Jean-Baptiste Humbert
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Humbert is a French archaeologist who has excavated in Jordan
, Palestine
, Iran
and Israel
. He is of the order of the Dominicans
and is currently director of le laboratoire d’archéologie de l’École Biblique
in Jerusalem. He was responsible for publishing the notes and materials from the excavations of Qumran
, which were under the direction of Roland de Vaux
.
(Saône-et-Loire
). After school he studied at an art design school before fulfilling military obligations. In 1965 he became a novitiate of the Dominican order. He took seminars in archaeology while studying theology. In 1973 he received a degree in theology, after which he moved to the Ecole biblique in Jerusalem began to study archaeology at a higher level, completing various courses of study, which included fieldwork throughout the 1970s. He was professor of Palestinian Archaeology until 2004.
From 1988 to 1994 Humbert co-directed digs at the citadel of Amman
. Until 1993 he directed the excavations at Khirbet es-Samra in Jordan. Since 1995 he has led a mission to Gaza, uncovering the Byzantine remains there.
In 1986 the Ecole Biblique decided to publish the final report of the Qumran excavations carried out by Roland de Vaux and appointed Humbert to expedite the publication. In 1993 he published the notes and photographs of de Vaux in collaboration with Alain Chambon. From then on he has published several articles of his own analysis of the archaeology of Qumran.
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He is of the order of the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
and is currently director of le laboratoire d’archéologie de l’École Biblique
École Biblique
The École Biblique, strictly the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, is a respected French academic establishment in Jerusalem, founded by Dominicans, and specialising in archaeology and Biblical exegesis.-Foundation:...
in Jerusalem. He was responsible for publishing the notes and materials from the excavations of Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
, which were under the direction of Roland de Vaux
Roland de Vaux
Father Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
.
Career
Humbert was born in MâconMâcon
Mâcon is a small city in central France. It is prefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department, in the region of Bourgogne, and the capital of the Mâconnais district. Mâcon is home to over 35,000 residents, called Mâconnais.-Geography:...
(Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
). After school he studied at an art design school before fulfilling military obligations. In 1965 he became a novitiate of the Dominican order. He took seminars in archaeology while studying theology. In 1973 he received a degree in theology, after which he moved to the Ecole biblique in Jerusalem began to study archaeology at a higher level, completing various courses of study, which included fieldwork throughout the 1970s. He was professor of Palestinian Archaeology until 2004.
From 1988 to 1994 Humbert co-directed digs at the citadel of Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
. Until 1993 he directed the excavations at Khirbet es-Samra in Jordan. Since 1995 he has led a mission to Gaza, uncovering the Byzantine remains there.
In 1986 the Ecole Biblique decided to publish the final report of the Qumran excavations carried out by Roland de Vaux and appointed Humbert to expedite the publication. In 1993 he published the notes and photographs of de Vaux in collaboration with Alain Chambon. From then on he has published several articles of his own analysis of the archaeology of Qumran.
Publications
Among his Qumran works are:- "L’espace sacré à Qumrân, propositions pour l’archéologie", Revue biblique 101, 1994, pp. 160–214, pl. I-III.
- J.-B. Humbert & J. Gunneweg (Eds.) Khirbet Qumrân et’Aïn Feshkha, II, Études d’anthropologie, de physique et de chimie. Studies of Anthropology, Physics and Chemistry, (Novum testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archæologica, 3), Academic Press, Fribourg (Suisse)/ Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2003.
- "Reconsideration of the Archaeological Interpretation", 419-424, in Humbert & Gunneweg.
- "The Chronology during the First Century B.C., de Vaux and his Method: a Debate", 425-444, in Humbert & Gunneweg.
- K. Galor, J.-B. Humbert & J. Zangenberg (Eds.) Qumran The Site of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Archaeological Interpretations and Debates, Proceedings of a Conference held at Brown University, Nov. 17-19, 2002, (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 57), Koninklijke Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006.
- "Some Remarks on the Archaeology of Qumran," 19-39, in Galor, Humbert & Zangenberg.