James Strange
James R. Strange is the Charles Jackson Granade and Elizabeth Donald Granade Chair in New Testament at Samford University. He is a 2015 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Research, Howard College of Arts and Sciences. Strange is Director of the Shikhin Excavation Project in Israel and researches archaeology of Palestine in the Hellenistic through Byzantine periods, early Christianity, and post-biblical Judaisms. He teaches courses in New Testament, ancient Greco-Roman Religions, and the archaeology of Palestine. He received his B.A. (Classics) from Furman University, an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, an M.A. (Formative Christianity and Judaism) from the University of South Florida, and his Ph.D. (New Testament and Formative Christianity) from Emory University. Publications include (with David A. Fiensy) Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volumes 1 and 2 (Augsburg Fortress Press 2014 and 2015),The Moral World of James (Peter Lang, 2010), The Emergence of the Christian Basilica in the Fourth Century (Global Publications, 2000), and articles for journals, volumes of essays, and dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Presenter at
Spring Bible & Archaeology Fest 2023
Actual and Experimental Archaeology: Lamp Manufacturing in the Galilee?
Since excavations began at the site of Shikhin in 2012, evidence of lamp manufacturing has been turning up in every dig season. Evidence indicates that Shikhin’s industry produced and regionally distributed three well-known lamp forms: the Herodian knife-pared lamp, the northern undecorated lamp, and the northern Darom lamp. The fluorite of the industry happened between the ends to two wars with Rome: 70 and 135 CE. During the 2022 season, Yeshu Dray of Restoration of Ancient Technology built a reproduction of a small kiln excavated at Shikhin and successfully fired reproduction northern Darom lamps. The presentation will cover the discovery and technology of lamp production and their economic implications in the region.
