Professor Amos Kloner was a member of the teaching and research faculty of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University from 1980 until 2009, when he was named professor emeritus. Until shortly before his passing on March 15, 2019, he continued to teach and advise students on a volunteer basis. His fieldwork and research, which focused on the archaeology of Israel and neighboring countries during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, were astounding in terms of both quality and quantity.
Amos was born in 1940 in Givatayim, near Tel Aviv, to Dina and Pesach Kloner. In his youth, he traveled the length and breadth of the country and volunteered on archaeological excavations. In 1958, Amos was drafted by the Israel Defense Forces where he served with distinction. Following his service, he participated in Yigael Yadin’s 1961 excavation of the Cave of Letters, perhaps the most famous refuge cave from the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. The outstanding discoveries in the cave led him to study archaeology and geography. He enrolled in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1962 and received his bachelor’s degree in 1965.
In the autumn of 1965, Amos assisted Avraham Negev in the excavations of Mamshit, a Nabatean city in the Negev, and afterward he became a guide in this region. After the Six-Day War, Amos took part in archaeological surveys and research of new sites and areas. From 1968 to 1970, he served as secretary of the Archaeological Survey of Israel.
Amos received his master’s degree in archaeology from the Hebrew University in 1973. From 1971 to 1989, he served as district archaeologist for the Jerusalem and Judean Shephelah District in the Department of Antiquities and Museums of the Ministry of Education and Culture (subsequently, the Israel Antiquities Authority). In the 1980s, he served as district archaeologist for the Jerusalem and Judea District, and he also established and ran the Antiquities Looting Prevention Unit. Data from the survey of Jerusalem and the finds from tomb excavations near the Old City formed the basis for Amos’s doctoral dissertation at the Hebrew University on Second Temple period tombs and burial in Jerusalem. He received his doctorate in 1980.
The crowning glory of his archaeological career was the decades-long excavation, survey, and research at the sites of Maresha and Beit Guvrin beginning in 1989. Following his comprehensive excavations, Amos worked on creating the Beit Guvrin–Maresha National Park. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has been visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world.
Amos was co-editor of the journal Nikrot Zurim and a member and professional advisor of committees and of councils of public and academic institutions in Israel and abroad, such as the Archaeological Council and the Israel Exploration Society. In 2005, he was awarded the EMET Prize in Social Sciences—Archaeology for his innovative research, published in hundreds of books and academic papers.
His skills as a teacher and tour guide, his inspiring and devoted work as an advisor, his sense of professional responsibility, and his uncompromising quest for scientific truth made Amos admired by his students and beloved by his colleagues. May his memory be a blessing.—Boaz Zissu, Bar-Ilan University
Professor Amos Kloner was a member of the teaching and research faculty of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University from 1980 until 2009, when he was named professor emeritus. Until shortly before his passing on March 15, 2019, he continued to teach and advise students on a volunteer basis. His fieldwork and research, which focused on the archaeology of Israel and neighboring countries during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, were astounding in terms of both quality and quantity. Amos was born in 1940 in Givatayim, near Tel Aviv, to Dina […]
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