Mazar, Benjamin

▪ 1996

      (BINYAMIN MAISLER), Israeli biblical archaeologist (b. June 28, 1906, Ciechanowiec, Poland, Russian Empire—d. Sept. 9, 1995, Jerusalem, Israel), excavated Temple Mount, Jerusalem (1967-77), and other sites in Palestine; his work was embraced by Israeli nationals who sought to validate the recovery of a Jewish homeland. Upon completing his studies at the German universities of Berlin and Giessen, Mazar immigrated to Palestine in 1929 and became a member of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society. He directed excavations at Ramat Rahel (1932) and Bet She'arim (1936-40), unearthing remains of the Herodian dynasty (c. 55 BC-c. AD 93). In 1943 he joined the faculty of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was a professor (1951-77), rector (1952-61), and president (1953-61); he oversaw the university's transfer from Mount Scopus to Giv'at Ram during the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948-49. Mazar's digs at Tell Qasile uncovered 12th- and 11th-century BC artifacts of the Philistine era, and at 'En Gedi he unearthed remains from the 7th century BC to the Byzantine period. His most famous excavation, however, was of the southern and western walls of Temple Mount, a site first made available to Jewish archaeologists after the Six-Day War in 1967. The 10-year excavation uncovered many historical finds, notably at the stratum dating from the Herodian period. His work had political significance as well, attracting praise from Jewish patriots and criticism from Muslim leaders who protested his treatment of sacred Islamic ruins on the site; these protests brought the project to a halt in the mid-1970s. Mazar was noted for his scholarship, and he published more than 300 works, including Israel in Biblical Times (1941), The Mountain of the Lord (1975), and Biblical Israel: State and People (1992).

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