William Zimmerle

William Gerlad Zimmerle is a scholar and archaeologist. He is also the Director of the Dhofar Ethnography Preservation Project and the Dhofar Rock Art & Arabian Inscriptions Project. Both which are auspices of the Diwan of the Royal Court in the Sultanate of Oman.

William Zimmerle
Zimmerle in 2023 at an event at the National Library & Archives
Occupation	Scholar & Archaeologist
Academic background
Education	PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Academic work
Discipline	Digital Humanities, Cultural Heritage, Archaeology, Ancient History, and Religious Studies
Institutions	New York University Abu Dhabi

He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Arts & Humanities department at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).

Education

William Zimmerle has a BA in History and Anthropology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a Master of Divinity in Religion and Ancient Languages from Harvard University, a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PgCert in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Edinburgh.

Academic Profile

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Dr. William Gerard Zimmerle is a distinguished scholar and archaeologist specializing in ancient Near East religions and the Middle East, with a strong commitment to preserving cultural heritage. He currently serves as the Director of two significant projects in Oman: the Dhofar Ethnography Preservation Project, which focuses on documenting the Cuboid Incense Burner Tradition, and the Dhofar Rock Art and Southern Arabian Inscriptions Project, a Digital Humanities Initiative in Southern Oman. Dr. Zimmerle obtained his PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Pennsylvania, where he concentrated on Mesopotamian Archaeology within the Graduate Program of Cuneiform Studies (Assyriology) and also delved into Syro-Palestinian archaeology and Northwest Semitic epigraphy. His academic journey began with an undergraduate degree in history at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Park, where he engaged in Ancient Near Eastern studies as an exchange student at Drew University and completed a study abroad program at Wroxton College, focusing on British History and Culture in Oxfordshire, England.

Before joining Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he is now responsible for teaching humanities courses with a digital emphasis and creating the Digital Humanities Center to connect all international university campuses, Professor Zimmerle taught Introduction to Archaeology at Rowan University's Geography-Anthropology department, as well as courses on the Archaeology of Jerusalem, the Bible and Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Sociology and World History as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar at Dhofar University in Oman. He also held prestigious fellowships, such as the 2012-2013 Sylvan C. and Pamela Coleman Curatorial Fellow position in the Ancient Near Eastern Art Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, and the 2011 Samuel Fellow in the History of Art at the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman. Additionally, in 1999–2000, Dr. Zimmerle served as the specialist in Inter-Religious dialogue at the Boston Theological Center.

Field Work

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William Zimmerle has done a lot of work that involves ample trekking and offers insight into the reality of his work. He has been diligently cataloging rock art found in cave shelters within the Dhofar region of Oman, through photography and writing.

In the depths of these sheltered spaces, located near the Arabian Peninsula's coastline, ancient families and tribes expressed themselves through finger-painted images on rock surfaces. These creations have been dated back to a span of time ranging from the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. to the fifth century A.D. Using paint crafted from hematite and carbon, materials sourced from the surrounding soil, they skillfully depicted scenes featuring warriors, animals, ships, and trees.

Zimmerle underscores the global significance of rock art, emphasizing its universal nature. This form of artistic expression, found all around the world, provides invaluable insights into the human spirit's drive to survive, communicate through writing, and create visual narratives.

Publications

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Journal Articles

• Recent Advances In Applications Of Active Constituents Of Selected Medicinal Plants Of Dhofar, Sultanate Of Oman in the Asian Journal Of Pharmaceutical And Clinical Research, 2018
• Ethnographic light on the form, function, and decoration of'Arabian-style'cuboid incense burners from first-millennium BC Nippur in the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2014
• Evidence for the Arabian Spice Trade in the Southern Levant: Incense Altars and Alabaster Jars from the Axial Age (8th-4th Century B.C.E.) in the W.F. Albright Newsletter Fellow's Report, 2012
• The Impact of Neo-Assyrian Imperialism on Iron Age Jordan in the W.F. Albright Newsletter Fellow's Report, 2011
• The 2005 Season at Tall Dhiban in the Annual Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 2010
• Tall Dhiban Report in the American Journal of Archaeology, 2008
• The 2004 Season at Dhiban (Jordan): Prospection, Preservation, and Planning in the Annual Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 2005

Books

• Cultural Treasures from the Cave Shelters of Dhofar: Photographs of the Painted Rock Art Heritage of Southern Oman, 2017
• Crafting Cuboid Incense Burners in the Land of Frankincense: The Dhofar Ethnoarchaeology Preservation Project, 2017

Book Chapters

• "Frankincense and it's Arabian Burner," in All things Arabia: Arabian Identity and Material Culture
• "The Arabian Incense Burner." in The Gulf in World History: Arabia at the Crossroads, 2018

Edited Books

• "Camel" Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2012.
• "Ashdod" Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2012
• "Ezekiel" Encyclopedia of Ancient History. 2012
• "Orontes" Encyclopedia of Ancient History. 2012
• "Red Sea" Encyclopedia of Ancient History. 2012
• "Perfumes and Unguents." Encyclopedia of Ancient History. 2012
• "Ethiopia." Encyclopedia of Ancient History. 2012