Ehud Netzer

Ehud Netzer ( _he. אהוד נצר) (born 1934) is an Israeli archaeologist and Professor "emeritus" at the Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The subjects he teaches combine architecture and archeology. An expert on Herodian architecture, Netzer led a team of archaeologists who in 2007 reported [Press Conference and TV Report featuring Ehud Netzer. May 9, 2007, Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXuhfVX6Rvk] that they located the tomb of Herod the Great in Herodium, south of Jerusalem. [Associated Press. Archaeologists Find Tomb of King Herod. May 9, 2007,http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Israel-Herods-Tomb.html] [Hebrew University: Herod's tomb and grave found at Herodium http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/856784.html] [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270575,00.html "Israeli Archaeologist Finds Tomb of King Herod"] , FOX News, 7 May 2007] [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/07/israel.herodtomb.ap/index.html "King Herod's tomb unearthed, Israeli university claims"] , CNN, 7 May 2007] [ [http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=634 Herod's Tomb Discovered] IsraCast, May 8, 2007.] [ [http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/05/08/herods_tomb_reportedly_found_inside_his_desert_palace/ "Herod's tomb reportedly found inside his desert palace"] "The Boston Globe", May 8, 2007.]

Academic career and work

Netzer has initiated and directed excavations at several building projects of Herod the Great, the ancient king of Judea. In the mid-1960s, Netzer was co-architect, together with I. Dunayevsky, of the excavations at Masada, directed by Professor Yigael Yadin. During this period, Netzer also was responsible for the restoration of the Masada site on behalf of Israel's National Parks Authority.

In 1968, Netzer initiated and directed large-scale excavations at the sites of Herodium and Jericho. At Herodium, a cone-shaped, man-made mountain-palace built by Herod just outside Bethlehem, the whole complex called the "lower city" was partially exposed. And at the oasis of Jericho, new wings of Herod's winter palace were uncovered, as was a Hasmonean (Maccabean) winter palace containing a number of swimming pools and gardens, which is the major archaeological site that has survived from that period in Jewish history.

In 1972-1978, Netzer completed his Ph.D. dissertation at the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology on the subject of Herod's palaces at Herodium and Jericho. He became a senior lecturer at the university in 1981 and a professor in 1990. The subjects he teaches combine architecture and archaeology. From 1985 to 1993, Netzer directed the Hebrew University expedition to Zippori (Sepphoris) in the lower Galilee, which exposed a synagogue, whose floor has been exhibited in the Museum of Jewish Art in New York.

His research and work as an Israeli archaeologist often involves artifacts and excavations within areas currently occupied by Israel [Resolution 446, Resolution 465, Resolution 484, among others] [cite web
title = Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories
publisher = United Nations
date = 2003-12-17
url = http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/97360ee7a29e68a085256df900723485/d6f5d7049734efff85256e1200677754
accessdate=2006-09-27] [cite web
title = Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
publisher = International Court of Justice
date = 2004-07-09
url = http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a
accessdate=2006-09-27] [cite web
title = Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross
publisher = International Committee of the Red Cross
date = 2001-12-05
url = http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList247/D86C9E662022D64E41256C6800366D55#2
accessdate=2006-09-27] . The mosaic of Sepphoris is traveling around the world [Jüdisches Museum Wien. 2001. Available: http://www.jmw.at/en/jmw_1999.html] , shown in exhibitions supported by the United Jewish Federation, supporting beliefs of an ancient Jewish community and a Jewish future in Galilee (Eden - Zion - Utopia. On the History of the Jewish Future) [Jüdisches Museum Wien. 2001. Available: http://www.jmw.at/en/jmw_1999.html] , a "profound ideological statement" [Duda, Kathryn M. "Interpreting an Ancient Mosaic." Carnegie Magazine Online. September/October 1998, Available: http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmag/bk_issue/1998/sepoct/feat3.htm] , interpreted as "the hope for future redemption, the rebuilding of the Temple and the return of goodness and plentitude to the land." [Duda, Kathryn M. "Interpreting an Ancient Mosaic." Carnegie Magazine Online. September/October 1998, Available: http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmag/bk_issue/1998/sepoct/feat3.htm] An article in the Jerusalem Post addresses the political concerns: "I wonder if it is mere coincidence that the tomb of King Herod was uncovered by Israeli archeologists in the Judean Desert just days after the Winograd Committee published its interim report on the Second Lebanon War. [Zvielli, Alexander. Herodion Lesson. Jerusalem Post. May 10, 2007, Available: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178708563925&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull] The excavations at Herodium in the West Bank started "in 1972, several years after its capture during the Six-Day War." [Barkat, Amiram. Archeologist: King Herod's tomb desecrated, but discovery 'high point'. May 8, 2007, Available: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/856784.html]

Publications

* The architecture of Herod, the great builder, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2006 (Texts and studies in ancient Judaism, Bd. 117) ISBN 3-16-148570-X
* The Hebrew University excavations at Sepphoris during the years 1992-1996. Qadmoniot. No. 113, pp 2-21, 1997
* Architectural development of Sepphoris during the Roman and Byzantine Periods. In: Archaeology and the Galilee: Texts and Contexts. pp. 117-130, 1997
* Promise and Redemption: A Synagogue Mosaic from Sepphoris. Jerusalem, Israel Museum, 44 pp., 1996
* New evidence for Late Roman and Byzantine Sepphoris. In: The Roman and Byzantine Near East: Recent Archaeological. 1995, pp 162-176,
* Zippori. Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society, 71 pp., 1994
* Byzantine mosaics at Sepphoris: New finds. Israel Museum Journal. No. 10, pp 75-80, 1992

Notes

References

* [http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/99/9.23.99/Netzer.html Expert on architecture of Herod the Great gives lecture Sept. 28] Cornell Chronicle, New York, Sept. 23, 1999.
* [http://www.huji.ac.il/cgi-bin/mm/new/data/ihoker/MOP-STAFF_LINK?sno=191247&Save_t= Ehud Netzer Faculty page] at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Persondata
NAME=Netzer, Ehud
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=אהוד נצר (Hebrew)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Israeli archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH=1934
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=living
PLACE OF DEATH=