imported>Jevansen: Moving from Category:People from Jerusalem to Category:Social scientists from Jerusalem using Cat-a-lot

2025-06-03T00:04:49Z

Moving from Category:People from Jerusalem to Category:Social scientists from Jerusalem using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|Israeli archaeologist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ehud Netzer
| image = Nezer (12).JPG
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name = אהוד נצר
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 13 May 1934
| birth_place = Jerusalem
| death_date = 28 October 2010 (aged 76)
| death_place = Jerusalem
| nationality =
| native_name_lang = he
| other_names =
| occupation = Architect, archaeologist and educator
| known_for =
}}

'''Ehud Netzer''' ({{langx|he|אהוד נצר}}; 13 May 1934 – 28 October 2010<ref name=Maugh>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-me-ehud-netzer-20101106-story.html|last=Maugh II|first=Thomas H.|title=Ehud Netzer dies at 76; archaeologist unearthed Herod the Great's tomb|work=Los Angeles Times|date=5 November 2010|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>) was an Israeli architect, [[archaeology|archaeologist]] and educator, known for his extensive excavations at [[Herodium]], where in 2007 he found the tomb of [[Herod the Great]];<ref name=Kraft2007>{{cite news |newspaper= NYTimes |title= Archaeologist Says Remnants of King Herod's Tomb Are Found |author= Dina Kraft |date=9 May 2007 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/world/middleeast/09herod.html?_r=0 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> and the discovery of a structure defined by Netzer as a synagogue, which if true would be the oldest one ever found (the "[[Wadi Qelt Synagogue]]").


Netzer served as a professor at the Institute of Archaeology at the [[Hebrew University]] in [[Jerusalem]]. He was a world-renowned expert on [[Herodian architecture]]. Netzer worked at [[Masada]] with [[Yigael Yadin]], and later completed the official excavation report for the site. He later led teams of archaeologists like Rachel Chachy, who did important fieldwork at the Herodian palace at [[Jericho]]. At [[Herodium]], in the desert near Bethlehem and south of Jerusalem, for more than three decades, Netzer oversaw extensive excavations focusing on remains at the foot and on the sides of the artificial mountain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/archeologist-king-herod-s-tomb-desecrated-but-discovery-high-point-1.219914|title=Archeologist: King Herod's Tomb Desecrated, but Discovery 'High Point'|publisher=Haaretz|date=7 May 2007|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/israeli-archaeologist-may-have-found-tomb-of-king-herod|title=Israeli Archaeologist May Have Found Tomb of King Herod|publisher=FOX News|date=7 May 2007|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>


==Biography==
Ehud Netzer was born in [[Jerusalem]] in 1934 to Israeli educators Joseph and Puah Menczel. Netzer was reported to have changed his surname from Menczel to Netzer because of the complexity and recurring mistakes in spelling his name in the Hebrew language.<ref name=Dove>{{Cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/dec/07/ehud-netzer-obituary|title = Ehud Netzer obituary|last = Dove|first = Aytan|date = 2010-12-07|newspaper = The Guardian|language = en-GB|issn = 0261-3077|access-date = 2016-03-14}}</ref> He graduated with a degree in architecture from the [[Technion – Israel Institute of Technology|Technion]] in 1958. As an undergraduate, Netzer would spend his summer vacation in excavations of the noted archaeologist Yigael Yadin.<ref name=Dove/>

While working as a co-architect in excavations in Masada, Netzer met his future wife, Devorah Dove, an archeology student.<ref>Burrell, Barbara. "Remembering Ehud Netzer (1934-2010)." ''Herodium.com.'' The institute of Archeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. N.d. http://herodium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/nezer/Remembering%20Ehud%20Netzer-Burrel.pdf</ref> He later obtained a Ph.D. in the field of archaeology from [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]].

He became a professor at the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University. Netzer was eventually recognized as the world's foremost authority on Herodian architecture.<ref name=BARobit>Shanks, Hershel (January/February 2011). "Milestones: Ehud Netzer (1934–2010)". ''Biblical Archaeology Review''. Washington, D.C.: The Biblical Archaeology Society, '''37''' (1): 22. {{ISSN|0098-9444}}</ref>

==Archaeological and architectural career==
Netzer 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]]. After Yadin's death, Netzer completed the final excavation report ''The Buildings, Stratigraphy and Architecture of Masada''. Later, Netzer directed the restoration of the Masada site on behalf of Israel's National Parks Authority.<ref name=BARobit/>

Netzer was head architect for the restoration and excavation of the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem (1967-1975); the planner of the restoration of the Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, and Yemin Moshe; and planned public buildings in Egypt.<ref name=Dove/><ref>Burrell, Barbara. "Remembering Ehud Netzer (1934-2010)." ''Herodium.com.'' The institute of Archeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. N.d. http://herodium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/nezer/Remembering%20Ehud%20Netzer-Burrel.pdf</ref>

In 1968, Netzer initiated and directed large-scale excavations at the site of Herod's winter palace at [[Jericho]].<ref name=CNN>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/07/israel.herodtomb.ap/index.html "King Herod's tomb unearthed, Israeli university claims"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510142113/http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/07/israel.herodtomb.ap/index.html |date=2007-05-10 }}, [[CNN]], 7 May 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=634 Herod's Tomb Discovered] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814131042/http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=634 |date=2007-08-14 }}, IsraCast, 8 May 2007.</ref><ref name=Kalman>[http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/05/08/herods_tomb_reportedly_found_inside_his_desert_palace/ Matthew Kalman, "Herod's tomb reportedly found inside his desert palace"] ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' 8 May 2007.</ref>

In 1972, he began excavating at the huge palace complex of Herodium, located in the desert outside Bethlehem. His first phase of work continued to 1987, as he excavated palace structures. He returned to the dig from 1997–2000, and again from 2000–2010.<ref name=BAR2011>Netzer, Ehud (January/February 2011). "In Search of Herod's Tomb". ''Biblical Archaeology Review''. Washington, D.C.: The Biblical Archaeology Society, '''37''' (1): 36, 40, 42, 44–47. {{ISSN|0098-9444}}</ref> The ancient Jewish historian, [[Josephus Flavius]], had written that Herod's tomb was located at his fortified palace of Herodium.<ref name=Kalman/>

From 1972-78, 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 taught combined architecture and archaeology. From 1985-93, he directed the Hebrew University expedition to [[Zippori]] (Sepphoris) in the lower [[Galilee]], which exposed a [[synagogue]]. Its mosaic floor has been exhibited in the [[Jewish Museum (New York)|Jewish Museum]] in [[New York City]].

===Herodium===
[[Herodium]] is an enormous, cone-shaped, partially man-made mountain holding a fortress palace built by Herod just outside Bethlehem. According to the ancient Romano-Jewish historian [[Josephus]], Herodium was the site of Herod's burial.<ref name=Kalman/> Enclosed within the artificial hill was a fortress palace, which had previously been the focus of excavations led in 1962-67 by [[Virgilio Canio Corbo]] and [[Stanislao Loffreda]] from the [[Studium Biblicum Franciscanum]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Netzer began work on the extensive palace complex at the foot of the hill, which he labeled as "Lower Herodium".

From 1972–87, Netzer worked at Herodium, excavating the palace structures. He resumed work on the dig from 1997–2000, and again from 2000–2010. Beginning in 2006, excavations revealed a ramp winding around the hill from the lower palace complex and stadium. Along its path were discovered a theater and a monumental staircase, which led past a platform and remains which, in May 2007, Netzer identified as the probable tomb of King Herod.<ref name=BAR2011/> Netzer found the sarcophagus "shattered into hundreds of pieces", as described by Josephus, who wrote that it was done "by Jewish dissidents during the first revolt against the Romans between AD 66 and 72."<ref name=Maugh/>


In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas challenged the identification of the tomb as that of Herod.<ref name=Hasson2013>{{cite news |newspaper= Haaretz |title= Archaeological stunner: Not Herod's Tomb after all? |author= Nir Hasson |date=11 October 2013 |url= http://www.haaretz.com/life/archaeology/.premium-1.551881 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features.<ref name=Hasson2013/> Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification.<ref name=Hasson2013/>

===Jericho===
Netzer excavated at Jericho from 1973, and continued working there over the next decade.<ref name=BARobit/> At the oasis of Jericho, he uncovered new wings of Herod's winter palace, as well as a [[Hasmonean]] winter palace containing a number of swimming pools and gardens. This is the major archaeological site to have survived from that period in Jewish history. The complex includes a structure built 70-50 BCE and identified in 1998 by Netzer as a synagogue, which has been contested, but if proven true would be the [[Oldest synagogues in the World|oldest synagogue]] that has ever been found (the "[[Wadi Qelt synagogue]]").<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oldest Synagogue Found in Israel|date=29 March 1998|publisher=The Associated Press|url=http://www.pohick.org/sts/jericho.html|access-date=26 January 2009|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074934/http://www.pohick.org/sts/jericho.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Private life; death==
He married Devora and they had four children, all of whom live in Israel: Chana, Ruti, Yael and Yossef.

On 25 October 2010, Netzer fell and was seriously injured when a railing gave way at the dig at Herodium. He died of his injuries three days later at [[Hadassah Medical Center|Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital]] in [[West Jerusalem]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ehud Netzer, Archeologist Who Located Herod's Tomb, Dies at 76|publisher=Haaretz|date=28 October 2010|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ehud-netzer-archeologist-who-located-herod-s-tomb-dies-at-76-1.321674}}</ref>

Between February 2013 and January 2014, the [[Israel Museum]] hosted the exhibition ''Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey'' in memory of Netzer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herod the Great {{!}} The Israel Museum, Jerusalem |url=https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/herod-great |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.imj.org.il}}</ref>

==Published works==
* ''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
*{{Cite book|title=The Palaces of the Hasmoneans and Herod the Great|year=2001|publisher=Yad Ben-Zvi|isbn=978-965-217-187-0}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder|year=2008|publisher=Baker Academic|isbn=978-0-8010-3612-5}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/99/9.23.99/Netzer.html Expert on architecture of Herod the Great gives lecture 28 September], ''Cornell Chronicle'', New York, 23 September 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

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Netzer, Ehud}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths from falls]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in Israel]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Social scientists from Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Israeli architects]]
[[Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni]]
[[Category:Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Israeli archaeologists]]
[[Category:21st-century Israeli archaeologists]]

Ehud Netzer - Revision history

imported>Jevansen: Moving from Category:People from Jerusalem to Category:Social scientists from Jerusalem using Cat-a-lot