Mailing Address:
PENN STATE BEHREND
170 KOCHEL CENTER
ERIE, PA 16563
Biography
Dr. Leigh-Ann Bedal received her B.A. in anthropology in 1986 from California State University, Northridge, her M.A. (1992) in Near Eastern Studies-Mesopotamian archaeology from University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. (2000) in anthropology from University of Pennsylvania. She has participated in archaeological excavations in California, Israel, Iraq, Syria and Jordan, and is the Director of the Petra Garden and Pool Complex excavation project in Petra, Jordan, a World Heritage Site. Her research interests are the archaeology of the Ancient Near East, garden archaeology, urbanization, and the archaeology of power. Dr. Bedal has been teaching at Penn State Behrend since 2002, and was the recipient of the 2006 Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows Excellence in Teaching Award.
Courses Taught
- ANTH 001, Introductory Anthropology
- ANTH 002, Introduction to Archaeology
- ANTH 002H, Introduction to Archaeology (Honors)
- ANTH 009, Rise of Civilization in the Old World
- ANTH 021, Introductory Biological Anthropology
- ANTH 045, Cultural Anthropology
- ANTH 197, Special Topics
- ANTH 296A, Independent Studies
- ANTH 420, Archaeology of the Near East
- CAMS 015H, Wonders of the Ancient World
Research Interests
Near Eastern archaeology, garden archaeology, ancient gardens and water display, symbols of power and propaganda; time periods/regions: Ancient Near East, Hellenistic East, Roman East, Byzantine East, Nabataea
Publications
Garden/s (gr./grs.) and Garden Culture - August, 2022
A Typology of Ceramic Pipelines in the Petra Garden and Pool Complex - July, 2022
Babatha's Garden - February 5, 2022
Palace of Hyrcanus the Tobiad - April 21, 2021
Collaborator: Kathryn Gleason, Primary Author
Petra Garden and Pool Complex - April 21, 2021
Petra. The Mountain of Aaron, III: The Archaeological Survey. Edited by Paula Kouki and Mika Lavento, Helsinki: Societa Scientiarum Fennica, 2013, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research - May, 2018
From Urban Oasis to Desert Hinterland: The Decline of Petra’s Water System. The Case of the Petra Garden and Pool Complex. - April, 2018
Provenance of white and colored marbles from the Petra Garden and Pool Complex, Petra, south Jordan , Anthropological and Archaeological Science - August, 2017
Collaborator: Khaled Al-Basheirah, Co-Author
Garden Variety Seeds? A Look at the Botanical Remains from the Petra Garden and Pool Complex , Vegetation History and Archaeobotany - March 9, 2015
Collaborator: Jennifer Ramsay, Co-Author
The Petra Pool-Complex: A Hellenistic Paradeisos in the Nabataean Capital, Gorgias Studies in Classical and Late Antiquity 10 - August, 2013
The Petra Garden and Pool Complex, Ma'an, Jordan, Sourcebook for Garden Archaeology: Methods, Techniques, Interpretations and Field Examples - January, 2013
Collaborators: Lawrence Conyers, Secondary Author; John Foss, Secondary Author; Kathryn Gleason, Secondary Author
The Petra Garden and Pool Complex, 2007 and 2009 Field Seasons, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan - 2011
Collaborators: James Schryver, Secondary Author; Kathryn Gleason, Secondary Author
Nabataean Landscape and Power: Evidence from the Petra Garden and Pool Complex, Crossing Jordan: North American Contributions to the Archaeology of Jordan - 2007
Collaborator: James Schryver, Co-Author
The Petra Garden and Pool Complex, 2003-2005, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan - 2007
Desert Oasis: Water Consumption and Display in the Nabataean Capital, Near Eastern Archaeology - December, 2005
The Hellenistic Petra Project: Excavations in the Civic Center, Preliminary Report of the First Season, 2004, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan - 2005
The Petra Garden and Pool Complex: Archaeology in Jordan, 2004 Season, American Journal of Archeaology - 2005
The Petra Pool-Complex: A Hellenistic Paradeisos in the Nabataen Capital (Results from the Petra "Lower Market" Survey and Excavations, 1998), Gorgias Dissertations 7 Near Eastern Studies - 2004
Rev of 'From Nineveh to New York: The Strange Story of the Assyrian Reliefs in the Metropolitan Museum and the Hidden Masterpiece at the Canford School' by J.M. Russell, Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies - 2002
'The Petra Garden Feasibility Study' Archaeology in Jordan, 2001 Season", American Journal of Archeaology - 2002
Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Mapping as a Method for Planning Excavation Strategies, Petra, Jordan, E-tiquity - 2002
Collaborators: L.B. Conyers; E.G. Ernenwein
Ground-Penetrating Radar Discovery at Petra, Jordan, Antiquity - 2002
Collaborators: L.B. Conyers; E.G. Ernenwein
The Petra Garden Feasibility Study, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan - 2002
The Role of Water Display at Petra, Minerva - 2002
"A Pool- Complex in Petra's City Center", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research - 2001
In Search of Petra's Buried Garden, ACOR Newsletter - 2001
Paradise Found: Petra's Urban Oasis, Expedition - 2000
A Paradeisos in Petra: New Light on the 'Lower Market', Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan - 1999
The Petra Lower Market Survey, Archaeology in Jordan (Bikai, P. and V. Egan); American Journal of Archaeology 103.3 - 1999
Neutron Activation Analysis of the Pottery, Petra Great Temple Vol. 1 - Brown University Excavations 1993-1997 - 1998
The Petra Lower Market Survey, ACOR Newsletter - 1998
Second Millenium B.C. Pottery at Hasanlu Tepe and Dinkha Tepe: INAA and Petrographic Studies, Materials Issues in Art and ArchaeologyIV, Symposium held May 16-21, 1994. Cancun, Mexico. - 1995
Collaborators: M. De Schaunsee; S.J. Fleming; R.G.V. Hancock
Glassmaking at Geoy Tepe (Azerbaijan) During the Early Second Millenium B.C.: A Study of Blue Colourants Using PIXE Spectometry, Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, 1993 - 1993
Collaborators: S.J. Fleming; C.P. Swann
Education
Ph D, Anthropology, The University of Pennsylvania
MA, Mesopotamian Art & Archaeology, The University of California
BA, Anthropology, California State University
AA, Humanities, Glendale Community College