Milestones: Rachel Hachlili: Barrier-Breaking Researcher and Mentor

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Professor Rachel Hachlili, a pioneer in the field of ancient Jewish art and archaeology, passed away on January 12, 2019, at the age of 84. Rachel’s groundbreaking research, mentorship, and academic and professional achievements at a time when women professors were few and far between are exemplary and a source of inspiration.

Rachel was born on January 2, 1935, in British Mandate-period Tel Aviv. After completing her military service, she was among the first members of Kibbutz Gadot in the Upper Galilee. She commenced her studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1959. In 1962, Rachel was awarded a B.A. in archaeology and Jewish history, followed by an M.A. (cum laude) in archaeology in 1965. During her student years, she participated in numerous landmark excavations, including Ramat Rachel, the Judaean Desert Caves, the Hammath-Tiberias Synagogue, Tel Arad, the Caesarea Synagogue, Ashdod, and Masada.

Prior to completing her Ph.D. dissertation, Rachel spent two years (1966–1968) in New York on a U.S. State Department scholarship, where she organized the collection of the Jewish Museum and studied at Columbia University. She was awarded a second scholarship (1968–1969) to study ancient Greek art and archaeology at the University of Oxford. After returning to Israel, Rachel completed her dissertation in 1971, titled Sacred Architecture and Decoration in the Hellenistic-Roman East, under the supervision of Michael Avi-Yonah.

She lectured at Tel Aviv University (1972–1980) before serving as the first director and curator of the Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa (1982–1988). Her permanent collection in the archaeology gallery remains one of the most impressive museum exhibits on the archaeology of the land of Israel. In tandem she also established Israel’s first academic museology program (1989–1993).

In 1984, while serving as the Hecht Museum Director, she accepted a faculty position in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa. Her significant contributions to the department include the development of a graduate degree program in archaeological heritage and conservation (the first in Israel) and the encouragement and unstinting support of her students, which are appreciated and remembered long after her retirement as Professor Emerita in 2004.

Rachel’s research is remarkable for both its scope and depth. As part of her research on Jewish art and archaeology, she excavated Jericho’s Jewish necropolis of the late Second Temple period (1975–1978), the Qasrin synagogue in the Golan Heights (1981–1984, co-directed with Zvi Ma‘oz and me), and the Jewish temple/cultic center at Qazion (1992–1997, co-directed with me). This latter site, situated on the northern border between the Galilee and Phoenicia, had fascinated Rachel for years owing to its Greek dedicatory inscription, which commemorates a donation to the Roman royal family of Septimius Severus “to fulfill a vow of the Jews.” I had the pleasure of working with her on all of these excavations, beginning in 1975 when Rachel hired me, a young, inexperienced but aspiring archaeologist, as her research assistant. She was a talented and meticulous excavator who published all of her fieldwork in a timely manner, a feat that is rare among archaeologists.

Rachel’s impressive contribution to the study of ancient Jewish art and archaeology in its Greco-Roman context includes nine books, five edited books, and more than a hundred scholarly articles, encyclopedia entries, catalogs, and reviews. They focus on three main themes: synagogues, iconography and symbolism, and burial customs. In 2016, a festschrift titled Viewing Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology: VeHinnei Rachel—Essays in Honor of Rachel Hachlili (co-edited by Ann E. Killebrew and Gabriele Faßbeck; Brill) was published in recognition of her achievements.

Throughout her career, Rachel was a gifted and caring mentor, colleague, and loyal friend—an innovator in her field and a champion of her students. Most of all, Rachel will be remembered as an extraordinary, courageous, and principled person who was fair to all and fearlessly stood up for what was right. For me, Rachel will always serve as a role model, both as a scholar and a friend. Rachel is survived by her adored children, Guy, Sigal, and Niv, and her two granddaughters. They should know Rachel is sorely missed!

Professor Rachel Hachlili, a pioneer in the field of ancient Jewish art and archaeology, passed away on January 12, 2019, at the age of 84. Rachel’s groundbreaking research, mentorship, and academic and professional achievements at a time when women professors were few and far between are exemplary and a source of inspiration.