Gottlieb Schumacher (21 November 1857 – 26 November 1925) was anAmerican-borncivil engineer,architect andarchaeologist ofGerman descent, who was an important figure in the early archaeological exploration ofPalestine.
Schumacher was born inZanesville, Ohio, where his parents had immigrated fromTübingen, Germany. His father,Jacob Schumacher, was a member of theTemple Society, a GermanProtestant sect which in the 1860s established theGerman Colony inHaifa,Palestine. In 1869, Jacob Schumacher settled with his family in the Templer colony, where he became the chief architect and builder.
Gottlieb studied engineering in Germany, and then returned to Palestine in 1881.
He quickly became a leading figure in the construction of roads and houses. He was appointed Chief Engineer for the Province ofAkko by theOttoman government. Among his many works were theScottish hostels inSafed andTiberias, theRussian hostel inNazareth, the cellars of theRothschild winery atRishon LeZion, and the bridge over theKishon River.
One of his most important projects was the survey of theGolan,Hauran, andAjlun districts, in preparation for the construction of theDamascus-Haifa railway, which branched off from theHejaz railway atDeraa. As part of the same development he also extended the mole of the port of Haifa. In the course of this survey he produced the first accurate maps of these regions, along with detailed descriptions of the archaeological remains and the contemporary villages.
From 1886 he published articles reporting his discoveries in theZeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. These articles were reprinted in translation by thePalestine Exploration FundQuarterly Statement. He published a series of books, also reprinted in English by the Fund.
From 1903 to 1905 Schumacher carried out excavations at Tell el-Mutesellim, the mound containing the ruins of the ancient city ofMegiddo. The first volume of his report on Megiddo, covering the stratigraphy and the architecture, was published in 1908. The second volume, a study of the small finds, was published in 1929 byCarl Watzinger and contained the material which survived destruction duringWorld War I.
Schumacher's approach to excavation was based more on architectural finds than on dissection of layers of earth. His reports were illustrated with many photographs and drawings.
His main excavated area at Megiddo was a trench 20–25 metres (66–82 ft) across, running north–south through the center of the mound, a method widely used in those days[1] and influenced byHeinrich Schliemann's digs atTroy,[2] but considered unfortunate by later archaeologist due to the very large amount of soil removed in a manner that offers little stratigraphic information to future researchers. The massive intervention in this relatively smalltell led for instance to overlooking the potentially very importantstele fragment ofPharaohSheshonk I, usually identified with biblical King Shishak, which was later found in the pile of dump created by Schumacher's trench, thus out of its originalstratigraphic context and rendered almost useless for dating purposes. If foundin situ, the stele would have provided chronological evidence about the city from the time of Sheshonk's campaign, related to the disputed historical existence of KingSolomon (1 Kings 14:25; 2 Chronicles 12:1-12).[3]
In the trench Schumacher identified eight strata, which he numbered from bottom to top. Most of them may be dated, by the pottery found in them, to theMiddle Bronze Age II-Iron Age II periods. His work was the basis for later excavations by theOriental Institute of theUniversity of Chicago in 1925-1939.
Schumacher uncovered a number of important buildings at Megiddo.
Among his discoveries was the ancient synagogue atKhirbet Dikke.
With the outbreak ofWorld War I, some members of the Templer community returned to Germany. Schumacher remained there until 1924, when he returned to his home onMount Carmel near Haifa, where he died in 1925.
Schumacher's maps of Transjordan and the Golan, prepared on behalf of the German Society for the Exploration of Palestine, were the first detailed maps of the area.
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The Gottlieb Schumacher Institute or Research of the Christian Presence in Palestine in the Modern Era (German: "Gottlieb-Schumacher-Institut zur Erforschung des christlichen Beitrags zum Wiederaufbau Palästinas im 19. Jahrhundert", lit. 'G.S.I. for the Research of the Christian Contribution to the Reconstruction of Palestine in the 19th Century'), is part ofHaifa University and has its seat in the "Keller-Haus", once the home ofF. Keller [de], a prominent member of the Templer community. It is located at 2, Keller Street in Haifa. The institute was established in 1987 byAlex Carmel [de]. For more on the Keller House aka Beit Rachel ('Rachel House') seehere.
