Lorenzo Nigro (born 1967) is an Italian archaeologist. He is Associated Professor of

Near Eastern Archaeology Near Eastern archaeology is a regional branch of the wider, global discipline of archaeology. It refers generally to the excavation and study of artifacts and material culture of the Near East from antiquity to the recent past. Definition Th ...

(since 2002), is the Coordinator of the Oriental Section of the Department of Sciences of Antiquities of

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a Public university, public research university l ...

(Faculty of Letters and Philosophy). He has participated in several archaeological expeditions in the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

(among which the most renowned are Tell Mardikh/

Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...

, in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, in years 1989-1997, and Tell es-Sultan/

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

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 ...

as co-director, in years 1997-2000). He is the Director of Rome "La Sapienza" Expedition to

Motya Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum (modern Trapani) and Lilybaeum (modern Marsala). It is within the present-day commune of Marsala, Italy. Man ...

, a

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n city in Western

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and the Director of Rome "La Sapienza" Expedition to Palestine & Jordan, which is carrying on systematic excavations at Tell es-Sultan/ancient Jericho in Palestine, where archaeological works were resumed in 2009, and at the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

(3rd millennium BC) fortified city, previously unknown, of Khirbet al-Batrawy (2005-2011), in the north-central district of the Hashemite Kingdom of

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Since 2015 he started the archaeological exploration, in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, of the site of Tell es-Sheikh Abu Zarad, ancient Tappuah. Lorenzo Nigro is a field archaeologist with a wide experience of Levantine and Mediterranean archaeology. He has written 13 monographs on the archaeology of Palestine (palatial architecture, rise of urbanization in southern Levant, archaeology of Jericho and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

), Syria, and the reports of excavations at Motya, Khirbet al-Batrawy and Jericho; and more than 150 articles on Levantine, Phoenician, Mesopotamian and Egyptian archaeology and history of art, ranging from palatial and temple architecture,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

chronology, Levantine and Iranian metallurgy, Sumerian and Akkadian art, Phoenician ceramics, settlement studies, history of excavations, etc.

Career

He has edited the series ''Quaderni di Gerico'' (two volumes), and he has founded and is the Editor of two monograph series: ''Rome "La Sapienza" Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan'' (= ROSAPAT; 7 volumes appeared) and ''Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio Punica'' (= QAFP, 6 volumes appeared, including the excavations reports Mozia X, Mozia XI, Mozia XII, Mozia XIII). He has taught in the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

(Rome, 1996-2000), and he has been Invited Professor of Biblical Archaeology at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...

(Rome, 2000-2006). He has been also the Curator of the Near Eastern Department (Reparto Antichità Orientali – Museo Gregoriano Egizio/Egyptian Museum) of the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

(1998-2005), gaining deep experience in restoration, management and development of archaeological heritage. He took part in and organized numerous International Congresses, Conferences and Workshops, and he is also member of the Counsel for the International Relationships of Rome "La Sapienza" University; and he is Councillor of the G. Whitaker Foundation (Palermo, Sicily), for the administration and enhancement of the island of Motya. He has got the "St. Damasus Scholar" Award by the Carsten Niebhur Institute of Archaeology of Copenhagen University as "Young Archaeologist" in 1999 for the excavations at

. In 2010, due to the discovery of the Palace of the Copper Axes at Khirbet al-Batrawy, he has got the Awards "Premio Provincia Capitale 2010" and the "Premio Colosseo 2010", for an Italian/Roman who distinguished himself abroad of Italy, and the Award "Sapienza Ricerca 2010", as outstanding researcher of Sapienza University. In 2011 he also got the National Funds for Relevant Researches (PRIN) with maximum scores with the topic "The Seven Plagues: Catastrophes, Earthquakes, Inundations, Famine, Epidemies, and War in Palestine and Egypt during Pre-Classical periods: an overview of historical and archaeological sources". He is experimenting new tracks on the Archaeology of Mediterranean in the island of Motya, where he coordinates an interdisciplinary Laboratory of emerging sciences applied to innovate archaeology with the use of drones, sensor nodes, 3D simulators, etc.

Publications

Articles and Chapters

*with Marchetti, "Cultic Activities in the Sacred Area of Ishtar at Ebla during the Old Syrian Period: The Favissae F.5327 and F.5238", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 1997, 1-44 *"The two steles of Sargon: iconology and visual propaganda at the beginning of royal Akkadian relief", Iraq, 1988, 85-102 *with Zalloua et al. "Ancient DNA of Phoenician remains indicates discontinuity in the settlement history of Ibiza", Scientific Reports, 2018. *with Calcagnile, Yasin, Gallo, Quarta. "Jericho and the Chronology of Palestine in the Early Bronze Age: A Radiometric Re-Assessment", Radiocarbon, 2019, 211-241 *"The Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan, Ancient Jericho (1997-2015): Archaeology and Valorisation of Material and Immaterial Heritage" in (eds. Sparks, Finlayson, Wagemakers, Briffa) 'Digging Up Jericho: Past, Present, and Future,' Oxford: Archaeopress, 2020, pp. 175-214

Books

*''Tell es-Sultan/Jericho in the Context of the Jordan Valley: Site Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development''. 2006. *''Tell Es-Sultan/Jericho in the Early Bronze II (3000-2700 BC): The Rise of an Early Palestinian City : a Synthesis of the Results of Four Archaeological Expeditions''. 2010.

References

External links

Official website of Archaeological Expedition to Motya, Sicily

Official website of Rome "La Sapienza" Expedition to Palestine, in Jericho, Palestine

Official website of Rome "La Sapienza" Expedition to Jordan, at Khirbet al-Batrawy, Zarqa Governatorate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigro, Lorenzo 1967 births Living people Italian archaeologists Sapienza University of Rome faculty Ebla Pontifical Biblical Institute faculty