NEW! Curriculum 2020-21
Over the course of the first two semesters of theoretical practicum, students will explore the periods between the late-second millennium BCE through the Roman Period. This will be done through the study of archaeological finds, biblical text, and Ancient Near Eastern texts that illuminate the economic and social structures, diplomatic and political relations, and religious practices of the inhabitants of ancient Israel, as well as tours of archaeological sites.
During the third (summer) semester, students will actively participate in four weeks of fieldwork at one of our excavation sites.
1st year
To reach the 36 academic hours needed for the Master’s degree (in the regular track), each student will participate in:
- 7 mandatory courses (14 credit points in total) (4 introduction courses + 3 core courses changeable every year)
- 3 Seminars (12 credit points in total)
- Ancient language course (8 credit points in total)
- Academic writing workshop (2 credit points)
- 6 Field trips
- 4 Weeks of excavation
- 1 Excavation course (no credits)
2nd year (with thesis) (Getting an average of at least 85 in the courses taken the previous year.)
To reach the 44 academic hours needed for the Master’s degree (in the thesis track), each student will participate in addition to the previous year:
- 2 seminars (8 credits points in total)
- Research workshop (no credits)
- Thesis
Please note, that the following information is subject to change.
Curriculum 2020-21
Introduction classes:
Introduction to the Archaeology and History of the Land of the Bible in the Late Bronze, Dr. Omer Sergi, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4000-01
The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500 – 1150 BCE) is known to be the first “international” period in the history of the Levant in ancient times: it is characterized by imperial kingdoms controlling vast territories, international trade and diplomacy but also with an urban and demographic decline in Canaan. By the 12th century, the international powers that shaped the social and political history of the region collapsed, bringing with them the collapse of the entire socio-political system. The regeneration after the collapse will bring with it new socio-political forms, which are also known to us from the Hebrew Bible
Course marks:
Written paper: 100%
Introduction to the Archaeology and History of the Land of the Bible in the Early Iron Age (Iron I-IIB) Dr. Omer Sergi, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4001-01
The Iron I-IIA (1150 – 800 BCE) is the period in which new socio-political formations emerged throughout the Levant, as the result of the collapse of the Late Bronze world order. Most notably is the formation of kin-based territorial polities throughout the Levant, among them the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In this class, we shall study the main archaeological feature of the period in relation to historical developments as they can be inferred from the Hebrew Bible and epigraphic finds. We shall focus on the question of state formation in the Iron Age Levant and its archaeological expression.
Course marks:
Written paper: 100%
Introduction to the Archaeology and History of the Land of the Bible in the Early Iron Age (Iron IIB-Persian Period) Dr. Omer Sergi, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4002-01
The end of the Iron Age (Iron IIB-C) is characterized by the rise of imperial forces – the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires – who gradually took over the Levant, eliminated the territorial kingdoms and established direct imperial rule that changes the Levantine socio-political structure forever. It was in this period the kingdoms of Israel and Judah reached their zenith in every aspect (territorially, economically, and culturally) before they were destroyed by the empires. In this class, you will be introduced to the archaeological characteristics of this troubled period, in light of contemporaneous historical sources. We will discuss the history of the southern Levant under the empires and will try to understand how imperial rule might be reflected in archaeological finds.
Course marks:
Written paper: 100%
The Archaeology and History of the Southern Levant during the Persian and Hellenistic Periods Dr. Meir Edry, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4003-01
This course will introduce students to the archaeology and history of the southern Levant during the Persian and Hellenistic periods, from 539-332 BCE, with a focus on Phoenicia and Judah. We will cover a brief historical background for each period and discuss the relevant material culture, including architecture and city planning, religion and cult, funerary practices, pottery, coinage, and other everyday items. We will analyze changes, influences, and development patterns in the material culture and their possible significance to the various cultures of the southern Levant.
An Introduction to Field Archaeology: Theory and Method Boaz Gross, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4004-01
The course will introduce the disciplinary foundations of archaeology: the essence of archaeology as a scientific discipline, the nature of archaeological data, archaeological field methods, and approaches to archaeological interpretation. We will also explore how archaeology attempts to reconstruct the social and economic organization of ancient societies, as well as their cognitive world.
The focus of the course will be on field excavation methods, terminology, documentation, and scientific methodology and approaches, all of which comprise the multi-disciplinary toolkit that every modern archaeologist must be acquainted with and utilize. The course will also discuss the role of archaeology in modern society and its intricate relationship with different areas of life, such as religion, politics, environment, and development.
Course marks:
The final grade will be evaluated through a written exam (85%) and an overall assessment of student participation during the course (15%).
Mandatory courses:
The View from the North: The Archaeology of Northern Israel, Dr. Karen Covello-Paran, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4010-01
The diversity of the geographic landscape of Northern Israel, traversed by important land and sea trade routes, shaped and played a prominent role in the socio-economic and geo-political development that the region experienced during the Bronze and Iron Ages, which are the focus of this class. This course will offer an in-depth interpretative exploration of Northern Israel from an archaeological perspective through a review of key sites, material culture, and attributes of daily life, death, religion, politics, economy, and administration.
Course marks:
There will be two class assignments and the final course task is a paper. The grade breakdown is based on 80% - final paper, 20% - attendance, participation, assignments.
The Cities that Built the Bible, Dr. Robert R. Cargill, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4009-01
For many, the cities of the Holy Land are known merely as the setting for the epic stories and heroic adventures detailed in the Bible. But what if each of these cities and the people who built and inhabited them actually contributed to the very composition of the Bible we know today?
This course, The Cities That Built the Bible, based on the book of the same title, is an exhaustive tour of the cities and their representative peoples that made the greatest impact on the composition of the Bible. Students will learn about the Phoenician cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos; the remains of Ugarit; the Assyrian center at Nineveh; the ancient powerhouse of Babylon; the strategic crossroads of Megiddo; the Greek intellectual centers of Athens and Alexandria; the Jewish capital in Jerusalem; Qumran and the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Jesus’s towns of Bethlehem and Nazareth; and the new center of Christianity in Rome. Along the way, students examine the intersection of archaeological sites, artifacts, and ancient texts, explaining how archaeology not only illuminates the Bible but actually contributed to the very production of the Bible itself.
Course marks:
- Participation 10%
- Exam 1 25%
- Exam 2 25%
- Research Paper 40%
Total = 100%
Academic Workshop, Shua Kisilevitz, 2 hours, 2 credits, 1673-4005-01
The aim of the workshop is to familiarize students with the various forms and types of archaeological publications and to enhance and hone their academic writing. Throughout the workshop, students will practice critical reading of academic publications, understand how to approach and decipher excavation reports, and train in the formulation of research questions and presentations.
Course marks:
There will be two class assignments and the final course task is a paper. The grade breakdown is based on 80% - final paper, 20% - attendance, participation, assignments.
Seminars:
Between Egypt and Israel: the Jezreel Valley and the Beth-Shean Valley in Archaeology, History and Biblical Traditions, Dr. Omer Sergi, 4 hours, 4 credits 1673- 4008-01
The Jezreel and the Beth-Shean Valleys encompass vast plains between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, which enabled an important east-west crossroads in the southern Levant, but also provided fertile and rich lands for cultivation. As such, these valleys inhabited throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages important and prosperous urban centers like Megiddo, Beth-Shean, and Tel Reḥov. Throughout the long time elapsed in the Late Bronze – early Iron Ages, the valleys came under Egyptian (Late Bronze) rule, local Canaanite rule (Iron I) before they were integrated into the rising kingdom of Israel (Iron IIA). In these seminars we shall explore the settlement patterns, material culture and textual sources related to the Jezreel and the Beth-Shean valleys in order to discuss how local communities – urban and rural – reacted in face of shifting political rules, what was the economic mechanism enabling such rule and how it affected the overall socio-political structure of the valley. On this base, we shall examine also some of the biblical traditions relating to these valleys in order to assess their role in the history of ancient Israel.
Course marks:
Written paper (seminar or referat): 100%
Ancient Egyptian Culture abroad, other ancient cultures in Egypt, Dr. Deborah Sweeny, 4 hours, 4 credits 0671-4335-01
This course will investigate aspects of Egyptian culture which were expressed in Egypt’s contacts abroad, their meaning in Egypt, and how they may have been interpreted and changed in the cultures which absorbed them. Egypt was a key player in the international politics of the Levant during the most of the second half of the second millennium and the first millennium, and also influential in the Mediterranean during the later part of this period, both politically and culturally.
Primarily, this course will focus on Egypt’s relations to the Levant, and will discuss topics such as Egyptian kingship, religion, architecture, art, and technology, in order to give students an in-depth understanding of these elements, of the cultural agents who transmitted them, and how they were received and transformed. However, we will also discuss Egypt’s impact on Nubia from the second half of the second millennium onwards for comparative purposes.
On the other hand, Egypt came into contact with other cultures not only via Egyptian contacts abroad but also via foreign conquerors, traders, and mercenaries who came to Egypt. Egyptian culture and society absorbed (or reacted against) technology, deities, and their myths, artistic and literary motifs from abroad. We will examine how these elements were absorbed into Egyptian culture, and what roles they played there. The long time span involved makes Egypt an ideal environment for studying cultural entanglements.
Course participants will learn to study and understand the complex and influential culture of ancient Egypt, which will help them with their other studies of the ancient Levant, and with future complex assignments, both at and beyond the university. They will also improve their skills of speaking before an audience, and practice academic writing, which will improve their general ability to express themselves in writing, and their ability to learn and apply complex frameworks of criteria.
The course participants’ involvement in planning the course is an important educational goal, which gives them some experience in group planning. In the first month of the course, Dr. Sweeney will teach background lessons on the history and culture of Ancient Egypt and its interactions with its neighbors, especially from the mid-sixteenth century BCE onwards, and the primary sources for these topics at our disposal, etc. She will also revise relevant primary research skills, such as looking for bibliography and writing a bibliography list and speaking before an audience. During this first month, course participants will choose the topic for their presentation and a final paper and start collecting information for it. Course participants will give presentations on their chosen topics during the second half of the course. During the remaining weeks of the first term, Dr. Sweeney will present topics related to not included in the student presentations, planned together with the students. Part of the weekly meetings during the second term will be devoted to reports and discussions with the students about their progress with their research, and discussions of the research process itself and academic writing.
Course marks:
- Participation: 15%
- Presentation in class: 10%
- Written paper (seminar or referat): 75%
