Council for British Research in the Levant

The Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) was established to promote, sponsor and carry out high quality research in the Levant in the Humanities and Social Sciences. It was formed in 1998 with the amalgamation of the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
Since 2003, the British Institute (Amman) and the Kenyon Institute in Jerusalem has been providing researchers with access to research labs, accommodation, libraries and computing equipment, but most importantly gives membership to a diverse community of scholars at all career stages from many countries working in different fields, all with a passion for the research they conduct.

Purpose and activities

The CBRL promotes the study of the humanities and social sciences (e.g. archaeology, geography, history, literature, linguistics, social anthropology) as relevant to the countries of the Levant (Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories and Syria), and especially for contemporary issues such as the Arab uprisings, includes research being conducted in a much wider area, including Egypt and North Africa.

The CBRL is one of the network of schools and institutes sponsored by the British Academy who provide a core grant to support the institutional framework, but significant contributions are made by membership subscriptions, sale of publications, other grants, and revenue generated by the services provided.

The CBRL currently sponsors a large number of research projects in the Levant, including everything from archaeological research to modern politics, picking up drama, music, art and language on the way. Some of the major projects include work on the Palaeolithic in Lebanon; the beginnings of farming in southern Jordan; large regional multi-period archaeological and environmental surveys in Syria and Cyprus (combining traditional techniques with cutting edge use of satellite imagery and computerised recording); architectural surveys throughout the Levant, but perhaps especially in Jerusalem and the West Bank; anthropological research on modern societies; work on climate change both in the past and present - together with its impact on society; as well as the modern history and politics of the region.

Publications

The Council's research journal, Levant (ISSN 0075-8914), is employed to document and promote the research of CBRL members and others in the region. Each issue includes a number of scholarly articles and book reviews. As of 2008, Levant is published biannually by Maney Publishing, both in print and online form.

An annual Bulletin is produced to inform about current research activities and information about events and CBRL publications.

External links

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