## **ANGLO-ISRAEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2022**
The 59[th] AGM of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society (unincorporated association) was held in November 2021 by videoconference. Because of the transfer of the Society’s business to a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation during the year, there was no AGM in 2022, and this AGM will be the first AGM of The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, a CIO, Charity Reg no. 1195866.
The Society exists to advance education relating to the archaeology of Israel and its neighbours. It regularly holds lectures on topics of archaeological interest concerning the region, funding travel grants to Israel for students and publishing its peerreviewed journal, Strata. All these activities were carried out in 2022, along with other one-off activities, and are described below.
## **Lecture Summaries for 2022**
The Society did not hold an AGM in 2022 and we have not published lecture summaries in this Report from 2021. However, the 2021 lecture programme and videos are available to view on www.aias.org.uk.
Our on-line lecture programme continues to attract large worldwide audiences which frequently exceed over 100 attendees. The Society hosted 12 online lectures throughout the year. The following is a summary of lectures in 2022, which are all available to view on the website.
- 20 January – Prof. Rami Arav (University of Nebraska at Omaha) - _Three Decades of Excavations at Bethsaida._
- 17 February – Prof. Yuval Gadot (Tel Aviv University) - _New Light on Iron Age and Persian Period Jerusalem_ .
- 15 March – Prof. Philip Alexander (University of Manchester) - _Did Rabbis Write Down the Mishnah? Orality and Writing in the Jewish World in Late Antiquity_ .
- 11 April – Prof. Karen Stern (Brooklyn College, City University of New York) _- Inscription, Touch and Worship in the Synagogue of Dura Europos._
- 16 June – Prof. Beatrice St. Laurent (Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts) - _The Transformation of the Temple Mount to Bayt al-Maqdis in the Early Umayyad Period by Mu’āwiya, CE 638-680_ .
- 14 July - Dr Rebekah Welton (University of Exeter) - _Food and Alcohol in the Hebrew Bible._
- 15 September – Prof. Steve Mason (University of Groningen) - _Flavians in Galilee (67 CE): Their Aims and Activities_ .
- 26 October – Prof. Andrea M. Berlin (University of Boston)- One Site, Two Peoples: Phoenicians and Jews _at Kedesh of the Upper Galilee_ .
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- 22 November – Professors Liran Carmel, Erella Hovers and Daniel Master _- Recent Advances in DNA Technology and their Contribution to Archaeology in Israel._ This webinar was held jointly with British Friends of Hebrew University.
- 13 December - David Hendin (American Numismatic Society) - _Money in Judaea: Bronze Age to Bar Kokhba_ .
Starting with an AIAS Jubilee lecture tour by Professor Oded Lipschits, Tel Aviv University, in February and March 2023, with venues in London, St Andrews, Oxford and Southampton, we are reintroducing some in-person lectures during the year, interspersed with on-line events via Zoom.
## **Student Travel Grants**
Following the lifting of Covid19 travel bans, in 2022 the Society was able to resume offering travel grants to students, giving them the opportunity to further their research studies and to experience participation in archaeological digs in Israel. Three students received a grant and their reports will be published in _Strata Vol 40._
**Dana Allan £1,000** - The Nicholas Slope Memorial Award - towards participation in the Nahal Ein Gev excavations
**Gwendoline Maurer £750** - The Sheila and Anthony Rabin Award - for analytical studies at the University of Haifa of faunal remains from Tel Yaqush and Tel Qadesh.
**Joel Stokes £750** - towards conducting PhD fieldwork exploring heritage practice concerning the potential conflict between archaeological activity in Jerusalem on the site known as The City of David and the Palestinian village of Silwan.
## **Strata Vol 39**
_Strata_ Volume 39 was published in December 2021, containing 250 pages. This was a special edition of the journal, marking the 60th anniversary of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. Outgoing Chair, Professor Tessa Rajak, provided an Editorial looking back at the history of the Society, its journal, and her hopes for the future. Professor Hugh Williamson, Vice-President, offered a special contribution reassessing an early 19[th] -century debate between two heavyweight biblical scholars on the question of Biblical Archaeology.
A leading article was contributed by Professor Joan Taylor, a previous editor of _Strata,_ on finds marking the presence of Judaean women in the Dead Sea caves. Additional articles were presented on a Roman garland sarcophagus (Moshe Fischer), a splendid late Roman building complex in Caesarea (Rivka Gersht and Peter Gendelman), a silver amulet from Shivta (Emma Ma-ayan Fanar, Yotam Tepper and Yotam Asscher), and the recording of ancient remains in the Holy Land in the early 19th century by Mary Eliza Rogers (Rachel Hallote). Volume 39 also contained an obituary of Magen Broshi, a review of significant archaeological discoveries in Israel over the previous
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year, nine book reviews, and summaries of some 13 lectures delivered by leading scholars as part of the Society’s annual lecture series.
All the authors are sincerely thanked for their contributions to _Strata_ 39. Special thanks are extended to our editors, Prof David Jacobson and Dr Rachael Sparks, for assembling and editing the volume, and to Dr Rebekah Welton for collating the book reviews. From 2019-2022 at the helm, Prof Jacobson has now stepped down from the role of the Editor in Chief of Strata, and we sincerely thank him for his service over the years, maintaining the Journal as a world leading peer-reviewed journal. We are fortunate that Professor Ken Dark has joined Dr Sparks as Editor in Chief going forward.
## **Finance**
A separate Annual Statement of Accounts for 2022 has been circulated with the Agenda for this AGM.
## **Anglo Israel Archaeological Society Diamond Jubilee celebration and Diamond Jubilee Appeal**
In honour of our Diamond Jubilee celebrations and funded by a generous legacy from the late Dr Mike Sommer, a former AIAS Vice President and Committee member, a special reception for members to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Society was held at the British Academy, London on Wednesday 4th May 2022. The reception included the Richard Barnett Memorial Lecture 2022 given by Professor Martin Goodman FBA on _‘Herod the Great: King of Judaea and King of the Jews’._ A video of the launch event is available to view on the website, www.aias.org.uk .
A special Diamond Jubilee Appeal was launched at the event which will run for 12 months. Following a period of discussion, in which we were looking for an appropriate site that would host and nurture AIAS-sponsored student participants and raise the profile of AIAS work, the AIAS Trustees decided that the Appeal should support the Mount Zion project in Jerusalem, directed by Professor Shimon Gibson, for which we will contribute and raise funds to support student participation in the dig and related activities. There is very rich potential for student participation in the 2023 phase of the Mount Zion project, with the excavation of an area that looks capable of yielding very significant artefacts and data of major importance from the time of the fall of the First Temple. We aim to raise funds to send about 5 students in 2023 to participate in the dig who will gain experience under Professor Gibson’s direction. We will fund the students’ travel, board and lodging for a month and our contribution to this project will be significant. We already have a promise of matching funding for this project.
## **Publicity: Website & Social Media**
The Society’s website is an important focus for information about AIAS events, archaeological news from Israel, recordings of lectures and for selecting back copies of _Strata_ . The website attracts considerable interest and sincere thanks are extended to Dr Rachael Sparks for maintaining and keeping the information up to date. The Society’s Facebook page is maintained by Dr David Friedman and gives links to, and comments on, the latest archaeological discoveries and publicity about AIAS’s latest
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lectures (www.facebook.com/IsraelArchaeologyLondon). AIAS is also on -Twitter: @AIAS_Strata, and our grateful thanks are extended to Dr Rebekah Welton for administering the Twitter account.
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## **Trustee Meetings**
The Trustees convened three times in 2022; in April, July and November. In addition to the topics covered above, there were discussions on technology and risk management, and regular financial updates from the Honorary Treasurer.
## **Final Words**
The Society greatly appreciates the many generous donations received in the last year from members and non-members. We would also like to offer our sincerest thanks to our Honorary Solicitor, Mr Ian Burman, for his advice and support, and to our Independent Examiner, Mr Paul Felton, for the examination of the 2022 Accounts.
Please contact the Administrator if you are able to help support our activities in any way (secretary@aias.org.uk) .
Signed on behalf of the Trustees of The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society
……………………………………. …………………………………
Prof S. J. Pearce - Chair AIAS
Date
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## **THE ANGLO-ISRAEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY**
## **TREASURER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022**
2022 was a transitional year to hopefully a post-Covid environment both for the world and, in a somewhat smaller way, for the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. Although we did not re-commence physical attendance for our lecture programme, we did fund a grants programme for the first time since 2019. However, we continued to host virtual lectures, broadcasting 10 in 2022, compared with 12 in 2021, and our audiences continue to total between 100 and 150. Vol. 39 of Strata, our top-quality peer-reviewed journal, was published during the year.
Total receipts this year amounted to £14,597, a 16% increase on last year’s figure of £12,590. Restricted receipts for 2022 totaled £3,000 compared with £1,500 in 2021, leaving £11,597 of unrestricted non-legacy income in the year, compared with £11,090 of unrestricted income last year.
Receipts from individual members paying subscriptions totaled £4,062, albeit £530 related to 2023, comparable with the previous year’s receipts of £3,790 (£640 relating to 2022). When these adjustments are made, income from subscriptions for 2022 rose by 10% over the previous year. Income from the publication of the Society’s journal, Strata, was £1,078 (2021 £1,304), a decline of 17%, reflecting a squeeze on academic spending. Income from our two investments in COIF Funds, managed by CCLA Fund Managers, into which our non-cash reserves are invested, provided dividend income of £2,237 (2021 £2,179) and interest income of £241 (£273 2021), both broadly similar to last year.
We have again this year benefitted from significant donations from several generous individuals. £1,000 was received from Dr Alan Brenner, £1,000 from the S & P Sephardi Community in honour of Dr Richard Barnett to defray costs from the Diamond Jubilee Event in May and the fourth of four £1,000 annual donations was received from Mrs. Sheila and Dr. Anthony Rabin to fund travel grants. The Society also received 4 donations over £200 totaling £1,318 and a further £1,279 from 27 individuals. We are extremely grateful to all these individuals. Of the £3,015 balance of restricted funds in cash at the year end, £2,000 is in relation to travel grants and £1,000 relates to our ongoing Diamond Jubilee Appeal.
Following lockdown and the advent of virtual lectures in 2020, the expenses for the year associated with our lecture programme were minimal. However, we were very pleased to be able to reinstate our travel grants programme in 2022, sending students of archaeology and related subjects in UK universities on digs in Israel. We awarded 3 grants totalling £2,500, funded by donations received for this purpose.
Strata Volume 39 (2021) was published during the year. Total costs were £4,129 (2021 £3,099), an increase of £1,030 over last year attributable to an increase in printing costs (largely due to the increased page count of Volume 39 over Volume 38) and an increase in postage and packing.
We also spent £3,426 on our Jubilee Celebration event during the year which, when added to the prepayment of £1,025 in 2021 (categorized in our 2021 Income and Expenditure Statement under ‘Sundry Expenses’ but recharacterized in this year’s 2021 comparative), totaled £4,451. With the exception of a small amount of reimbursed travel for one of our speakers, the payment was to the British Academy for room hire, IT service, catering and security. A further £350 was spent on recording the lecture for posting on our website, accounted for under IT. The funding of the event and lecture recording came from a donation of £1,000 from The Richard Barnett Memorial Fund (mentioned above), £2,525 (£1,025 2021, £1,500 2022) from a legacy received from the Estate of Mr Mike Sommer in 2018, and £1,301 from General Funds. The event is covered more fully in the Trustees Report.
We have started to accumulate costs in respect of an extensive UK lecture tour in 2023 by Professor Oded Lipschits of Tel Aviv University, encompassing 5 lectures in 4 cities and a graduate workshop involving 3 Israeli doctoral students and 4 from the UK. The tour is funded in its entirety from Dr Sommer’s legacy (mentioned above) and the £4,527 of costs accumulated in 2022 relate to payment in advance for airfares and accommodation for Professor Lipschits and airfares for the 3 Israeli workshop participants.
We have spent £3,288 in 2022 on IT, as part of a strategy to enable us better to communicate with stakeholders, both current and future. From March 2022, we acquired a Zoom account in the name of AIAS to enable virtual monthly lectures (previously the cost of this had been borne by a Trustee) and this has cost
£1,308 during the year. We also paid £459 for a 6-year web security certificate to 2028 for our website. Our Jubilee Appeal website payment process installation has cost £126, and our annual website hosting fee was £119. In addition, we have paid consultancy fees of £1,275, largely in respect of setting up the above facilities, and a video recording of the Jubilee Lecture (mentioned above).
In aggregate, expenditure exceeded receipts by £11,602 (2021 deficit £134).). The bulk of this deficit was funded by a realization of investments of £10,000, leaving the cash position at the year-end of £8,501, compared with £10,204 at the end of 2021. As explained above, approximately £9,000 of cost incurred in the year will not be recurring cost.
The Society’s reserves, other than those represented by cash and a tax refund due in respect of Gift Aid, are held as investments in two COIF Funds. The principal fund, the COIF Charities Investment Fund, invests in a range of liquid investments of which approximately 70% are equities. The other, the COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund, invests principally in a mixture of Government and Non-Government bonds. Total nonmonetary investments reduced from £94,131 to £73,207 over the 12 months. Of that reduction, £10,000 was a conversion of T Income Units to cash to fund the deficit of income over expenditure and the remainder represents a fall in value of the investments of 13%.
Although our annual income is not greater than £25,000, we have chosen, as in previous years, to have an Independent Examiner’s report in the format prescribed by the Charity Commission. Upon the retirement of our previous longstanding Honorary Independent Examiner, Mr Lloyd Levy, we have been fortunate to have the services of Mr Paul Felton in that role, and our sincere thanks are due to him.
Dr. Anthony Rabin Hon. Treasurer
March 2023
## **ANGLO ISRAEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY**
## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31ST DECEMBER 2022**
**1. RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT (£)**
|**Receipts**
Subscriptions
Donations
Publications - Strata
Sundries
Investments - Interest
Investments - Dividends
Tax refund on Gift Aid
**Total receipts**
**Payments**
**Student Travel Grants**
**Direct Expenditure**
Lectures
Strata
Insurance
**Other Expenditure**
Secretary's remuneration
Printing
Postage
Jubilee Event
2023 Lecture Tour
IT and Web costs
Telephone and sundry
Bank charges
**Total Expenditure**
**Net Receipts (outgoings) **
**Cash 31st December 2022**
**_Cash 31st December 2021_**|**2022**|**_2021_**|
|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Total**
**Funds**
**Funds**
4,062.50
4,062.50
2,596.38
3,000.45
5,596.83
1,078.00
1,078.00
26.32
26.32
241.25
241.25
2,236.79
2,236.79
1,355.33
1,355.33|**_Unrestricted_**
**_Restricted_**
**_Total_**
**_Funds_**
**_Funds_**
_3,790.00_
_3,790.00_
_2,145.29_
_1,500.00_
_3,645.29_
_1,304.34_
_1,304.34_
_317.73_
_317.73_
_272.75_
_2,179.49_
_2,179.49_
_272.75_
_1,080.47_
_1,080.47_|
||11,596.57
3,000.45
14,597.02|_11,090.07_
_1,500.00_
_12,590.07_|
||||
||2,500.00
2,500.00||
||3,879.50
250.00
4,129.50
412.20
412.20|_3,099.47_
_3,099.47_|
||4,291.70
250.00
4,541.70|_3,099.47_
_3,099.47_|
||7,752.00
7,752.00
57.65
57.65
925.70
2,500.00
3,425.70
4,527.10
4,527.10
3,287.53
3,287.53
119.11
119.11
-12.06
-12.06|_7,221.00_
_7,221.00_
_50.00_
_50.00_
1,025.00
_1,222.82_
_2,247.82_
_105.75_
_105.75_|
||12,129.93
7,027.10
19,157.03|_9,624.57_
_9,624.57_|
||||
||16,421.63
9,777.10
26,198.73|_12,724.04_
_12,724.04_|
||||
||-4,825.06
-6,776.65
-11,601.71|_-1,633.97_
_1,500.00_
_-133.97_|
||**5,484.94**
**3,015.80**
**8,500.74**
_6,438.88_
_3,765.35_
_10,204.23_||
## **ANGLO ISRAEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31ST DECEMBER 2022**
## **2. STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 31ST DECEMBER 2022 (£)**
|**Restricted**
**Unrestricted**
**Monetary Assets**
**Funds**
**Funds**
Bank and Cash Balances
COIF Charities Deposit Fund
228.14
Bank Accounts
3,015.80
5,243.27
Cash Float
13.53
Total Cash at Bank and In Hand
3,015.80
5,484.94
**Debtor**
Tax refund due on Gift Aid subscriptions and donations
**Monetary Liabilities (incurred before the accounting date but settled later)**
**Unrestricted Funds**
Credit Card Charges for December 2022
Zoom charges for December 2022
Accrued Consultancy fees|**Restricted**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Funds**
228.14
3,015.80
5,243.27
13.53|**Total**
**_2021_**
**Funds**
228.14
_225.92_
8,259.07
_9,969.51_
13.53
_8.80_|
|---|---|---|
||3,015.80
5,484.94|8,500.74
_10,204.23_|
|||1,200.00
_1,355.33_|
|||25.20
_22.10_
104.16
750.00|
|||879.36
_22.10_|
|**Non-Monetary Assets**
COIF Charities Investment Fund
T Income Units
COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund
B income Units
As at 31st December 2022
As at 31st December 2021|**Holding**
**Market**
**Gross**
**(units)**
**Value**
**Income**
3,576.94
64,918.96
2,236.79
7,158.88
8,288.20
241.25|
|---|---|
||73,207.16
2,478.04|
|||
||_94,131.13_
_2,452.424_|
During the year, £10,000 T Income Units were converted to cash to fund the deficit of income over expenditure. £22,475 of non-monetary assets represent the restricted legacy received from the estate of Mr Mike Sommer in 2018.
## Equipment:
Four drawer filing cabinet purchased for £200 in June 1999. Display panels for exhibiting purchased for £367.19 in November 2002
## Books and Bulletins held for sale:
Copies of past issues of The Bulletin of The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society and Strata: Cost and value not known
## PROF. SARAH PEARCE, Chair
2022
For and on behalf of the Trustees