James Fraser (often styled Jamie Fraser) is an Australian archaeologist specializing in the Bronze Age Levant. Since Octoberâ¯2023, he has served as Dorot Director of the W.â¯F.â¯Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in East Jerusalem. He previously held the position of Curator for the Ancient Levant and Anatolia at the British Museum, where he curated the 2023 exhibition Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece.
Fraser earned his Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Sydney in 2016. His doctoral dissertation was later published as the monograph *Dolmens in the Levant* (2018), which received the prestigious G.â¯Ernest Wright Award for Best Archaeological Publication.
FraserâÂÂs research focuses on megalithic dolmens, early Bronze Age economies, and Levantine ceramic and architectural traditions. Fraser has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, Greece, Cambodia, Australia, and the Solomon Islands.
Fraser has directedâÂÂand continues to directâÂÂa British Museum excavation project at Khirbet Um alâÂÂGhozlan in Jordan, investigating a 4,500âÂÂyearâÂÂold Early Bronzeâ¯IV olive oil factory. For this, he received the 2019 Charles Harris Grant from ASOR.