The Department of Near Eastern Studies is proud to announce that Morganne Ottobre, a PhD student at Johns Hopkins, won ASOR’s student paper award for her paper on the bilingual inscription on the statue of Hadd-yith’i. This work, titled “Between Two Cultures: Translation and Multimodality in the Tell Fekheriyeh Inscription,” approaches the inscription using the framework of multimodality.

Ottobre’s paper was presented in the Ancient Inscriptions session at ASOR’s Annual Meeting. She discussed the bilingual inscription on the statue of Hadd-yith’i found at the site of Tell Fekheriyeh which likely dates to the mid-9^th century BCE. Ottobre approaches the inscription using the framework of multimodality, convincingly arguing for the importance of combining epigraphic and linguistic approaches with art historical and archaeological evidence to achieve a more holistic interpretation. She also considers non-linguistic components of the text, including aspects of paleography, text orientation and the placement of the inscription, and their contributions to a more nuanced understanding of the text. By examining the blending of Neo-Assyrian and Aramaean influences and carefully considering their intended audience, Ottobre ultimately provides compelling evidence for the generation of distinctive identities among local north Syrian communities.

According to the criteria from ASOR, “This award is conferred upon the author(s) of a paper presented (in-person or online) during the 2023 hybrid ASOR Annual Meeting that conveys the results of a study about ancient Near Eastern and wider Mediterranean societies in a clear, understandable and convincing fashion.” Congratulations, Morganne!