The Institute of Archaeology at Ariel University will be holding an international seminar on May 10-12 in Jerusalem and Ariel entitled: “Archaeology and Text: Toward Establishing a Meaningful Dialogue between Written Sources and Material Finds.”

Participation is by prior arrangement only; please contact Dr. Yonatan Adler: [email protected]


Seminar Schedule

Sunday, May 10 – National Library of Israel, Jerusalem

09:00-09:15 Reception
09:15-09:30 Greetings, Dr. Itzhaq Shai (Ariel University) and Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed (Ministry of Science, Technology and Space)
Session 1: Chair: Dr. Matthew J. Adams (W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research)
09:30-10:00 Literary and Archaeological Sources: “Can [the] Two Walk Together?” (Amos 3:3), Prof. Lee I. Levine (Hebrew University)
10:00-10:30 Casually Reading the Finds? Towards a Methodologically Sound Relationship between Text and Archaeology in Phoenician Colonization, Dr. Eleftheria Pappa (University of California, Santa Barbara)
10:30-11:00 Midian in Moab: Do the Historical Sources refer to the Mudayna Sites near the Arnon River?, Prof. Haim Ben David (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)
11:00-11:20 Coffee
Session 2: Chair: Prof. David Ussishkin (Tel Aviv University)
11:20-11:50 Herod’s Royal Portico on the Temple Mount – Between Josephus’ Text and the Archaeological Finds, Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat (Hebrew University)
11:50-12:20 Purity Observance among Diaspora Jews, Prof. Jodi Magness (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
12:20-12:50 Josephus Flavius in the Galilee: Text and Archaeology, Dr. Mordecai Aviam (Institute for Galilean Archaeology and Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)
12:50-14:00 Lunch
Session 3: Chair: Prof. Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University)
14:00-14:30 Text and Archaeology: The Case of Tel Rehov in the 10-9th Centuries BCE, Prof. Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University)
14:30-15:00 Iconographic Exegesis: One Interpretative Nexus of Archaeology and Text, Dr. Izaak J. de Hulster (University of Helsinki and Georg-August Universität Göttingen)
15:00-15:30 Archaeology and Dating the Messiah: Establishing the Historical Background of Isaiah 10:28-34, Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster (Bar-Ilan University)
15:30-15:50 Coffee
Session 4: Chair: Prof. Ronny Reich (Haifa University)
15:50-16:20 The Migdal Synagogue in the Context of Late Second Temple Synagogues in the Land of Israel, Prof. Lutz Doering (University of Münster)
16:20-16:50 Cultic Items and Epigraphic Material: What is the Connection?, Dr. Ian Stern (Hebrew Union College) and Prof. Esther Eshel (Bar-Ilan University)
16:50-17:20 Reading Between the Lines: Late Ancient Jewish Mortuary Practices in Text and Archaeology, Dr. Karen B. Stern (City University of New York, Brooklyn College)
17:20-17:50 Hagiographical Holy-Man and Archaeological Monk: Holiness and Mundane Life in the Countryside of the Levant in Late Antiquity, Dr. Jacob Ashkenazi (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)
Dinner


Monday, May 11 – Ariel University, Ariel

09:00-09:15 Reception
09:15-09:30 Greetings, Prof. Michael Zinigrad (Ariel University – Rector)
Session 1: Chair: Dr. Alexander Fantalkin (Tel Aviv University)
09:30-10:00 Texts, Master Narratives, and the Non-Textual Archaeological Record, Prof. David Small (Lehigh University)
10:00-10:30 The Interface between Text and Artifact: Back to Basics? Some thoughts on “Bible and Spade, Prof. Aren M. Maeir (Bar-Ilan University)
10:30-11:00 Wood there be Context? Dendroprovenance & Ancient Texts, Dr. Sara Rich (Maritime Archaeology Trust)
11:00-11:20 Coffee
Session 2: Chair: Prof. Joseph Patrich (Hebrew University)
11:20-11:50 Purity and Purification in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Mikva’ot of Qumran: The Convergence of Archaeology and Text, Prof. Lawrence H. Schiffman (New York University)
11:50-12:20 Praxis versus Theory: Greek Papyrus Amulets and the Instructions for their Preparation, Laura Willer (Heidelberg University)
12:20-12:50 Toward an “Archaeology of Halakhah”: Prospects and Pitfalls of Reading Early Jewish Ritual Law into the Ancient Material Record, Dr. Yonatan Adler (Ariel University)
12:50-14:00 Lunch
Session 3: Chair: Prof. Gunnar Lehmann (Ben-Gurion University)
14:00-14:30 “And there was Peace between Israel and the Amorites” (1 Sam. 7:14) – Israelites and Canaanites in Late Iron I, Dr. Yigal Levin (Bar-Ilan University)
14:30-15:00 Samaria’s Role in the Days of Ahab and His Sons: History, Bible and Archaeology, Dr. Amitai Baruchi-Unna (Hebrew University)
15:00-15:30 “Now there was no Smith Found throughout all the Land of Israel…”: 1 Samuel 13:19-23 in Light of the Accumulating Evidence for the Transition from Bronze to Iron Production, Dr. Naama Yahalom-Mack (Hebrew University) and Dr. Itzhaq Shai (Ariel University)
15:30-15:50 Coffee
Session 4: Chair: Prof. David Small (Lehigh University)
15:50-16:20 Heroes in the Post-Classical Polis: On Interpreting Archaeological and Written Sources, Dr. Lucia Novakova (Trnava University)
16:20-16:50 Traditions of the Rock: Discerning and Defining Ancient Jewish Burial Grounds in Rome, Jessica Dello Russo (International Catacomb Society and the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology)
16:50-17:20 Monumental Building Projects of Late Second Temple Jerusalem in Light of Historical Sources and Recent Archaeological Excavations, Dr. Joe Uziel (Israel Antiquities Authority), Mr. Nahshon Szanton (IAA), and Mr. Moran Hagbi (IAA)
Dinner


Tuesday, May 12 – Israel Museum, Jerusalem

09:00-10:00 Visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls Laboratory, Israel Antiquities Authority, Guided by Mrs. Pnina Shor (Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Projects Unit of the IAA)
10:00-10:30 Coffee and Farewells

The seminar is jointly sponsored by Ariel University and The Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

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