RESEARCH • PUBLICATIONS • FIELDWORK
Research & Publications
Research, academic papers, fieldwork, and developing book projects in geology, archaeology, Egyptology, biblical history, and the Ancient Near East.
Much of my research begins with something I can examine directly: a landform, archaeological site, artifact, museum collection, map, inscription, or historical text. I’m especially interested in questions where field evidence, material culture, geography, and historical sources can be brought together.
PUBLISHED RESEARCH • 2023
Shoreline Transgressive Terraces: Tufa-Encrusted Landforms Indicate Rapid Filling and Failure of Hopi Lake
Co-authored with Steven A. Austin, Edmond W. Holroyd III, and Thomas F. Folks and published in the Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. The research documents terrace-like landforms and tufa-encrusted surfaces in Wagon Box Draw, northeastern Arizona, and develops a model for the rapid transgression, spillover, and drainage of Hopi Lake. That drainage is considered within the larger question of whether catastrophic lake spillover across the Colorado Plateau played a significant role in the erosion and formation of Grand Canyon.
ACADEMIC WORK
Selected Papers
Selected research from studies in archaeology, Egyptology, Ancient Mediterranean religions, and archaeological science.
UWTSD • 2023
The Celestial Tapestry Woven into Egyptian Lore and Iconography
An examination of stars, the sun, moon, and planets in ancient Egyptian religion and cosmology, including celestial symbolism, the afterlife, circumpolar stars, and familiar Egyptian iconography. The paper considers how sky imagery functioned across religious texts, monuments, and funerary traditions.
UWTSD • 2023
An Early Yahwist Worship Site on Mount Ebal
A study of the Mount Ebal complex, its construction phases, ritual setting, and possible role in early Yahwist worship, with attention to the site’s setting, material remains, and broader regional context.
UWTSD • 2022
A Curse Tablet Defixio from Mount Ebal
An object-focused study of the folded lead item recovered from material associated with the Mount Ebal site, considering its archaeological context, proposed identification as a defixio, and chronology.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD • 2019
An Increased Standard of Living Brought on by the Unification of Egypt During the New Kingdom Period
A study of social and economic change associated with the emergence of Egypt’s New Kingdom and the broader social conditions of the period.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD • 2020
Dendrochronology: A Branch in the Ever-Growing Tree of Archaeological Aid
An introduction to dendrochronology and its usefulness for archaeological dating and interpretation, including its major strengths and limitations in archaeological chronology.
FIELD & MUSEUM RESEARCH
Field research & museum work
My research includes geological fieldwork at Grand Canyon and across the American Southwest, archaeological and museum work in Egypt and the United Kingdom, and the use of mapping, aerial imagery, photogrammetry, and 3D terrain models to study sites and landscapes.
I’m most interested in questions that can be tested against something real: a landscape, artifact, rock layer, museum collection, inscription, map, or historical source.
ON THE DESK
Books & Projects in Development
Shepherd Kings
The Hebrew Hyksos and Israel’s Arrival in Egypt
A developing study of the Hyksos period, the eastern Nile Delta, and the historical setting of Israel in Egypt. The project brings together Egyptian history, eastern Delta archaeology, and biblical chronology.
Research in development.
The Landmark Exodus
Tracing the Biblical Route from Egypt to Sinai
A geographical and archaeological investigation of the Exodus route, its landmarks, chronology, and Egyptian setting, comparing proposed locations with Egyptian geography, route traditions, archaeological sites, and the biblical itinerary.
Nimrod and Narmer
The Egyptian-Mesopotamian Connection
Research into early Egypt, Mesopotamia, cultural contact, and questions surrounding the earliest civilizations, comparing cultural patterns, iconography, chronology, and possible lines of contact between the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia.
Research in development.
Read the Academic Papers
My Academia.edu profile brings these papers together in one place, along with additional research interests and updates.