Nahman Avigad (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: נחמן אביגד, September 25, 1905 – January 28, 1992), born in Zawalow, Galicia (then

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 ...

, now Zavaliv,

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 ...

), was an Israeli archaeologist.

Biography

Avigad studied architecture in what is now the town of Brno,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Avigad emigrated to

Mandatory 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 ...

in 1926. He married Shulamit (née Levin) Avigad in 1928. He worked in the excavations of the Beth Alpha synagogue and the Hamat Gader synagogue. Avigad earned his PhD in 1952, with a dissertation on the tombs of the

Kidron Valley The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...

, Jerusalem. He taught at

Hebrew University 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 ...

from 1949 and until his retirement in 1974. He directed the dig at Beit She'arim beginning in 1953. Avigad also worked on the excavations of

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 D ...

, the mountaintop complex built by

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

. He was involved in the exploration of caves in the Judean desert, and published one of the

Dead Sea scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

. In 1969, Avigad was invited to undertake the excavation of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, devastated by the 1948 war and its aftermath. Among the finds were what was believed to be the earliest depiction of the '' menorah'' that once burned in the Second Temple, cut into a wall plastered 2,200 years ago, and the Burnt House, the remnant of a building destroyed when

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, the future Roman Emperor, repressed the Jewish Revolt against Roman rule. This was the first physical or archaeological evidence for the destruction described in the work of

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

. The dig also unearthed lavish villas belonging to the Herodian upper classes, remains of the Byzantine Nea (new) Church and Jerusalem's

Cardo A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street. ...

, a fifth-century -wide road connecting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Nea Church. Among the most exciting finds was the remnants of the Broad Wall twice mentioned in the '' Book of Nehemiah''. Built to defend Jerusalem during the reign of King

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...

in the late 8th century BCE, there remains an stretch of wall, thick, rising from bedrock west of the Temple Mount. Nearby, Avigad also unearthed the Israelite Tower, a remnant of Jerusalem's Iron Age fortifications attesting to the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Avigad published on many topics, notably on

seals. One of the seals found by him in 1964 has been tentatively identified as belonging to Queen Jezebel, mentioned in the Bible: however, this identification is contested by others. According to Bible scholar Frank Moore Cross, Avigad “was Israel’s most distinguished epigraphist in his generation, and one of the great figures in the history of Hebrew and Jewish epigraphy.”http://www.basarchive.org/bswbBrowse.asp=3fPubID=3dBSBA&Volume=3d18&Issue=3d03&ArticleID=3d03&UserID=3d0&

Awards

* In 1954, Avigad 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 ...

for Jewish thought. * In 1977, he was awarded the Israel Prize, for Land of Israel studies. * In 1984, he received the

Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim ( he, יַקִּיר יְרוּשָׁלַיִם; en, Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967. The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to o ...

(Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award from the city of

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

. City of Jerusalem official website

Bibliography

A complete bibliography and a biography can be found in the

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

published in Avigad's honor: Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies. Vol. 18, Nahman Avigad. Eds. B. Mazar and Y. Yadin. Jerusalem, The Israel Exploration Society and the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University 1985. ;Popular books *"Discovering Jerusalem" (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avigad, Nahman 1905 births 1992 deaths Israeli archaeologists Biblical archaeologists Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Austrian Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli Jews Israel Prize in archaeology recipients Israel Prize in Land of Israel studies recipients 20th-century archaeologists

Biography

Awards

Bibliography

See also

References