Israel Exploration Society
Encyclopedia
The Israel Exploration Society (IES) (Hebrew:החברה לחקירת ארץ ישראל ועתיקותיה - Hachevra Lechakirut Eretz Yisrael Va'atikotaya) was founded in 1914 as the Society for the Reclamation of Antiquities, then renamed the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society. Its purpose was to further historical
, geographical
and archaeological
research concerning the Land of Israel
.
period. It coordinates much of the multi-institutional archaeological research carried out by both Israeli and foreign archaeological expeditions in Israel. Major activities undertaken by the IES include organizing excavations, enlisting financial support for archaeological projects, publishing excavation reports and liaison and cooperation with Israeli and foreign institutions in the field of publication and in a collective effort to promote the cause of archaeology.
The IES is a non-profit organization
governed by an Executive Committee and a Council comprising representatives from all of the institutes of archaeology in the Israel and several major archaeological museum
s.
but resumed in 1920, when it became known as the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society. During the period of the British Mandate, it was responsible for the first archaeological excavations ever conducted by a Jewish organization in Palestine
, at Hammat Tiberias (where H. Slouschz discovered a synagogue north of the more well-known Hammat Tiberias Synagogue
), Absalom’s tomb
and the Third Wall in Jerusalem
, Ramat Rahel, Beit She'arim
, and Tel Bet Yerah.
Following Israel’s War of Independence
, the IES received the first excavation permit issued by the Israeli government allowing it to excavate at Tell Qasile
. Since then, the IES has organised and sponsored some of the most important archaeological projects carried out in the country including Tel Hazor, Masada
, the excavations in Jerusalem near the Temple Mount
, in the Jewish Quarter, and at the City of David, the Judean Desert
Expeditions, En-Gedi, Tel Arad
, Lachish
, Aphek
, Jericho
, Herodium
, Yoqneam, Dor
and Tel Megiddo.
Another facet of the IES’s activity is the dissemination of knowledge gained from the exploration of Israel to the general public in Israel and abroad. Fifty-nine archaeological conferences have been held for members of the IES. These annual gatherings include lectures by archaeologists and guided tours of recently-discovered sites. Hebrew
-speaking members receive the semi-annual Qadmoniot, while the semi-annual Israel Exploration Journal
caters for English readers. The Eretz Israel festschrift series publishes original archaeological, historical and geographical studies in Hebrew and English in honor of leading international scholars in these fields. Twenty-seven volumes have appeared to date.
The IES, in cooperation with other institutions, has held thirty annual meetings for the professional archaeological community in Israel. Two international congresses on Biblical archaeology
were held in 1984 and 1990, attracting hundreds of participants from around the world. The proceedings of both have been published in two volumes entitled Biblical Archaeology Today. In 1997 an international congress was held in Jerusalem marking 50 years since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls
. The proceedings appear in the volume The Dead Sea Scrolls Fifty Years after their Discovery.
Publications include The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors from the Neolithic through the Hellenistic Period prepared together with the Israel Antiquities Authority
and the W.F. Albright Institute
; and The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, which appeared in four-volume Hebrew and English editions in 1993.
for its special contribution to society and the State of Israel. The citation of the judges’ committee notes: “It has been the principal and most effective institution for furthering knowledge of the archaeology and history of the country both at home and abroad since it was founded seventy-five years ago.”
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
research concerning the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
.
Overview
The Israel Exploration Society plays a key role in archaeological research covering all periods, from prehistoric times to the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period. It coordinates much of the multi-institutional archaeological research carried out by both Israeli and foreign archaeological expeditions in Israel. Major activities undertaken by the IES include organizing excavations, enlisting financial support for archaeological projects, publishing excavation reports and liaison and cooperation with Israeli and foreign institutions in the field of publication and in a collective effort to promote the cause of archaeology.
The IES is a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
governed by an Executive Committee and a Council comprising representatives from all of the institutes of archaeology in the Israel and several major archaeological museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s.
History
The Society’s activities were disrupted by the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
but resumed in 1920, when it became known as the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society. During the period of the British Mandate, it was responsible for the first archaeological excavations ever conducted by a Jewish organization in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, at Hammat Tiberias (where H. Slouschz discovered a synagogue north of the more well-known Hammat Tiberias Synagogue
Hammat Tiberias Synagogue
The Hammat Tiberias Synagogue, also known as the Severus synagogue, is an ancient synagogue on the outskirts of Tiberias, Israel, located near the hot springs just south of the city.-History:...
), Absalom’s tomb
Yad Avshalom
Tomb of Absalom , also called Absalom's Pillar, is an ancient monumental rock-cut tomb with a conical roof located in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, Israel...
and the Third Wall in Jerusalem
Jerusalem's Old City walls
The Old City is a walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem. Until 1860, when the Jewish neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, was established, this area constituted the entire city of Jerusalem...
, Ramat Rahel, Beit She'arim
Beit She'arim National Park
Beit She'arim , also known as Beth She'arim or Besara , literally The Strangers House, is the archeological site of a Jewish town and a large number of ancient rock-cut Jewish tombs...
, and Tel Bet Yerah.
Following Israel’s War of Independence
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, the IES received the first excavation permit issued by the Israeli government allowing it to excavate at Tell Qasile
Tell Qasile
Tell Qasile is an archaeological site in Tel Aviv, Israel. Over 3,000 years old, the site contains the remains of a port city founded by the Philistines in the 12th century BC...
. Since then, the IES has organised and sponsored some of the most important archaeological projects carried out in the country including Tel Hazor, Masada
Masada
Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is best known for the violence that occurred there in the first century CE...
, the excavations in Jerusalem near the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
, in the Jewish Quarter, and at the City of David, the Judean Desert
Judean desert
The Judaean Desert is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan...
Expeditions, En-Gedi, Tel Arad
Tel Arad
Tel Arad or 'old' Arad is located west of the Dead Sea, about 10 km west of modern Arad in an area surrounded by mountain ridges which is known as the Arad Plain. The site is divided into a lower city and an upper hill which holds the only ever discovered 'House of Yahweh' in the land of...
, Lachish
Lachish
Lachish was an ancient Near East town located at the site of modern Tell ed-Duweir in the Shephelah, a region between Mount Hebron and the maritime plain of Philistia . The town was first mentioned in the Amarna letters as Lakisha-Lakiša...
, Aphek
Aphek
The name Aphek refers to either:*Locations mentioned by the Bible as the scenes of a number of battles, which have been thought since the turn of the 20th century to refer to the same location....
, Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, Herodium
Herodium
Herodium or Herodion is a volcano-like hill with a truncated cone located south of Jerusalem, near the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Herod the Great built a fortress and palace on the top of Herodium, and may have been buried there...
, Yoqneam, Dor
Dor
Tel Dor , is an archeological site located on Israel's Mediterranean coast, about 30 km south of Haifa. Lying on a small headland at the north side of a protected inlet, it is identified with D-jr of Egyptian sources, Biblical Dor, and with Dor/Dora of Greek and Roman sources...
and Tel Megiddo.
Another facet of the IES’s activity is the dissemination of knowledge gained from the exploration of Israel to the general public in Israel and abroad. Fifty-nine archaeological conferences have been held for members of the IES. These annual gatherings include lectures by archaeologists and guided tours of recently-discovered sites. Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
-speaking members receive the semi-annual Qadmoniot, while the semi-annual Israel Exploration Journal
Israel Exploration Journal
The Israel Exploration Journal is a semi-annual academic journal which has been published by the Israel Exploration Society since 1950. It primarily covers research in archaeology, but also history and geography relating to Israel and the surrounding areas. The editors are Shmuel Ahituv and...
caters for English readers. The Eretz Israel festschrift series publishes original archaeological, historical and geographical studies in Hebrew and English in honor of leading international scholars in these fields. Twenty-seven volumes have appeared to date.
The IES, in cooperation with other institutions, has held thirty annual meetings for the professional archaeological community in Israel. Two international congresses on Biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology
For the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
were held in 1984 and 1990, attracting hundreds of participants from around the world. The proceedings of both have been published in two volumes entitled Biblical Archaeology Today. In 1997 an international congress was held in Jerusalem marking 50 years since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
. The proceedings appear in the volume The Dead Sea Scrolls Fifty Years after their Discovery.
Publications include The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors from the Neolithic through the Hellenistic Period prepared together with the Israel Antiquities Authority
Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research...
and the W.F. Albright Institute
American Schools of Oriental Research
The American Schools of Oriental Research, founded in 1900, supports and encourages the study of the peoples and cultures of the Near East, from the earliest times to the present. It is apolitical and has no religious affiliation...
; and The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, which appeared in four-volume Hebrew and English editions in 1993.
Awards
In 1989, the Israel Exploration Society was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
for its special contribution to society and the State of Israel. The citation of the judges’ committee notes: “It has been the principal and most effective institution for furthering knowledge of the archaeology and history of the country both at home and abroad since it was founded seventy-five years ago.”