Archaeological and conservation science
Our Research Team
Yotam Asscher, Ph.D
Director of the IAA Analytical Laboratory
Lab director since 2017, Yotam Asscher's main interests are analytical studies in the fields of micro-archaeology in the field and conservation studies in the museum environment. His current work focuses on developing non-invasive material characterization methods for archaeological and conservation sciences. He has been awarded the 2012 ADAR Foundation Scholarship and the 2012 Salim and Rachel Benin Foundation Scholarship, and Awarded for Best Performance by the IAA in 2019.
Meidad Shor
Researcher
Meidad Shor has been working at the IAA since 2012 in the archaeology of Jerusalem (2012- 2019) and in the conservation department (2019). He joined the Analytical lab in 2019 focusing on identification and characterization of mortars and plasters using various scientific methods from the world of microscopy, chemistry and mineralogy.
Aliza van Zuiden
Researcher
Currently post-retirement after a career as Senior Conservator of Sculpture, Monuments and Archaeological Sites in Holland, England and at the IAA, Israel. In retirement, I'm now working at the Analytical Laboratory of the IAA for identification, analysis and classification of ancient mortars and plasters.
Yona Maor, Ph.D
Researcher
Yonah Maor (PhD 2020, Hebrew University) has been working at the IAA analytical lab since 2018. Her research focuses on two sites: Moza, and En Esur. She's researching plaster technology uncovered at Motza, and at En Ezur she's and using phytolith and other microscopic remains to learn about the use of different installations and neighborhoods. Besides those bigger projects, Yonah uses the advanced analytical tools in the IAA lab to answer questions about archaeological materials of all kinds, from metals, stone, and even old restoration treatments.
Ilana Peters
Researcher
Ilana Peters is an archaeologist who enjoys using laboratory methods to answer archaeological questions. She has worked for years in labs on projects using FTIR, SEM-EDS, microscopy and paleomagnetism, which has included working on a wide range of materials such as clays, plasters, slags, and more.