Computational Archaeological Laboratory

After a short hiatus, we are back to our meet the team posts!
This week, meet Nadav Rosenthal, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Nadav is an M.A student, he joined the lab in 2022 as a lab technician and research student.
He is writing his master’s thesis on the use of lathes in the chalkstone vessel industry in early Roman Judea, incorporating the cutting-edge tools of the laboratory.
He is also involved in the Kfar Nahum scanning project.

His favorite part of the laboratory is the scanning days in the field, and dragging lab members across the country to help in the scanning efforts.
He also loves the ‘cardamon in the black coffee’ consensus in the lab.

New paper alert!

The paper analyzes 1108 3D scans of Acheulean handaxes from 12 sites from the Great Rift Valley. Computational 3D methods were used to estimate how skilfully each handaxe was made.

Meet our software - ⛏️ArchCut 3-D⛏️

ArchCut 3-D is designed for the documentation and analysis of incised and engraved surfaces, such as art engravings, cut marks, and other surfaces.

The program follows a selected surface and produces a series of three-dimensional cross-sections at intervals of a millimetre.

These successive sections allow one to examine the properties of the engraved line at a single point, and changes in the line over the length of the engraving.

A morphological analysis of each line and characterizing relations between lines allow for an understanding of the series of actions and motions in the process of engraving, cutting, and reducing material.

The software is open and available to download and use on SourceForge (link in comments)

Meet the team!

Tal Rosh, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

🐐Tal is an M.A. student writing his dissertation on the lithic assemblage from Iza cave.

💻As part of the Computational Archaeology Laboratory team, he manages the databases of the lab and supervises the team. He also manages the spatial documentation of the excavations.

🧁His favorite thing about the lab is when we go on scanning field trips and work outdoors. He also appreciates the amount of baked goods we have during lab meetings.

📷He is also by far the most photographed member of the lab, and we thank him for allowing all the silliness to be advertised!

Meet the team! Today we get to know -

Maya Lutz Yitzhaky, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Maya is an M.A. student; she joined the lab in 2023 as a lab technician and research student.

⛏️She is writing her M.A. on Crusader mason marks at Aqua Bella (Ein Hemed), using the cutting-edge research tools of the lab, as well as incorporating experimental archaeology.

🎂She is known at the lab for her baking! She brings delicious cakes to every gathering and event (and we are very grateful for it)

👥Her favorite thing about the lab is the diversity of subjects we are exposed to, and learning from different researchers in our weekly lab meetings.

Meet the team!

Hadas Goldgeier, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hadas has been a member of the lab since 2014, starting as a lab technician, scanning and processing artifacts for publication.
She is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Archaeology, researching architectural developments throughout the late Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic, and incorporating tools developed at the lab in her research. She manages social media for the laboratory (and feels very awkward writing about herself in the third person), and also assists with GIS projects and graphics tasks.
Her favorite things about the lab are out-door scanning trips, and coffee and conversations on our lovely balcony.

Photos by Maya Yitzhaky Lutz & Daniel Rolider

Meet the software!

Get to know the programs developed at the Computational Archaeology Laboratory

Artifact3-D was designed to document and analyze archaeological artifacts such as lithics, ground-stone tools, art objects, bones and more.

The program positions the artifact based on its geometric properties and creates a conventional representation with views, transversal sections, and other visual aids in plates suitable for publication.

Artifact3-D also includes a host of tools which preform linear measurements, angle calculation and can extract quantitative parameters that can only be obtained based on 3D information - to name only a few central functions!

Artifact3-D was published (2022) in PLOS One and the software is free to download on SourceForge - see our publications and programs highlights!

It's our most downloaded and used software, and has been a part of many fascinating research projects!

Read the paper and download the software below 👇

Meet the team!
Get to know the researchers working at the Computational Archaeology Laboratory at The Institute of Archaeology Huji

✨️Dr. Heeli Schechter✨️

Heeli joined the lab team in 2022 as our lab manager. As of October 2025, she is an Associate Researcher at the Computational Archaeology Laboratory (congratulations!🎉).

🐚 She is an expert on shells and Neolithic ornamentation practices and has also worked on flint and obsidian industries of similar and later time periods.

💻 At the lab she oversees the everyday scanning and analysis work, teaches, consults on ongoing research, and designs new research projects.

🌳 Her favorite thing about the lab is the opportunity to learn and master new computational thought processes and analysis avenues and taking breaks on our majestic balcony…

First 2 slides by D. Rolider 📷

Meet the team!
Get to know the researchers working at the Computational Archaeology Laboratory at The Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

First up...

Prof. Leore Grosman is the head of the Computational Archaeology Laboratory, and a professor of prehistoric archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

💻Her research interests have always been a combination of archaeological research and the incorporation of the exact sciences methods into archaeological research.

🖥Her work at the CompArch lab focuses on developing and incorporate mathematical and computational tools to address archaeological questions. At the lab she oversees our many projects, and supervises several students working on computational and archaeological questions in all periods 🏺🗿🏹


🔨Her other major research focus is on prehistoric archaeology, especially the transition from hunting and gathering to farming, a transition that forever changed the course of human existence. Her work in Natufian sites such as Nahal Ein Gev II and Hilazon Tachtit Cave has profoundly changed the way we view the transition into Neolithic lifeways.

First photo by D. Rolider