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Curriculum vitae

Dr. Paula Waiman-Barak

Founder and Director, Waiman-Barak ArchaeometryIndependent Laboratory for Ceramic Petrography and Archaeometry, Zikhron Ya'akov, IsraelEditor for Petrography, The Levantine Ceramics ProjectORCID 0000-0003-2468-3347paula@waimanbarak.com

Waiman-Barak is an accomplished ceramic specialist with a PhD on Phoenician exchange dynamics and a postdoc focused on Iron Age Cypriot ceramics. She has analyzed thousands of vessels for archaeological projects across Israel and Cyprus, enabling detailed reconstructions of ancient economies and interregional connections throughout the Mediterranean. Waiman-Barak developed a comprehensive petrographic reference collection for coastal ceramics spanning the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age and serves as the petrography editor for the online Levantine Ceramics Project. From 2020 to 2026 she headed the Ceramic Petrography Laboratory at Tel Aviv University, conducting research and mentoring students in the development of new archaeological methods. In 2026 she founded Waiman-Barak Archaeometry, an independent laboratory for ceramic petrography and archaeometric analysis. Her expertise in ceramic petrography has significantly advanced the field, and her online reference collection is widely used by scholars and researchers worldwide. Waiman-Barak is internationally recognized for her leadership in ceramic petrography and has made notable contributions to advancing our understanding of ancient economies and cultural networks in the Mediterranean.

Education

Further studies

Academic and professional experience

Institutional responsibilities

• 2020–2026 — Head of the Ceramic Petrography Laboratory, Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.

• 2020–2026 — Graduate Student Advisor, Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.

Organization of international conferences

• November 19, 2025 — “From Artifact to History: An Afternoon Honoring Prof. Andrea Berlin,” Boston University (co-organized with J. M. Marston, D. Sandhaus, J. Uziel, and Y. Gadot).

• February 21–23, 2023 — Minerva-Gentner Symposium, “The Power of Ceramics: Transformations and Interactions in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages,” Tel Aviv University (co-organized with O. Lipschits and S. Kleiman).

Memberships of scientific societies

• Since 2011 — The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR).

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal

1. Waiman-Barak, P., Gilboa, A. and Goren, Y. 2014. A Stratified Sequence of Early Iron Age Egyptian Ceramics at Tel Dor, Israel. Ägypten und Levante 24: 317–341. https://www.austriaca.at/?arp=0x00321dba (Q2).

2. Gilboa, A., Waiman-Barak, P. and Jones, R. 2015. On the Origin of Iron Age Phoenician Ceramics at Kommos, Crete: Regional and Diachronic Perspectives across the Bronze Age to Iron Age Transition. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 374: 75–102. https://doi.org/10.5615/bullamerschoorie.374.0075. Impact factor: 0.829, (Q1).

3. Ratzlaff, A., Galili, E., Waiman-Barak, P. and Yasur-Landau, A. 2017. The Plurality of Harbors at Caesarea: The Southern Anchorage in Late Antiquity. Journal of Maritime Archaeology 12: 125–146. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44508697. (Q2).

4. Waiman-Barak, P., Gilboa, A., Yasur-Landau, A. and Arie, E. 2017. Iron Age Phoenician Pottery at Tel Achziv: Two Commercial Snapshots Based on Optical Mineralogy. Rivista di Studi Fenici 45: 87–108. http://digital.casalini.it/4382236. https://www.torrossa.com/en/resources/an/4382236.

5. Waiman-Barak, P., Susnow, M., Nickelsberg, R., Cline, E.H., Yasur-Landau, A., and Shahack-Gross R. 2018. Technological Aspects of Middle Bronze Age II Production of Pithoi at Tel Kabri, Israel: Specialized Pottery Production in a Palatial System. Levant 50: 32–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2018.1545509 (Q1).

6. Yasur-Landau, A., Cline, E.H., Susnow, M., Waiman-Barak, P., Goshen, N., Ratzlaff, A. and Koh, A.J. 2018. The Wine Storage Complex at the MBII Palace of Tel Kabri: Results of the 2013 and 2015 Seasons. American Journal of Archaeology 122: 309–338. https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.122.2.0309 (Q1).

7. Matskevich, S., Waiman-Barak, P., and Sharon, I. 2019. Tel Mevorakh – 2017 (Preliminary Report). Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel 131. https://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail.aspx?id=25654&mag_id=127

8. Friesem, D. E., Anton, M., Waiman-Barak, P., Shahack-Gross, R. and Nadel, D. 2020. Variability and Complexity in Calcite-based Plaster Production: A Case Study from a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Infant Burial at Tel Roʻim West and its Implications to Mortuary Practices in the Southern Levant. Journal of Archaeological Science 113: 105048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.105048 (Q1).

9. Gradoli, M. G., Waiman-Barak, P., Bürge, T., Dunseth, Z. C., Sterba, J. H., Lo Schiavo, F., Perra, M., Sabatini, S. and Fischer, P. M. 2020. Cyprus and Sardinia in the Late Bronze Age: Nuragic Table Ware at Hala Sultan Tekke. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 33: 102479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102479 (Q1).

10. Arkin Shalev, E., Galili, E., Waiman-Barak, P., and Yasur-Landau, A. 2021. Rethinking the Iron Age Carmel Coast: A Coastal and Maritime Perspective Israel Exploration Journal. 129–161. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27194658. (Q3).

11. Waiman-Barak, P., Georgiadou, A., and Gilboa, A. 2021. A Regional Mineralogical and Technological Characterization of Cypriot Iron Age Pottery: A View from Tel Dor, Israel. Levant. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2021.1972609 (Q1).

12. Ogloblin Ramírez, I., Galili, E., Nickelsberg, R., Waiman-Barak, P. and Shahack-Gross, R. 2021. Appendix to: Pottery from Submerged Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic Settlements off the Carmel Coast, Israel: A Microarchaeological Study of Raw Material Procurement and Firing Technology. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 51: 130–135.

13. Taxel, I., Shamir, O., Waiman-Barak, P., Ondricek, W. and Ayalon, E. 2022. Early Islamic "Negebite" Ware: New Insights on the Typology, Chronology, and Provenance of a Southern Levantine Handmade Pottery. Oxford Journal of Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12253 (Q1).

14. Butcher, M., Covello-Paran, K., Waiman-Barak, P., Lipschits, O., Bezzel, H., and Sergi, O. 2022. The Late Iron IIA cylindrical holemouth jars and their role in the royal economy of early monarchic Israel. Tel Aviv 49(2): 205–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2022.2102109 (Q1).

15. Lehmann, G., Shalvi, G., Shochat, H., Waiman-Barak, P., and Gilboa, A. 2023. Iron Age II Phoenician transport-jars from a South-Levantine perspective: Typology, evolution and high-resolution dating. Rivista di Studi Fenici.

16. Waiman-Barak, P., Bürge, T., and Fischer, P. M. 2023. Petrographic Studies of Late Bronze Age Pottery from Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 49: 104038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104038 (Q1).

17. Waiman-Barak, P. 2023. "Seeking Lost Phoenician Harbors." In Exploring Mediterranean Connections and Iron Age Entanglements, by N. Mac Sweeney, J. Vives-Ferrándiz Sánchez, A. Kotsonas, P. Waiman-Barak, J. F. Osborne, C. López-Ruiz, and T. Hodos, 241–247. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 36(2). https://doi.org/10.1558/jma.27855. (Q1)

18. Zuhovitzky, S., Waiman-Barak, P., and Gadot, Y. 2025. The Cornets of Teleilat Ghassul as a Vigil Object. Tel Aviv 52(2): 159–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2025.2546274 (Q1)

19. Shalvi, G., Sukenik, N., Waiman-Barak, P., Dunseth, Z. C., Bar, S., Pinsky, S., Iluz, D., Amar, Z., and Gilboa, A. 2025. Tel Shiqmona during the Iron Age: A first glimpse into an ancient Mediterranean purple-dye “factory”. PLOS ONE 20(4): e0321082. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321082 (Q1)

20. Rollston, C. A., Sharvit, J., Edrey, M., Waiman-Barak, P., and Yasur-Landau, A. 2025. “Of the Sidonian[s]”: A Persian period inscription on a Phoenician amphora found underwater near Tel Achziv, Israel. CARMEL: Studies in Archaeological Sciences and Conservation.

21. Garza-Diaz Barriga, A., Berlin, A. M., Lipschits, O., and Waiman-Barak, P. (forthcoming). Pottery Production in Jewish Magdala, on the Shore of the Sea of Galilee, during the Late Hellenistic and Roman Periods. Tel Aviv.

22. Waiman-Barak, P., Singer-Avitz, L., Herzog, Z., and Koch, I. (submitted). Local Production and Connectivity at Tel Arad: Petrographic and FTIR Evidence from the Iron Age II Fortress (Strata XI–VI).

23. Waiman-Barak, P., Lehmann, G., Shalvi, G., Dunseth, Z. C., Wilson, C., and Gilboa, A. (in preparation). Phoenician Transport Jars of the Iron Age II: Harbor-Based Production from Akko Bay to the Lebanese Coast.

24. Waiman-Barak, P., Susnow, M., Ross, J., and Davidovich, U. (submitted). Petrographic and FTIR Analysis of the Intermediate Bronze Age Miniature Assemblage from Area D1, Tel Qedesh.

25. Wrathall, A., Waiman-Barak, P., Gadot, Y., and Gross, B. (in preparation). Planted by the Empire: Agricultural Communities and their Ceramic Production at Tel Beth Shemesh. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

26. Roth, H., Eisenberg, E., Rapaport, N., and Waiman-Barak, P. (forthcoming). Everything but Cooking Pots: Local Pottery Production and Inter-regional Connections between the Judean Highlands and the Jordanian Plateau. Levant.

27. Soennecken, K., and Waiman-Barak, P. (in preparation). Local Production of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Aegean-Style Cooking Vessels from Northern Jordan. Tel Aviv.

28. Shalev, O., and Waiman-Barak, P. (in preparation). Provenance and Technological Analysis of Early IBA Pottery from Khirbet el-‘Alya Northeast (KANE).

29. Hemeda, M., Shatila, A., Paz, I., Harush, O., and Waiman-Barak, P. (in preparation). “Here Come the Potters”: Early Bronze Age Ceramic Production Technology — Horvat Husham as a Case Study.

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

1. Waiman-Barak, P., and Gilboa, A. 2016. Maritime transport containers: The view from Phoenician Tell Keisan (Israel) in the Early Iron Age. In: Demesticha, S., and Knapp, B. A. (eds.), Maritime Transport Containers in the Bronze–Iron Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean (Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature PB 183). Uppsala: Åströms förlag: 169–194.

2. Kleiman, A., Waiman-Barak, P., and Finkelstein, I. 2018. A Cypro-Archaic I amphora from Megiddo. In: Shai, I., Chadwick, J. R., Hitchcock, L., Dagan, A., McKinny, C., and Uziel, J. (eds.), Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel. Essays in Honor of Aren M. Maeir on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (Ägypten und Altes Testament 90). Münster: Zaphon: 696–708.

3. Day, P. M., Hein, A., Kardamaki, E., Maran, J., Tenconi, M., and Waiman-Barak, P. 2020. Maritime commodity trade from the Near East to the Mycenaean heartland: Canaanite jars in Final Palatial Tiryns. Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 135: 1–99.

4. Waiman-Barak, P. 2026. Maritime transport containers in Early Iron Age Tel Dor: A study of daily life and trade connections. In: Adams, M. J., Gadot, Y., Uziel, J., and Zelinger, Y. (eds.), From Artifact to History: Studies in the Hellenistic and Roman World and Beyond, in Honor of Andrea Berlin. Columbus, GA: Lockwood Press.

5. Waiman-Barak, P. (forthcoming). The Harbor Habitus: A Biography of Maritime Practice at Tel Dor. In: Shalvi, G., Shochat, H., Matskevich, S., Shalev, Y., and Eshel, T., eds. Festschrift for Prof. Ayelet Gilboa. Qedem Monograph Series. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Chapters in archaeological final reports

1. Waiman-Barak, P. 2026. Chapter 7: A Provenance Study of Early Iron Age Pottery. In: Mazar, A., Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part Three: The Iron Age Town (The 1948–1950, 1959, and 1982–1992 Seasons) (Qedem 66). Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: 453–478.

2. Bürge, T., Sterba, J. H., Waiman-Barak, P., and Nodarou, E. 2026. Online Appendix 3: Pottery fabrics and provenance studies. In: Bürge, T., Ritual or Refuse? Depositional Practices in Wells, Pits and Tombs at Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus (Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 162). Nicosia: Astrom Editions. https://doi.org/10.68546/1w2n-abgc

3. Waiman-Barak, P., and Dunseth, Z. C. (forthcoming). Methodology and results of the petrographic analysis of Iron Age ceramics from Tel Dor. In: Gilboa, A., and Matskevich, S. (eds.), Excavation at Dor, Final Report, Volume IV: Area B—The Iron Age and Earlier Periods in the Gates Area. Qedem Monograph Series. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

4. Waiman-Barak, P., and Butcher, M. (forthcoming). Northern holemouth jars from Area Q: A petrographic report. In: Megiddo VIII 6a. Tel Aviv University.

5. Gilboa, A. and Waiman-Barak, P. 2014. Chapter 15: Cypriot Ceramic Imports at Khirbet Qeiyafa: Provenience, Chronology and Significance. In: Garfinkel, Y., Ganor, S. and Hasel, M. G. (Klingbeil, M. G., ed.), Khirbet Qeiyafa Vol. 2: Excavation Report 2009–2013: Stratigraphy and Architecture (Areas B, C, D, E). Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society and Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: 391–402.

6. Waiman-Barak, P. 2015. Appendix I.3B: Petrographic Analysis of Selected Late Roman and Byzantine Vessels. In: Mazar, E. ed. The Ophel Excavations to the South of the Temple Mount 2009–2013, Final Report (Vol. I). Jerusalem: 160–166.

7. Waiman-Barak, P. and Gilboa, A. 2020. Chapter 6A: A Petrographic Study of Early Iron Age Containers at Tel Dan. In: Ilan, D. ed. Dan IV: The Iron Age I Settlement, the Avraham Biran Excavations (1966–1999). Jerusalem: 391–414.

8. Waiman-Barak, P. 2020. A Petrographic Analysis of Iron I–IIA Decorated Phoenician Containers and a Cypriot flask. In: Mazar, A. and Panitz-Cohen, N. eds. The Excavations at Tel Rehov, 1997–2012. Volumes I–V (Qedem Monographs Series). Jerusalem.

9. Waiman-Barak, P. and Ondricek W. 2022. Chapter 24: Perfecting Local Production of Desert Pottery, Petrographic Analysis of Early Islamic Wares. In: Singer-Avitz, L. and Ayalon, E., eds; Yotvata, The Ze'ev Meshel Excavations (1974–1980), The Iron Age I "Fortress," The Early Islamic Settlement and Other Remains. (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University). Tel Aviv.

10. Waiman-Barak, P. 2024. Chapter 27: Petrographic Analyses of Middle Bronze Age Ceramics. In: Cline, E. H., Ratzlaff, A. and Yasur-Landau, A., eds. Excavations at Tel Kabri III: The 2013 to 2019 Seasons (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 134). Leiden and Boston: Brill: 360–363. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004548336_028

11. Waiman-Barak, P. and Gilboa, A. In press. Notes on Late Bronze Age III and Iron Age I Phoenician and Other Containers at Megiddo based on Provenance Analysis. In: Finkelstein, I. and Martin, M.A.S., eds. Megiddo VI: The 2010–2014 Seasons. (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University). Tel Aviv.

12. Waiman-Barak, P., Melodias, M. C. C., and Freud, L. (forthcoming). Petrographic and FTIR Analysis of Iron Age IIB–IIC Ceramic Vessels from Givʿati and Ramat Raḥel. In: Lipschits, O., Freud, L., Oeming, M., and Gadot, Y., eds. Ramat Raḥel V: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010): The Finds (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University). Tel Aviv.

13. Waiman-Barak, P. and Roth, H. (forthcoming). Provenance Investigation of Fabric Groups from Stratum III at Naḥal Repha’im. In: The Excavations at Naḥal Repha’im.

Proceedings of international conferences

1. Waiman-Barak, P. (forthcoming). Made at the Water’s Edge: Ceramic Production and Phoenician Identity in the Iron Age Levant. In: Phoenician Identity in the Making: A Longue Durée Perspective (open-access volume).

2. Gilboa, A., Waiman-Barak, P. and Sharon, I. 2015. Dor, the Carmel Coast and Early Iron Age Mediterranean Exchanges. In: Babbi, A., Bubenheimer-Erhart, F., Marín-Aguilera, B. and Mühl, S., eds. The Mediterranean Mirror: Cultural Contacts in the Mediterranean Sea between 1200 and 750 B.C. (Proceedings of the International Post-doc and Young Researcher Conference, 6th–8th October 2012) (RGZM-Tagungen 20). Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums: 85–110.

3. Waiman-Barak, P., Bürge, T., and Fischer, P.M. 2023. Chapter 13. Petrographic studies of ceramics from Hala Sultan Tekke: evidence for interisland and interregional connections. In: Bürge, T. and Fischer, P.M., eds. The Decline of Bronze Age Civilizations in the Mediterranean: Cyprus and Beyond, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 154. Nicosia: Astrom Editions.

Reviewing activities

1. Manuscript reviewer, Antiquity (2026).

2. Manuscript reviewer, Archaeometry (since 2016).

3. Manuscript reviewer, Tel Aviv (since 2020).

4. Manuscript reviewer, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (since 2020).

5. Manuscript reviewer, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (since 2022).

6. Manuscript reviewer, Journal of Near Eastern Studies (since 2024).

7. Manuscript reviewer, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (since 2025).

8. Manuscript reviewer, Palestine Exploration Quarterly (since 2025).

9. Manuscript reviewer, Études et Travaux (since 2025).

10. Manuscript reviewer, Levant.

11. Manuscript reviewer, PLOS ONE.

12. Grant proposal reviewer, Israel Science Foundation (ISF) (2026).

Archaeological fieldwork

1. 2016–2019 — Tel Dor coastal excavations, including Dor South, Maritime Civilizations Department, University of Haifa, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem (directed by A. Yasur-Landau and R. Shahack-Gross).

2. 2007–2019 — Tel Dor Excavation Project, University of Haifa and Hebrew University of Jerusalem (directed by I. Sharon and A. Gilboa).

3. 2006 — Rescue excavations at Rambam Hospital Compound, Bat-Galim, Haifa; Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and the Israel Antiquities Authority (directed by K. Sa‘id).

4. 2001–2010 — Underwater excavations of shipwrecks in the Tantura (Dor) Lagoon, University of Haifa (dir. Y. Kahanov): Dor DW2 (I. Yovel Even-Zur), Dor 2002/1 (H. Mor), Dor 2002/2 (D. Cvikel), Tantura F (O. Barkai), Tantura E (E. Israeli), Dor 2006 (R. Navari), Dor C (D. Cvikel).

5. 2003–2006 — Underwater excavations at Liman-Tepe, Turkey, University of Haifa and Mustafa V. Koç Marine Archaeological Research Center, Ankara University (directed by M. Artzy, A. Raban and H. Erkanal).

6. 2002 — Underwater excavations at Caesarea Maritima, University of Haifa (directed by A. Raban).

7. 2002 — Underwater excavations at the Phoenician harbour of Atlit, University of Haifa (directed by A. Haggi).

8. 2001 — Excavations at Tell ‘Asur, University of Haifa (directed by A. Zertal).

9. 1998 — Excavations at Hazor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (directed by A. Ben-Tor).

10. 1997 — Excavations of the Roman–Byzantine remains at Beit She’an, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (directed by G. Foerster and Y. Tsafrir).

Geological surveys

1. 2026 — Horvat Husham and Horvat el-‘Alya, Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

2. 2024 — Beth Shemesh and Horvat Husham, Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

3. 2023 — Magdala, the Kinneret, and Upper Galilee, Tel Aviv University.

4. 2022 — Southern Cyprus, Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Geological Survey.

5. 2022 — Akko Bay, Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the University of Chicago and Ben-Gurion University.

6. 2019 — Carmel Coast, University of Haifa.

7. 2018 — Kabri and surroundings, University of Haifa.

Online publications

Levantine Ceramics Project (https://www.levantineceramics.org/contributors/212-paula-waiman-barak) — 974 vessels, 407 petrographic samples, 24 wares, and 30 petrofabrics contributed.

Additional practical skills

Archaeological fieldwork.

Since 1997 — PADI Rescue Diver; underwater archaeological fieldwork.

Since 2020 — ISSA-licensed offshore skipper; sailing experience along the Israeli coast (Haifa to Cyprus) and in the Greek Saronic Gulf.