Archaeological Graphic Documentation Studio

Head of Studio - Yulia Gottlieb

The Studio 

• The studio provides graphic services for the institute researchers and works along the institute publishing house requirements.

• The studio contains 2 divisions: 

• The Archaeological Finds Illustration division specializes in digital drawing of the archaeological material, digitization of manual graphic documents, layout and pre-press preparation of figures and plates for excavation reports.

• The studio also provides thematic maps and designs invitations, posters and inserts for annual conventions and guest lectures, as well as back covers for the in-house publications.

• The Architectural Drawing division supplies field plans and sections, maps and isometric reconstructions.

• The studio is equipped with cutting-edge applications, such as AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, as well as with leading Wacom graphics tablets - Intuos and Cintiq. 

Archaeological drawing is one of the principle stages of documentation and a very important research tool. The responsibility of the Studio is to extract maximum information from an object, represent it in the most accurate, detailed and objective way, and to produce a faithful "replica" of it when it is not available for the onlooker.

The correct drawing is crucial for research and the studio work demands high level of knowledge, understanding of material and great responsibility.

The Studio deals with numerous categories of objects: pottery and glass vessels;

small finds (stone, bone, clay, metal, glass, faience, alabaster and flint artefacts); epigraphy (Cuneiform, Aramaic, Old Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Arabic inscriptions on various items like ostraca, stelae, pottery and stone vessels); Egyptology (hieroglyphic inscriptions on monuments, scarabs and amulets; glyptic (stamp impressions and cylinder seals); architectural elements (capital, column and volute);figurative art (iconography, figurines and painted scenes);and Prehistory (flint tools).

The studio practices various techniques of drawing applied to different kinds of objects:

Technical Scientific Drawing – a more schematic and conventional way used mainly for drawing pottery – is characterized by a high precision of execution.

Artistic Drawing – in which shading is used to produce a 3-D effect - applied to small finds, figurines, plastic decoration on pottery, architectural features etc.

Reconstruction drawing – a way to represent a fragmented object or decoration pattern in its complete state.

The work in the studio involves a thorough study of the material and is conducted in constant collaboration with the Institute researchers. All the studio members are archaeologists, each one having a specialization in a different field, so that they complete each other in their work.

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A cylindrical bottle reound in the late Iron I destruction of Tel Megiddo, a fine example of late Canaanite Bichrome decoration (Courtesy of the Megiddo Expedition, drawn by Yulia Gottlieb)

The Studio Staff

Yulia Gottlieb - is a BA and MA graduate of the Tel Aviv department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. Her specialization is Siege craft and Battlefield Archaeology. Until 2005 Yulia worked as an area supervisor and field registrar at various excavations such as Tell Hadar, Tell Megiddo and Yaffo. She took part in research and preparation of the Tell Lachish excavation report. In 2005 Yulia became part of the institute's studio and a specialist in scientific drawing of finds.

Itamar Ben-Ezra - is a BA graduate of the Tel Aviv department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. He took part in dozens of excavations conducted by the IAA. As a student, he became a member of Apollonia-Arsuf and Yavne-Yam  expeditions. Itamar works in the studio since 2008, contributing his excellent skills and knowledge in scientific drawing of finds.

Naama Earon - is a BA graduate of the Tel Aviv departments of Archaeology and Classics, currently pursuing her MA in Classics. She has been working at the institute as an illustrator of finds since 2013.

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Ami Brauner - an AutoCAD Specialist.
Senior AutoCAD teacher at the Tel Aviv University. school of Architecture and at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. Ami works at the institute part-time for the last 5 years.