Claire Epstein (18 September 1911 – 18 August 2000) 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 ...
. She is noted for her discovery and work on the
Chalcolithic Culture in
Golan
Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ci ...
and was a noted member of the
Israel Antiquities Authority.
Biography
Epstein was born in London into an upper-class family.
Her mother was active in saving
Jews from the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
.
Epstein was involved with
Zionist circles at a young age and learned
Hebrew early on.
Epstein attended King Alfred School and then studied Italian at the
University College, London.
In 1932, she received her bachelor's degree.
Epstein immigrated to
British Mandate Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...
in 1937, living in
Tel-Aviv. She translated Hebrew for the 1937
Peel Commission.
In 1942, she joined the British Army Women's Unit and later became the first woman Sergeant Major from the
yishuv.
After two years in the army, she joined the new
Kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
En Gev, near the
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...
.
Epstein first began to work in archaeology when she helped a team of archaeologists excavating
Tel Hazor in 1952.
Also in 1952, she adopted a boy whose parents had been killed in a
pogrom in Iraq.
In 1955, she moved to another kibbutz, Ginossar, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Epstein later went back to University College, London to work on her PhD in archaeology, focusing on bichrome pottery from
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and working with
Kathleen Kenyon.
She received her PhD in 1962.
After the
Six Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
, in 1967, Epstein, working with Shemaryahu Gutman, was the leader of the archaeological emergency survey in the
Golan
Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ci ...
area.
During her survey, she discovered large
dolmen
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...
fields and also a late prehistoric
Chalcolithic Culture in Golan.
Epstein became a full-time archaeologist, working for the Department of Antiquities, which later became the
Israel Antiquities Authority.
To get to her archaeological sites, she often
hitchhiked
Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free.
Nomads hav ...
, because she did not have a driver's license and many of her assistants were local
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
villagers.
In 1985, Epstein received the Percy Schimmel Award from the
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...
for her work in archaeology.
In 1995, she received the
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
for her work.
Epstein continued to work on the Chalcolithic sites in the Golan region, which she "almost single-handedly discovered, excavated, and reported" on.
In 1998, published her monograph, ''The Chalcolithic Culture of the Golan'' in the Israel Antiquities Authority Report.
Her monograph describes the unique features of the Golan site which include "house-chains" which are broad-houses linked together in long lines.
She was awarded the Irene Levy-Sala award for her monograph.
Her attention to the Golan area helped preserve many of the area's archaeological sites.
Epstein's analysis of the
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
of
Megiddo's sacred areas was also an important part of her body of work.
She also helped identify the remains of a 2,000-year-old boat found at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee.
In 2000, she was in
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 from complications which developed after a fall.
She died not long after in her home in Kibbutz
Ginosar
Ginosar ( he, גִּנּוֹסַר) is a kibbutz in the Plain of Ginosar on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Located north of Tiberias on Highway 90, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In it ha ...
.
Publications
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Claire
Israeli women academics
Israeli archaeologists
British women archaeologists
1911 births
2000 deaths
Archaeologists from London
Translators to English
Women in the British Army
20th-century translators
20th-century British women scientists
20th-century British women writers
20th-century British archaeologists
British emigrants to Israel