Yoram Tsafrir
Yoram Tsafrir | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | |
Died | 23 November 2015 | (aged 77)
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Archaeologist |
Sub-discipline | Archaeology and history of Palestine |
Institutions |
|
Yoram Tsafrir (Hebrew: יורם צפריר; 30 January 1938 – 23 November 2015) was an Israeli archaeologist. His research has included the Byzantine influence on ancient synagogues, demography of Palestine in the Byzantine period, mosaics at Horvat Berachot, excavations at Beit She'an, and excavations at Rehovot-in-the-Negev).[1] A Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he was a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[2][3]
Biography
Yoram Tsafrir was born in 1938 in
Archaeology career
His work mainly involved the archaeology and history of Palestine and the East during the
Tsafrir has claimed that by around the year 400 C.E., Christians "constituted the majority in Palestine."[3][5] He has also concluded that virtually no synagogue buildings in Palestine can be dated to the second and early third centuries.[6]
In Jerusalem, Tsafrir worked on numerous monuments, including
With Yitzhak Magen, he published Two Seasons of Excavations at Sartaba/Alexandrium Fortress (1984).[9] In 1993, he published Ancient Churches Revealed. In the same year, Tsafrir and Gideon Foerster organized a study group at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Givat Ram, on the topic of conceptualizing the end of ancient Mediterranean cities.[10] His work also involves research into the geography of historical Palestine, and he has co-authored Tabula Imperii Romani Iudaea-Palaestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer.[8] Tsafrir and Gideon Foerster's preliminary exploration and conclusions on Beit She'an/Scythopolis, were reported in "Urbanism at Scythopolis: Bet Shean in the fourth to seventh centuries" (1997), which was followed by "Skythopolis: Vorposten der Dekapolis" (2002).[3] His critical review of "Numismatics and the Foundation of Aelia Capitolina" appears in Peter Shafer's The Bar Kokhba War Reconsidered (2003).[11] He has contributed to The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land.[12]
Model of Jerusalem
A scale model of Jerusalem giving a vivid view of the city as it existed before it was destroyed by Romans in 70 AD, was prepared by the archaeologists associated with the study of the city's ancient culture. The project was sponsored in 1964 by the Holyland Hotel of Jerusalem. It was made between 1964 and 1974 by Michael Avi-Yonah and was refined and elaborated by Tsafrir. The model was made with authentic material such as stone and marble [dubious – discuss] from Jerusalem itself, embellished with colorful small ceramic tiles and gold leaf used for gilding the Temple and palaces. The model was built to a scale of 1:50 and was provided with illustrations and explanatory pamphlets by Tsafrir.[13]
Published works
- Tsafrir, Y.; Leah Di Segni; Judith Green (1994). (TIR): Tabula Imperii Romani. Iudaea, Palestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic , Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer. Jerusalem: ISBN 965-208-107-8.
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ISBN 978-0-7185-1388-7. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d "YORAM TSAFRIR, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF ARCHAEOLOGY". Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7546-6310-2. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Prominent Israeli Archaeologist Yoram Tsafrir Dies". Haaretz.
- ISBN 978-0-19-972617-2. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-90-429-1181-9. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-226-89422-5. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-19253-9. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-109-06848-1. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-90-04-10378-8. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-3-16-148076-8. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-109-07902-9. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-226-89422-5. Retrieved 16 April 2013.