Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister (8 July 1870 – 26 April 1950) was an Irish
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 landsca ...
.
Biography
Macalister was born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, Ireland, the son of
Alexander Macalister
Prof Alexander Macalister FRS Hon.FRSE FSA FRAI (9 April 18442 September 1919) was an Irish anatomist, Professor of Anatomy, Cambridge University, from 1883 until his death. He was a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge.
Life
He was b ...
, then Professor of Zoology, University of Dublin. His father was appointed professor of anatomy at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1883, and he was educated at
The Perse School
(He who does things for others does them for himself)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, religion = Nondenominational Christian
, president =
, head_label = Head
, h ...
, and then studied at Cambridge University.
Although his earliest interest was in the archaeology of Ireland, he soon developed a strong interest in
biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology is an academic school and a subset of Biblical studies and Levantine archaeology. Biblical archaeology studies archaeological sites from the Ancient Near East and especially the Holy Land (also known as Palestine, Land o ...
. Along with
Frederick J. Bliss
Frederick Jones Bliss (22 January 1859-–3 June 1937) was an American archaeologist.
Biography
He was born in Mount Lebanon, Syria on 22 January 1859. His father, Daniel Bliss, was first a Congregational missionary and later president of ...
, he excavated several towns in the
Shephelah
The Shephelah or Shfela, lit. "lowlands" ( hbo, הַשְּפֵלָה ''hašŠǝfēlā'', also Modern Hebrew: , ''Šǝfēlat Yəhūda'', the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel str ...
region of
Ottoman Palestine from 1898 to 1900. Using advances in
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers ( strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
building on the work of
Flinders Petrie
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egyp ...
, they developed a chronology for the region using ceramic
typology
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
. Upon Bliss' retirement, Macalister became director of excavations for the
Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the stud ...
(PEF) in 1901.
From 1902 to 1909 he was responsible for the excavations at
Gezer
Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Av ...
, in the modern 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 ...
, just west of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. This was one of the earliest large-scale scientific archaeological excavations in the region. The
Gezer calendar
The Gezer calendar is a small limestone tablet with an early Canaanite inscription discovered in 1908 by Irish archaeologist R. A. Stewart Macalister in the ancient city of Gezer, 20 miles west of Jerusalem. It is commonly dated to the 10th ce ...
found there is a very early
paleo-Hebrew
The Paleo-Hebrew script ( he, הכתב העברי הקדום), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite inscriptions from the region of biblical Israel and Judah. It is considered to be the script ...
calendrical inscription.
Macalister left the field of Biblical archaeology in 1909 to accept a position as professor of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
archaeology at
University College, Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
, where he taught until his retirement in 1943. During this period, he worked at the ancient Irish royal site at the
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara ( ga, Teamhair or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in I ...
and was responsible for editing the catalogue of all known
ogham
Ogham ( Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langu ...
inscriptions from Great Britain and Ireland. Many of his translations of Irish myths and legends are still widely used today. He was elected to the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...
in 1910 and served as their president from 1926 to 1931.
He was also president of the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...
from 1924 to 1928.
He is buried at the
Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge, with his wife Margaret A. M. Macalister.
Published works
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Vol.1alt link
Vol.IIalt link
Vol.III_[Plates
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="lates">Vol.III [Plates
/nowiki>">lates">Vol.III [Plates
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Part I
34, 1938,
Part II
35, 1939,
Part III
39, 1940,
Part IV
41, 1941,
Part V
44, 1956,
*
See also
*''Lebor Gabála Érenn''
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart
1870 births
1950 deaths
Archaeologists from Dublin (city)
Archaeologists of the Near East
Biblical archaeologists
Oghamologists
Members of the Royal Irish Academy
People educated at The Perse School