Eilat Mazar

Infobox Scientist
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name = Eilat Mazar


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caption = Eilat Mazar addressing at the 34th Israeli archaeology congress
birth_date = birth date and age|1956|9|10|
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residence = Israel
citizenship = Israel
nationality = Israel
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fields = Archaeology
workplaces = Shalem Center, Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University
alma_mater = Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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known_for = Discovery of the Large Stone Structure
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influences = Benjamin Mazar
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religion = Jewish


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Eilat Mazar ( _he. אילת מזר; born September 10 1956) is a third-generation Israeli archaeologist, specializing in Jerusalem and Phoenician archeology. A senior fellow at the Shalem Center, she has worked on the Temple Mount excavations, as well as excavations at Achzib. In addition to heading the Shalem Center's Institute of Archeology, she is affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

On August 4, 2005, Mazar announced she had discovered in Jerusalem what may have been the palace of the biblical King David, the second king of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 BCE. Now referred to as the "Large Stone" structure, Mazar's discovery consists of a public building dated from the 10th century BCE, a copper scroll, pottery from the same period, and a bulla, or government seal, of Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi, an official mentioned at least twice in the Book of Jeremiah. In July 2008, she also found a second bulla, belonging to Gedaliah Ben Pashchur, who is mentioned together with Jehucal in Jeremiah 38:1. The dig was sponsored by the Shalem Center and financed by an American investment banker. The land is owned by the Ir David (City of David) Foundation. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/05/international/middleeast/05jerusalem.html King David's Palace Is Found, Archaeologist Says] , The New York Times by Steven Erlanger, August 5, 2005.]

Amihai Mazar, a professor of archeology at Hebrew University, and Mazar's cousin, called the find "something of a miracle".

In 2007 Mazar uncovered what appears to be Nehemiah's wall. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546753493&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Nehemiah's wall uncovered] , The Jerusalem Post by Etgar Lefkovits, November 28, 2007]

Mazar obtained her Ph.D. from Hebrew University in 1997. She is the granddaughter of pioneering Israeli archaeologist Benjamin Mazar. She is a mother of four and resides in Jerusalem.

Approach

Mazar's often Bible-inspired approach has been a source of contention between her and other more secular archaeologists.

According to Mazar herself,

I work with the Bible in one hand and the tools of excavation in the other, and I try to consider everything. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20070120125149/http://www.momentmag.com/olam/Apr06/MOM-2006-04_mazar.html Eilat Mazar: Uncovering King David's Palace] , "Moment Magazine", April 2006. Accessed via archive.org, 2008-07-29]

However, Israel Finkelstein and other archaeologists from Tel Aviv University have flagged concern that, regarding the city wall,

As she admits, the chronological data recovered in her excavations indicate that the "sole" Iron Age fortification system extending in this area was in use during the 8th−7th centuries BCE. However, according to the biblical sources the Solomonic city-wall must have passed here, hence [she maintains] the fortification system in question must be Solomonic in date.

Finkelstein "et al" add, summarising Mazar's dating of the Large Stone Structure,

The biblical text dominates this field operation, not archaeology. Had it not been for Mazar’s literal reading of the biblical text, she never would have dated the remains to the 10th century BCE with such confidence.Israel Finkelstein, Ze'ev Herzog, Lily Singer-Avitz and David Ussishkin (2007), [http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/info/TA34-2_King_David.pdf Has King David's Palace in Jerusalem Been Found?] , "Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University", 34(2), 142-164]

Mazar was also cautioned by one epigrapher following the 2008 confusion over the inscription on the Shelomit seal,

In the mad dash to report biblical artifacts to the public or connect discoveries with the most obscure persons or events reported in the Bible, there is sometimes a tendency to compromise the analytical caution that objects of such value so dearly deserve. [Ryan Byrne, [http://www.bib-arch.org/debates/seal-controversy-06.asp Hebrew Seals and the Rush to Biblical Judgment] , "Biblical Archaeology Review" website, 6 Febrary 2008. Accessed 2008-07-29.]

ee also

*Biblical archaeology
*History of Israel
*Archaeology of Israel
*Shelomit seal

Publications

*
*Mazar, E. 2004. The Phoenician Family Tomb N.1 at the Northern Cemetery of Achziv (10th-6th Centuries BCE). Sam Turner Expedition. Final Report of the Excavations (Cuadernos de Arquelogia Mediterranea 10), Barcelona.
*_______. 2003. The Phoenicians in Achziv, The Southern Cemetery. Jerome L. Joss Expedition. Final Report of Excavations 1988-1990 (Cuadernos de Arquelogia Mediterranea 7), Barcelona.
*_______. 2003. "Final Report, The Temple Mount Excavations in Jerusalem", 1968-1978, Directed by Benjamin Mazar, "Vol. I: The Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods" (Qedem 43), Jerusalem.
*________. 2002. "The Complete Guide to the Temple Mount Excavations", Jerusalem.
*_______. with Mazar, B. 1989. "Excavations in the South of the Temple Mount". "The Ophel of Biblical Jerusalem", Jerusalem.

Notes

References

* [http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/archaeology/news/visiting/eilatm/eilatm.html Eilat Mazar's work and publications] , Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University