fostering a supportive learning environment for future archaeologists. Led by our directors, the staff includes area supervisors and assistant supervisors who manage daily excavation operations, supported by the registrar who oversees artifact documentation. The Tel Shaddud Archaeological Project in the Jezreel Valley is an international partnership between institutions in Israel, Germany, and the USA.

— Directors —

Dr. Karen Covello-Paran

Israel Antiquities Authority — Senior Research Archaeologist | Lecturer, International MA Program in Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University | Co-Director, The Tel Shaddud Archaeological Project in the Jezreel Valley

Dr. Karen Covello-Paran is a senior research archaeologist specializing in the archaeology of Northern Israel, with extensive field experience directing and publishing salvage excavations. Her research investigates long-term settlement patterns in the Jezreel Valley and Galilee, focusing on how rural communities interacted with centralized powers and the material expressions of society, economy, and culture. She directed excavations at Ḥorvat Tevet and is a co-director of the accompanying research and publication project. Karen is also co-founder of the Intermediate Bronze Age Research Forum, scientific advisor for the Ein Dor Museum of Archaeology, and has led a public archaeology lecture series for over a decade, bringing archaeological knowledge to the general public.

Prof. Omer Sergi

Tel Aviv University — Associate Professor of Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures | Head of The International MA Program for Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures | Co-Director, The Tel Shaddud Archaeological Project in the Jezreel Valley.

Prof. Omer Sergi is an expert in the archaeology of the southern Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages, with special focus on biblical archaeology and history. His research focuses on the socio-political formation of territorial kingdoms in the early Iron Age Levant. His monograph on the subject The Two Houses of Israel: State Formation and the Origins of Pan Israelite Identity was published in 2023 (Archaeology and Biblical Studies, SBL). Omer has co-directed the Salvage Excavations of Ḥorvat Tevet and the accompanying research project about the palace-clan structure of early monarchic Israel and its economic impact.

Prof. William M. Schniedewind

UCLA — Professor of Biblical Studies & NWS Languages | Director of Graduate Studies | NELC Department | Sady and Ludwig Kahn Director, Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies

Prof. William Schniedewind is a world-renowned scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic languages. His research explores the socio-historical context of ancient Israel and the evolution of biblical literature. His involvement in the Tel Shaddud Regional Project provides a crucial linguistic and historical framework, bridging the gap between the material finds in the field and the textual records of the ancient Near East.

Prof. Dr. Joachim J. Krause

Ruhr University Bochum — Professor of Hebrew Bible | Faculty of Protestant Theology

Prof. Dr. Joachim J. Krause’s research explores the intersection of archaeology, history, and biblical studies, with a focus on how centralized administrations interacted with local populations. Through his leadership in the project, he works to uncover the administrative mechanisms of the “royal estates” that shaped the political landscape of the Jezreel Valley across the Bronze and Iron Ages.

Prof. Dr. Hannes Bezzel

Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena — Professor of Old Testament Studies | Faculty of Theology

Prof. Dr. Hannes Bezzel’s academic work focuses on the history of Israel during the Iron Age and the literary evolution of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Book of Samuel. As a key collaborator in the regional project, he helps contextualize the archaeological findings at Tel Shaddud and Ḥorvat Tevet within the broader historical-literary records of the ancient world.

— Area Supervisors, Registrar & Assistants (2026) —