By Brigid Clark and Lauren McCormick
The beginning of the Digging Up Data session at the 2025 annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) looked a bit different than other sessions. Participants, who had gathered to present their work (in a session aptly called Digging Up Data: A Showcase of Ongoing Digital Scholarship Projects), weren’t sitting silently, reviewing notes and sipping coffee, as is typical at the 8AM sessions. Instead, members stood, greeting each other, and were excitedly chatting– a testament to the community and mentorship built over the past year.
The session was the cumulation of a year of meetings, where participants developed personal projects and gained skills in digital literacy. Members had joined the 2025 cohort of Digging Up Data with different motivations. Some wanted to become more familiar with new digital tools, others wanted to become part of a community of scholars using digital methods, and others wanted to develop and support personal projects. When presenting in the conference, they had been instructed to limit their presentation to 10 minutes, and focus on a tutorial or walk-through style talk, in order to showcase their project and leave time for discussion.
The result was a unique, informative session, where the work Digging Up Data members did over the past year was evident. Presentations focused on the ways digital humanities have created new opportunities for the analysis and publication of archaeological data, across three broad categories: open access publications, data access and outreach for a public audience, and the reimagination of networks in a new digital world.
Many presentations focused on the ways digital humanities and created new opportunities for the analysis and publication of archaeological data. Monica Genuardi explored the potential and various challenges of preparing and uploading archival data in an open access format, using Open Context. Heidi Dodgen Fessler and Faith Myrick’s projects both used digital tools to update traditional ways of visualizing data. Heidi presented on methods of using open access maps to create more accurate portrayals of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, discussing available platforms, how to ensure plausible location accuracy, and various aesthetic choices. Faith used a Social Network Analysis tool, UCINET, to present the connections and relationships between one Mesopotamian merchant family represented across hundreds of tablet and seal impressions. Brigid Clark, Lauren McCormick, and Valery Schlegel presented new approaches to public data access and outreach, albeit in vastly different ways. Brigid’s project focused on turning academic data into an educational videogame, with the goal of making ceramic registration accessible to archaeology undergraduate students and volunteers. Lauren similarly works to make archaeological objects, in this case Iron Age Judean figurines, accessible to high school students, using ThingLink, an immersive and interactive digital platform. Her presentation focused on ThingLink’s capabilities with 3D files and how detailed visualization can be used to explore gender within these figurines. Finally, Valery’s project aimed to implement scientifically based storytelling, using Tableau Software to turn her displayed data (such as graphs, charts, etc.) into an effective story. Together, these projects demonstrate how the range of digital humanities approaches within Digging Up Data can transform archaeological data into accessible, engaging and analytically powerful resources.
The success of the Digging Up Data session comes not only from the range and quality of the projects presented, but also from the strong sense of camaraderie that has developed over the course of the past year. Presenting amongst familiar faces creates a comfortable and affirming conference environment. The session was marked by a notably warm and supportive atmosphere, in which progress (including failures and challenges) was openly shared and constructive feedback was given. Multiple members pointed to the discussion as particularly helpful, as questions from peers helped presenters refine their projects and get excited about new methodologies too.
A key takeaway from the Digging Up Data session was that sharing research processes, rather than just final results, is deeply productive. Presentations that centered decision-making, experimentation and problem-solving revealed meaningful connections across projects, as participants employed diverse tools to approach their individual research questions. Collectively, these experiences highlighted that engagement with digital humanities is not only a technical endeavor, but also a collaborative practice that supports scholarly growth through shared exploration and reflection. ASOR’s Digging Up Data program has strengthened our research, expanded our professional abilities and reaffirmed the importance of community in academic work. For early-career scholars interested in archaeological data, digital methods and collaborative scholarship, Digging Up Data is an invaluable opportunity to dig deeper, together.
