Pioneer Seminar on West Asian Archaeology
On Saturday, November 8, 2025, the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) welcomed Professor Emeritus SASAKI Tatsuo of Kanazawa University as a guest speaker for a lecture titled “Excavating the Archaeological Sites of the Persian Gulf Region.” This event was organized as the seventh session of the “Pioneer Seminars in West Asian Archaeology,” a lecture series launched in 2018 by the Japanese Society for West Asian Archaeology to highlight first-generation researchers who opened new paths in archaeological studies across West Asia and its surrounding regions. Co-hosted with the Society, the seminar was held in a hybrid format—both in-person at the Institute’s seminar room and online—and brought together a total of 90 attendees.
Professor SASAKI, a specialist in the history of inter-civilizational exchange, has focused his scholarly work on the distribution of ceramics while participating in numerous excavations conducted in Japan, and also overseas in Iraq, Egypt, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and various desert regions. Despite the often unstable political and security conditions in these areas, he continued his fieldwork, deepened his collaborations with local researchers, and dedicated himself not only to excavation but also to the conservation of archaeological sites.
Drawing from his extensive experience—encountering different research environments and approaches to heritage preservation across countries—Professor SASAKI’s lecture offered valuable insights. It resonated not only with active field researchers, but also with those who have long been inspired by the archaeological and historical world of West Asia, as well as younger generations preparing to enter the field.
Today, at least fiveJapanese-led archaeological missions are operating in the Gulf region. The latest research results, carried forward by the new generation that has inherited the pioneers’ spirit, will be presented in detail at the 33rd Annual Meeting of Excavation in West Asia scheduled for March 21–22, 2026, to be held in the same venue.