Adam Zertal ( he, אדם זרטל; 1936 – October 18, 2015) was an Israeli
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and a tenured professor at the
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
.
Biography
Adam Zertal grew up in
Ein Shemer
Ein Shemer is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Shomron region to the south of Route 65, about 6 km northeast of Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In , it had a population of .
Etymology
Ein ...
, a kibbutz affiliated with the
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...
movement. Zertal was severely wounded in the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
. He later told a reporter for ''
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'', “I spent a year at
Hadassah Hospital
Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...
in Jerusalem, and I became interested in archaeology. Although I had argued that the Bible was full of myths, I decided after my recovery to travel the land by foot to look for archeological evidence.”
Archaeology career
Zertal claimed to have identified several sites he worked on as being connected to sites, events and characters from the narratives in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
:
*
Joshua's altar. A structure on
Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal ( he, ''Har ʿĒyḇāl''; ar, جبل عيبال ''Jabal ‘Aybāl'') is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the city of Nablus in the West Bank (biblical ''Shechem''), and forms the northern side of the valley in ...
identified as an early Israelite altar.
* Sisera's town. Zertal headed the excavations at
El-ahwat
El-Ahwat ( ar, الاحواط, "the walls") is an archaeological site in the Manasseh Hills, Israel. It located 10 miles east of Caesarea near Katzir.
The site was discovered in November 1992 by Adam Zertal during the Manasseh Hill Country Surv ...
, which he has identified as the Biblical
Harosheth Haggoyim
Harosheth Haggoyim ( he, חרושת הגויים, lit. ''Smithy of the Nations'') is a fortress described in the Book of Judges as the fortress or cavalry base of Sisera, commander of the army of "Jabin, King of Canaan".
Sisera is described as ha ...
, a fortress described in the Book of Judges as the fortress or cavalry base of
Sisera
Sisera ( he, סִיסְרָא ''Sîsərā'') was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor, who is mentioned in of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by the forces of the Israelite tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali under the comm ...
, commander of the army of King
Jabin
Jabin ( he, יָבִין ''Yāḇīn'') is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to:
* A king of Hazor at the time of the entrance of Israel into CanaanJoshua 11:1, whose overthrow and that of the northern chiefs with w ...
. (
Judges 4
Judges 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel,Gilad, ElonWho Really Wrote the Biblical Books of Kings and the Prophets? ...
)
* Foot-shaped enclosures in the Jordan Valley and the hill country west of it. Zertal described them as ceremonial sites used during Iron Age I and probably later, as well.[Rachel Feldman aifa University official blog): ''Enormous 'Foot-Shaped' Enclosure Discovered in Jordan Valley']
He explained the term "aliya la-regel" (lit.: "rise to the foot"), commonly translated as "pilgrimage", as derived from these enclosures, and saw the use of the expression in connection with the mandatory pilgrimage Temple in Jerusalem as an adaptation of the term to a new situation. He saw a direct connection between the foot shape of the enclosures and the biblical concept of taking ownership over a territory by walking on it, or in other words setting one's foot on it, as seen for instance in and , or of more generally "stepping in someone's shoes" and inheriting their property as in . Zertal discovered five such sites: Bedhat esh-Sha'ab (near Moshav Argaman
Argaman ( he, אַרְגָּמָן, , Crimson) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, eight kilometres north of the Damia Bridge with an area of 4,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction ...
), Masua (4) (near Masua
Masua ( he, מַשּׂוּאָה, ''lit.'' Torch, ar, مسواه), also transliterated as Massu'a, is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav shitufi in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, with an area of 6,000 dunams, it falls und ...
), Yafit (3) (near Yafit), el-'Unuq, and the inner and outer enclosures at Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal ( he, ''Har ʿĒyḇāl''; ar, جبل عيبال ''Jabal ‘Aybāl'') is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the city of Nablus in the West Bank (biblical ''Shechem''), and forms the northern side of the valley in ...
.[ No access to relevant passage. Fully accessed in December 2015 on A. Zertal's homepage]
p. 10, note 6
.
* Underground quarry (possibly identified s biblical Galgala). In 2009, Zertal headed a team that discovered an ancient underground quarry in the Jordan Valley
The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...
. He associated the cave with two Byzantine-period place names, Galgala and Dodekaliton (Greek for "Twelve Stones"), marked on the Madaba map next to each other and at a distance from Jericho that matches the cave's distance from the city. He offered the interpretation that the Byzantines had identified the site as Gilgal
Gilgal ( he, גִּלְגָּל ''Gilgāl''), also known as Galgala or Galgalatokai of the 12 Stones ( grc-gre, Γαλαγα or , ''Dōdekalithōn''), is the name of one or more places in the Hebrew Bible. Gilgal is mentioned 39 times, in particula ...
, where the Children of Israel
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
had set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan River while crossing it ().Cave Dating From The Year 1 A.D. Exposed In Jordan Valley
Science Daily, (July 7, 2009).
Zertal's work was not without controversy, and, in particular, his claims about Mount Ebal, where he worked for nine years, never gained traction within the wider archaeological community.
[ Many archeologists agree that the structure was a site of an early ]Israelite
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
cultic activity, however, its identification with Joshua's altar is disputed.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zertal, Adam
Israeli archaeologists
Biblical archaeologists
University of Haifa faculty
2015 deaths
1936 births