Dr. Michael Avi-Yonah (September 26, 1904 – March 26, 1974) was an Israeli archaeologist and historian. During his career he was a Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as secretary of Israel's Department of Antiquities.

Biography

Born in Lemberg,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today Lviv,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

), Avi-Yonah moved to the Land of Israel with his parents in 1919 during the

Third Aliyah The Third Aliyah ( he, העלייה השלישית, ''HaAliyah HaShlishit'') refers to the third wave—or aliyah—of modern Jewish immigration to Palestine from Europe. This wave lasted from 1919, just after the end of World War I, until 1923 ...

. He first studied at Gymnasia Rehavia in

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

, then he went to England and studied history and archeology at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. Upon his return to the Land of Israel, he studied at the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. His first archaeological excavations were at Tel el-Ajjul near

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon * Ghazzeh, a village in ...

, and the Jerusalem Ophel. At the end of his studies, he joined the Department of Antiquities of the British government of Palestine. He worked as a librarian and archivist. After the independence of the state of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, he became secretary of the Department of Antiquities. In 1949, he conducted excavations at

Givat Ram Givat Ram ( he, גִּבְעַת רָם) is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is the site of Kiryat HaMemshala (Hebrew: קריית הממשלה, ''lit.'' Government complex), which includes many of Israel's most important national instituti ...

during the construction of the International Convention Center, where he was the first to discover a brick factory of the Legio X Fretensis. He participated in the first survey that preceded the

Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the ...

excavations, and conducted a limited excavation north of

Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima (; Greek: ''Parálios Kaisáreia''), formerly Strato's Tower, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, was an ancient city in the Sharon plain on the coast of the Mediterranean, now in ruins and included in an Israeli national par ...

where he discovered an ancient synagogue. He was awarded the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ...

in 1955 for his book ''Antiquities of our land''. Avi-Yonah died in Jerusalem in 1974.

Selected bibliography

* ''Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land'' * ''Jerusalem the Holy'' * ''The Art of Mosaics'' (cowritten with Richard L. Currier) * ''Holy Land'' * ''Ancient Scrolls'' * ''History of Israel and the Holy Land'' * '' Views of the Biblical World''. Jerusalem: International Publishing Company J-m Ltd, 1959. * * '' Macmillan Bible Atlas'' with

Yohanan Aharoni Yohanan Aharoni (Hebrew:יוחנן אהרוני)(7 June 1919 – 9 February 1976) was an Israeli archaeologist and historical geographer, chairman of the Department of Near East Studies and chairman of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel-Aviv Uni ...

(1993) * ''Understanding the Bible: Understanding the Maccabean Revolt, 167 to 63 BCE: An Introductory Atlas. Co-author: Shmuel Safrai. Carta Jerusalem. 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avi, Michael 1904 births 1974 deaths People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Austro-Hungarian Jews Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli archaeologists Israeli librarians Historical geography Alumni of the University of London Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century Israeli historians Palestinologists

Biography

Selected bibliography

See also

References