April 16, 2023
Dr. Jodi Magness
On Archeological Discoveries in the Holy Land
Program Abstract:
Dr. Jodi Magness will be presenting a program based on archeological discoveries that have recently been made in the Holy Land. The lecture will focus on her 2019 book, Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Jodi Magness is a Kenan Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Classical and Biblical archaeologist specializing in ancient Palestine (modern Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories) from the time of Jesus up to the tenth century. Her research interests include Jerusalem, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient synagogues, Masada, the Roman army in the East, ancient pottery, the Byzantine-early Islamic transition, and Diaspora Judaism in the Roman world. She has participated on over 20 excavations in Israel and in Greece, including co-directing the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Since 2011, she has directed excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee, which are bringing to light a monumental Late Roman (fifth century) synagogue paved with stunning mosaics (for more information visit: Huqoq.
Her most recent books are Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth (2019) and The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd edition 2021). She is currently writing a book on Jerusalem Through the Ages (under contract with Oxford University Press). She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Past President of the Archaeological Institute of America.