Excavating in the State of Israel

From the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 through the major excavations of the second half of the twentieth century, archaeology entered a new chapter. Israeli institutions and a new generation of archaeologists emerged, while international scholars continued to reshape the study of sites such as Jericho and Jerusalem.

The event examines what it meant for a young state to excavate its own past, and how spectacular discoveries became connected to questions of history, identity, and the biblical narrative. It also considers how new methods and generations of archaeologists have challenged—and sometimes overturned—the conclusions of those who came before them.