BARlines

Yadin and Perrot Share Israel Museum Archaeology Prize

Yigael Yadin and Jean Perrot have been awarded the 1983 Percia Schimmel Award for Distinguished Contribution to Archaeology in Eretz Israel and the Lands of the Bible, Israel’s most prestigious prize in archaeology.

The Schimmel Award is given each year by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Yadin, formerly deputy prime minister of Israel, is probably the most widely known archaeologist in the world. Yadin’s fascinating popular accounts of his dramatic discoveries at Masada and Hazor brought the drama of Biblical archaeology to millions of readers in Europe and the United States. His widely praised Hebrew edition of the Temple Scroll, the longest and most recently discovered of the Dead Sea Scrolls, will soon appear in English.

Perrot has headed the Israeli branch of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique for more than 30 years. He specializes in the prehistory of the Near East and in the origins of urban civilization. Perrot has excavated at Hazor with Yadin and at Beer-Sheva as well as many other sites dating to the Chalcolithic and Neolithic periods.

Ancient Coastal Cities Congress Announced

“Cities and the Sea in Antiquity,” an international interdisciplinary congress, will be held at Caesarea or Haifa in Israel in early October 1985. Plans for this congress were made during the successful First International Workshop on Mediterranean Harbors of Antiquity, held at Caesarea June 24 to June 28, 1983.

At the June workshop, scholars focused on the interaction between the disciplines of marine archaeology, marine biology and maritime history. Reports of studies of Caesarea Maritima were followed by discussions of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman harbors and by presentations on harbor building materials and the relationship between harbor study and earth science. Participants also toured several ancient harbor sites in northern Israel.

Elisha Linder of the Center for Maritime Studies at Haifa University announced plans to establish an educational center, a university museum, and an international research center at Caesarea. As a result of the workshop, an International Society for Ancient Harbor Studies will be formed.

To learn more about the upcoming “Cities and the Sea in Antiquity” congress, write to Dr. Avner Raban, Chairman, Center for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31999, Israel.

Shiloh Heads Archaeology Department at Hebrew University

A new generation is assuming the helm at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yigal Shiloh has been named chairman of the university’s Department of Archaeology as well as head of the Institute of Archaeology.

For the past six years, Shiloh has directed the excavations in the City of David—the oldest inhabited area of Jerusalem.

Shiloh told BAR that he is now putting the finishing touches on his first volume of the City of David archaeological report. The City of David I will soon be published in the university’s QEDEM series. A second volume will be devoted exclusively to inscriptions unearthed in the excavations, including a hoard of rare bullae containing names with elements identical to many Biblical names. And more to come!

Israel Tourist Office Offers Biblical Archaeology Seminars

Ministers interested in organizing trips to Israel can attend Biblical archaeology seminars in November in Ohio, Kentucky or Michigan. Sponsored by the midwestern branch of the Israel Government Tourist Office, the seminars will feature a film presentation and several speakers. Amikam Bezalel of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem will talk about recent archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem’s Old City, and Norma Goldman of Wayne State University will discuss “Caesarea in the Time of the Romans and Crusaders.” Representatives of the Israel Government Tourist Office and El Al Airlines will also speak and answer questions.

The seminars will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 17; in Dayton, Ohio, on November 15; in Columbus, Ohio, on November 16; in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 17; in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 18, and on November 29 in Detroit, Michigan. For more information, write or phone the Israel Government Tourist Office, 5 South Wabash Avenue, Suite 1402, Chicago, Illinois 60603, (312) 782–4306.

Albright Institute Announces Fall Program

The W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem has announced its schedule of activities for the fall of 1983. The Institute’s popular archaeological lecture series will continue on November 6, when David Ussishkin speaks on “The Assyrian Siege of Lachish” at the Rockefeller Museum. On November 10, at the Albright Institute, Elliot Braun will report on “New PPNB and Early Bronze Age I Settlements at Yiftahel in the Galilee.” Ann Killebrew and Tzvi Maoz will lead a field trip to archaeological sites in the Golan from November 20 to November 22.

The Jerusalem Seminar, led by Dan Bahat, will begin at the Albright Institute on December 1, with a lecture on “Recent Archaeological Discoveries in Jerusalem—New Theories.” Each day from December 2 to December 5, a field trip will be offered to an archaeological site in Jerusalem.

“Iron Age Cities of the Western Negev” will be the subject of Eliezer Oren’s lecture at the Rockefeller Museum on December 11. On December 15, Kenneth Eakins will lead a seminar at the Albright Institute on “Osteological Research at Tell el-Hesi.”

Yadin and Perrot Share Israel Museum Archaeology Prize

Yigael Yadin and Jean Perrot have been awarded the 1983 Percia Schimmel Award for Distinguished Contribution to Archaeology in Eretz Israel and the Lands of the Bible, Israel’s most prestigious prize in archaeology.