Deus Artefacta: About Author David E. Graves

Background

Pottery Reading (Tall el-Hammam 2015) discussing the provenance of the vessel.

Video Introduction

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Dr. Graves Biography

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Introduction

Dr. David E. Graves is an internationally renowned figure in the fields of biblical archaeology and teaching. Hailing from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, he has dedicated over 35 years to imparting knowledge on the Bible and archaeology.

Education

Dr. Graves holds an impressive list of academic credentials, having earned a Ph.D. from the esteemed University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, in Theology (interdisciplinary with Old and New Testament Biblical history and archaeology). His dissertation was supervised by the late I. Howard Marshall, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis and Honorary Research Professor at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Marshall also invited two other experts – Edwin M. Yamauchi to oversee the Greco-Roman archaeology and history, and Alan Millard to oversee the Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) Hittite law codes – to review his dissertation.

The expertise and experience of Dr. Graves is highly sought-after, and with his distinguished background, he is an invaluable asset to the field of archaeology.

I. Howard Marshall, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, commented on Dr. Graves' dissertation, "The Seven Messages of Revelation and Vassal Treaties: Literary Genre, Structure, and Function." published by Gorgias Press:

“Dr. Graves seeks to shed light on the problem of the structure of thought in Revelation by placing the work as a whole and the messages to the seven churches in particular firmly in the context of the ancient near eastern vassal treaties that have also influenced the shape of covenantal theology in the Old Testament. This carefully researched thesis brings a new contribution to the interpretation of the apocalypse and deserves close examination.” — I. Howard Marshall, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen.

     For over 20 years, I have been passionate about the study of archaeology, biblical history, and theology, with a focus on the ancient Near East. I have both an undergraduate and graduate degree in this field, the former being a 5 year BTh (Bachelor of Theology) from Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, Canada (1980). During my studies, I had the privilege of working with Dr. Bryant Wood, a specialist in Canaanite pottery, while researching a paper on the location of Sodom and Gomorrah for my archaeology course.

     I continued my education with a Masters degree (2 years) from the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland (2002). I was eventually promoted to a PhD program at the University of Aberdeen, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, under the supervision of the late I. Howard Marshall, where I completed a 4 year program.

     I have also received formal Archaeological Square Supervisor Training through Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and certified training in SIR-3000 Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) for archaeological application through Geophysical Survey Systems Inc.

Teaching

For the past two decades (1998–2019), I have served as a lecturer and professor of Biblical History and Archaeology at Crandall University, Regent Park College, Oxford University, Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University (Archaeology SME Online) and Faith Bible Institute, Monroe. Louisiana. I have taught a range of courses, including RS2613: Archaeological Artifacts that Illustrate the Historical Accuracy of the Bible, RS3463 Introduction to Biblical Archaeology, RS3323 Biblical Eschatology, RS1003 Themes of the Bible, RS3883 Intellectual History of Science and Religion (1600-1980) Part B-Deus Artefacta: 19th Century Drive for Proof by Artefact from Major Developments in the History of British Biblical Archaeology, and RS3893 The History of British Biblical Archaeology. During this time, I have led museum tours of the Ashmolean and British Museum, and two of my books, Biblical Archaeology vol. 1 and Key Facts for The Location of Sodom, were used as textbooks. Other filmed courses included THEO201 Theology Survey 1; BIBL450 Daniel–Revelation; BIBL 471 Biblical Archaeology; ARCH302 Archaeology of the New Testament and ARCH301 Archaeology of the Old Testament.

I retired from teaching in 2019, after a successful career in academia.

Archaeological Experience

Since 2005, I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of archaeological projects in the UK, Egypt, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. As Director of Operations for the Mount Ararat Archaeological Research Expedition ArcImaging, I conducted exploration and surface survey of the Ahora Gorge at 10,000 feet on Mt Ararat, Turkey. I have also served as a square/field supervisor for the Tall el-Hammam (Sodom?) Excavation Project in Jordan for ten seasons (2005-2019), where I supervised Middle Bronze and Iron age squares but primarily supervised the Roman/Byzantine remains that my team uncovered. In 2011, I co-authored a paper with Scott Stripling, titled “Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias”, which was published in Levant: The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant. In 2009 I worked at the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation, Jerusalem, Israel, under the direction of Dr. Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University. 2017 saw me take on the role of Registrar of Artifacts for the Excavations of Qumran Cave 53 (Q12), a cooperative archaeological effort of Liberty University under the direction of Dr. Randall Price and under the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) under the direction of Dr. Oren Guitfeld of Hebrew University and the auspices of the KAMAT (Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria). Our work was featured in the December 2018 edition of National Geographic magazine's article, "Inside the cloak-and-dagger search for sacred texts" . In 2017, I was the Director of administration and square supervisor for the Shiloh excavations, Israel, and Director of Publications (2018-2019). Later in 2017 I worked with Dr. Bryant Wood at the Archaeological excavation of Khirbet el-Maqatir, Israel, by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). More details on these findings, are posted to my blog.

I have written several articles for their peer reviewed Journal Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin (NEASB). Since 2009, I have been a member of the Associates for Biblical Research and often written articles for their Bible and Spade journal.

Consulting

In 2017, I was a consultant for the producers of National Geographic TV program on locating Sodom and Gomorrah that features Tall el-Hammam, Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira titled Buried Secrets of the Bible. As hard as I tried over several months they still didn't get all the facts straight!! :-)

Publications

I have authored more than 30 books and over 20 articles on the subject of the Bible and Archaeology. My books published through Electronic Christian Media can be purchased through Amazon.com.

My works also include contributions to other works including the eight breakout articles and 25 photographs featured in the Harvest Handbook of Bible Lands: A Panoramic Survey of the History, Geography, and Culture of the Scriptures, edited by Holden, Joseph M., and Steven Collins, and published by Harvest House in February 2020. In addition, I have contributed multiple articles to various peer reviewed theological and archaeological Journals. They are all available free of charge at Academia.edu.

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**Definition of Interdisciplinary research

"Interdisciplinary research is a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice." Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (2004). Facilitating interdisciplinary research. National Academies (Washington: National Academy Press, 2004), p. 2

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For Journal articles and papers see