Dr. Michael Avi-Yonah (September 26, 1904 – March 26, 1974) was an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni 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 historian. During his career he was a Professor of Archaeology at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and served as secretary of Israel's Department of Antiquities.

Biography

Born in

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

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 inv ...

), Avi-Yonah moved to the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

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 Rehavia Gymnasium or the Jerusalem Rehavia Gymnasium, by its Hebrew name Gymnasia Rehavia ( he, גמנסיה רחביה, Gimnazya Rehavya), is a high school in the Rehavia neighborhood in West Jerusalem. History The high school's initial name wa ...

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 degree ...

. Upon his return to the Land of Israel, he studied at the

British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem The Kenyon Institute, previously known as the British School of Archaeology at Jerusalem (BSAJ), is a British overseas research institute supporting humanities and social science studies in Israel and Palestine. It is part of the Council for Bri ...

. His first archaeological excavations were at

Tel el-Ajjul Tall al-Ajjul or Tell el-'Ajul is an archaeological mound or '' tell'' in the Gaza Strip. The fortified city excavated at the site dates as far back as ca. 2000-1800 BCE and was inhabited during the Bronze Age. It is located at the mouth of Wa ...

near Gaza, 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 language, Hebrew: קריית הממשלה, ''lit.'' Government complex), which includes many of Israel's most important na ...

during the construction of the International Convention Center, where he was the first to discover a brick factory of the

Legio X Fretensis Legio X ''Fretensis'' ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the disso ...

. 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 Dea ...

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 park ...

where he discovered an ancient

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

. He was awarded the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik ...

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 ''Views of the Biblical World'' (Library of Congress Catalogue Number 59-7767) is a five-volume set of reference books published in 1959 by the International Publishing Company J-M, of Israel.International Publishing Company J-M: http://www.mbendi ...

''. Jerusalem: International Publishing Company J-m Ltd, 1959. * * ''

Macmillan Bible Atlas The Macmillan Bible Atlas is a book on the geography, civilizations and cartography of the Holy Land. It describes the movements of biblical characters, trade routes and battles. It also refers to archaeological excavations; illustrations of artif ...

'' 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 Unive ...

(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