Laboratories

The Archaeology Laboratory

Location: Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5S 1C1
Room: BF415
Access: Faculty, Staff, Postdoctoral fellows, and PhD students. Other students and visitors require faculty/staff supervision or permission from the Archaeology Lab Manager.
Hours of operation: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm
Description:

The Archaeology Laboratory is home to over 100,000 artefacts and acts as a facility for both research and a teaching. Although pottery is the primary artefact in the lab ranging from the pottery Neolithic to the Mamluk period, metals, faunal, lithics, glass, coins, worked stone tools, and geological samples are also present. The majority of finds are on long term loan from their country of excavation, while others are on temporary loan from institutions, or are a permanent part of the collection such as our teaching collection. Artefacts and samples are predominantly from NMC excavations from sites in Jordan such as Tall Madaba, or surveys at Khirbat al-Mukhayyat and the towns of Libb and Ma’in, samples from Tell Tayinat, Turkey, as well as artefacts from earlier excavations in Israel and Palestine currently undergoing analysis for publication: the Gezer Gate Project, Shechem (Tall Balata), and Khirbet el-Qom. Artefacts are used extensively in both undergraduate and graduate courses taught in the Archaeology Lab allowing students the opportunity to a hands-on-style of learning. As part of this unique pedagogical approach, students are encouraged to pursue primary research on artefacts whenever possible.

The Archaeology laboratory is equipped with essential tools for basic macroscopic and metric analyses, along with binocular and trinocular stereo microscopes housed with digital cameras, as well as a Dino-lite digital microscope, computer terminals, scanners, and a digital projector. A lapidary saw is used in the preparation of pottery for thin section analysis, and the lab is also equipped with tools and appropriate binding agents for ceramic conservation and restoration. Personal research carrels are also available for doctoral students and visiting scholars using the lab’s facilities and conducting research.


The Petrography Laboratory / Photography Room

Location: Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5S 1C1
Room: Within the Archaeology Lab BF404
Access: By appointment only. Contact the Archaeology Lab Manager for details and availability.
Hours of operation: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm
Description:

This room is a part of the larger NMC Archaeology Laboratory and houses a variety of instrumentation. Of primary use is a Nikon Eclipse E400 POL polarizing microscope with detachable Nikon camera, as well as photographic equipment, lights, and stand for artifact documentation. A computer terminal is also available for both research and storage of related documentation and high resolution images. As part of the petrography lab, the facility maintains an extensive, and growing thin section collection of a variety of mediums: including ceramic, slag, clays, archaeological sediments, basalt, and other pottery manufacturing related resources. Ceramic thin sections from sites, both excavated and surveyed throughout the Near East, are represented from the pottery Neolithic through to the Medieval period. The Petrography Lab is also home to the Archaeology Lab’s exported sample holdings, which include ceramic, carbon, and slag samples from archaeological projects sponsored by NMC. An additional part of this facility is the hazardous chemical locker and the clay and soil locker which adheres to Canada Food and Inspection Agency protocol.


The CRANE Project Computer Laboratory

Location: Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5S 1C1
Room: BF417
Access: With permission from the Archaeology Lab Manager in coordination with the Course Instructor.
Hours of operation: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm
Description:

The Computational Research on the Ancient Near East (CRANE) computer lab houses five computer terminals with a variety of graphic and computational software (3D software, ArcGIS, Adobe, and Microsoft Office suites) along with printer and multiple scanners. This facility is used primarily by CRANE research staff (both undergraduate and graduate students) for data integration for various projects including the Tayinat Archaeological Project (TAP), the Regional Mapping Project, and the Ceramics Repository for the Orontes Watershed (CROW). The terminals are also used by students enrolled in various courses utilizing the NMC Archaeology Lab facilities.