The Grande Dame of Famous Archaeologists
The biography of Dame Kathleen Kenyon
• 07/23/2011
Famous archaeologists of both the 19th and 20th centuries have worked in the Holy Land. It is, as reviewer Magen Broshi points out, the most archaeologically researched piece of land in the world. Throughout the history of archaeology in this region, borders have changed, as have areas of focus with regard to specific archaeological sites. The history of archaeology in Israel/Palestine is dotted with famous archaeologists of diverse nationalities; American, British, French, German and later Israelis have all worked—and are working—to piece together the archaeological history of this region.
Dive into the depths of darkness in an elevator
One of the most famous archaeologists to work in Israel, William Albright, is considered to be the “father” of Biblical archaeology. If this is true, then perhaps Dame Kathleen Kenyon is the “mother” of the field. Her work was certainly prolific enough to rival that of Albright; she conducted excavations in Samaria, Jericho and Jerusalem during the course of her career. Dame Kathleen Kenyon’s excavation methods, including an emphasis on stratigraphy, helped to pioneer a more scientific approach to archaeology. Certainly this remarkable doyenne of famous archaeologists deserves her eponymous Kenyon Institute—as the British archaeological research institute in Jerusalem was renamed in 1998—as a nod to her achievements. She deserves a well-written biography as well and that, according to Broshi, is exactly what she has in Dame Kathleen Kenyon: Digging Up the Holy Land.
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