Umm el-Jimal

In memoriam

Two staff members died prematurely, in the primes of their lives and careers - Bud Haggard, in an automobile accident on a Michigan road, and Jennifer Groot, of cancer at age 35.

Haggard was the square supervisor of area A.8 in 1977. He is responsible for fieldwork described by S. Thomas Parker in chapt. 7.1 of Umm el-Jimal volume I. His plans to participate in future seasons were forestalled by the tragic head-on collision in which his wife and children also died.

Jennifer Groot was a senior staff member, both area supervisor and object registrar, who participated in the three field seasons. In 1977 she worked as a square supervisor in the excavation of House XVIII; the results are included in the stratigraphic data described by Robin Brown in chapt. 9 of Volume I. In 1981 and 1984 she was an area supervisor responsible for excavating barracks rooms and the west gate of the tetrarchic castellum. As a result of her concurrent work at Umm el-Jimal and the fortress of el-Lejjun, she had become a specialist in the occupational stratigraphy of Roman military barracks. Her work on the castellum will be published at a later date. Her legacy includes her finely honed stratigraphic skills and the talent to teach those skills to novices. She was loved by all for her pleasant personality and patience. She is remembered through the Groot Fellowship.

The fond memory of both these friends and colleagues will remain alive in their contributions to these reports.

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