Amihai Mazar
Encyclopedia
Amihai "Ami" Mazar (born 1942) is an Israeli archaeologist
. Born in Haifa
, Israel
(then the British Mandate of Palestine), he is currently (since 1994) Professor at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, holding the Eleazer Sukenik Chair in the Archaeology of Israel.
Mazar has directed archaeological excavations at a number of sites in Israel
that include:
Mazar is an author in the field of Biblical archaeology
, his Archaeology of the Land of the Bible is a text used in many universities.
Mazar is married with three children and resides in Jerusalem. He is the nephew of Benjamin Mazar
, one of the first generation of pioneering Israeli archaeologists after Independence, and cousin to fellow archaeologist Eilat Mazar
.
(pop. about 2,000 residents at that time) Mazar discovered 30 intact hives, dating from c.900 BC. The beehives, made of straw
and unbaked clay
were found in orderly rows and may be the oldest complete beehives ever discovered.
Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part Two. Various Finds, The Pottery, Conclusions, Appendices (Qedem 20). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1985.
Timnah – A Biblical Town in the Sorek Valley. Winona Lake 1995 (with G. L. Kelm).
Timnah (Tel Batash) I: Stratigraphy and Architecture (Qedem 37). Jerusalem 1997.
Timnah (Tel Batash) II: The Finds from the First Millennium BCE (Qedem 42). Jerusalem 2001 (with N. Panitz-Cohen).
Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989 -1996, Volume I. From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period. Jerusalem 2006.
Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989 -1996, Volume II: The Middle and Late Bronze Afe Strata in Area R (editor with Robert Mullins). Jerusalem 2007.
The Quest for the Historical Israel (Archaeological and Biblical Studies 17)(with I.Finkelstein. editor B.B.Schmidt), Atlanta 2007.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. Born in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(then the British Mandate of Palestine), he is currently (since 1994) Professor at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, holding the Eleazer Sukenik Chair in the Archaeology of Israel.
Mazar has directed archaeological excavations at a number of sites in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
that include:
- Tel Qasile
- TimnahTimnahTimnath or Timnah was a Philistine city in Canaan that is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in . It has been identified with Tel Batash , a tel located in the Sorek Valley, near moshav Tal Shahar, Israel....
(Tel Batash) - from 1977–1989 - Bet She'anBet She'anis a city in the North District of Israel which has played an important role historically due to its geographical location at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and Jezreel Valley...
- from 1989–1996 - RehovRehovRehov , meaning "broad", "wide place", was an important Bronze and Iron Age city located at Tel Rehov , an archaeological site in the Jordan Valley, Israel, approximately 5 km south of Beit She'an and 3 km west of the Jordan River...
(Tel Rehov) - from 1997 onwards (ongoing)
Mazar is an author in the field of Biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology
For the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
, his Archaeology of the Land of the Bible is a text used in many universities.
Mazar is married with three children and resides in Jerusalem. He is the nephew of Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links...
, one of the first generation of pioneering Israeli archaeologists after Independence, and cousin to fellow archaeologist Eilat Mazar
Eilat Mazar
Eilat Mazar is a third-generation Israeli archaeologist, specializing in Jerusalem and Phoenician archeology. A senior fellow at the Shalem Center, she has worked on the Temple Mount excavations, as well as excavations at Achzib. In addition to heading the Shalem Center's Institute of Archeology,...
.
Ancient beehives
While excavating the ancient city of RehovRehov
Rehov , meaning "broad", "wide place", was an important Bronze and Iron Age city located at Tel Rehov , an archaeological site in the Jordan Valley, Israel, approximately 5 km south of Beit She'an and 3 km west of the Jordan River...
(pop. about 2,000 residents at that time) Mazar discovered 30 intact hives, dating from c.900 BC. The beehives, made of straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
and unbaked clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
were found in orderly rows and may be the oldest complete beehives ever discovered.
Monographs
Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part One. The Philistine Sanctuary: Architecture and Cult Objects (Qedem 12). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1981.Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part Two. Various Finds, The Pottery, Conclusions, Appendices (Qedem 20). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1985.
- Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000 - 586 B.C.E., Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, 1990. ISBN 0-385-23970-X (Hbk) ISBN 0-385-42590-2 (Pbk)
Timnah – A Biblical Town in the Sorek Valley. Winona Lake 1995 (with G. L. Kelm).
Timnah (Tel Batash) I: Stratigraphy and Architecture (Qedem 37). Jerusalem 1997.
Timnah (Tel Batash) II: The Finds from the First Millennium BCE (Qedem 42). Jerusalem 2001 (with N. Panitz-Cohen).
Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989 -1996, Volume I. From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period. Jerusalem 2006.
Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989 -1996, Volume II: The Middle and Late Bronze Afe Strata in Area R (editor with Robert Mullins). Jerusalem 2007.
The Quest for the Historical Israel (Archaeological and Biblical Studies 17)(with I.Finkelstein. editor B.B.Schmidt), Atlanta 2007.
Articles
- “The Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean”, Eretz-Israel 21 (1990), pp. 197–211 (in Hebrew).
- “Temples of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Iron Age”, in Kempinski, A. & Reich, R. (eds), The Architecture of Ancient Israel from the Prehistoric to the Persian Periods - in Memory of Immanual (Munya) Dunayevsky, Jerusalem: IESIESThe acronym IES can stand for:* Illuminating Engineering Society of North America* Indian Economic Service* Indian Education Society* Indian Engineering Service* Institute of Education Sciences...
, (1992), pp. 161–187. - “The Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean in 1989-1990”, in Biran, A. & Aviram, J. (eds), Biblical Archaeology Today, 1990 - Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, Jerusalem, 1990, Jerusalem: IESIESThe acronym IES can stand for:* Illuminating Engineering Society of North America* Indian Economic Service* Indian Education Society* Indian Engineering Service* Institute of Education Sciences...
, (1993), pp. 606–619. - “Beth Shean in the Iron Age: Preliminary Report and Conclusions of the 1990 - 1991 Excavations”, IEJ 43.4 (1993), pp. 201–229.
- “Four Thousand Years of History at Tel Beth-Shean”, Qadmoniot 27.3-4 (1994), pp. 66–83 (in Hebrew).
- “Four Thousand Years of History at Tel Beth-Shean - An Account of the Renewed Excavations”, BA 60.2 (1997), pp. 62–76.
- “The Excavations at Tel Beth Shean during the Years 1989-94”, in Silberman, N.A. & Small, D. (eds), The Archaeology of Israel – Constructing the Past, Interpreting the Present, [JSOT Supplement Series 237], Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, (1997), pp. 144–164.
External links
- Hebrew University Departmental Page for Amihai Mazar - includes a link to a summary of publications
- Tel Rehov Excavations - page includes volunteer information, preliminary reports and an image gallery.
- "The Beehives of Tel Rehov" (SourceFlix Productions) - A short video clip produced by an independent documentary film group concerning the discovery of the beehives at Tel Rehov, including an interview with Dr. Mazar.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
- http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amihai_Mazar&action=edit§ion=7