Nahman Avigad | |
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| נחמן אביגד | |
 Nahman Avigad, 1950 | |
| Born | (1905-09-25)25 September 1905 Zawalow, Galicia,Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 28 January 1992(1992-01-28) (aged 86) |
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| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
| Sub-discipline |
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| Institutions | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Notable works |
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Nahman Avigad (Hebrew:נחמן אביגד; September 25, 1905 – January 28, 1992), born inZawalow,Galicia (thenAustria-Hungary, now Zavaliv,Ukraine), was an Israeliarchaeologist.
Avigad studied architecture in what is now the town ofBrno,Czech Republic. Avigad emigrated toMandatory Palestine in 1926. He married Shulamit (née Levin) Avigad in 1928. He worked in the excavations of theBeth Alpha synagogue and theHamat Gader synagogue.
Avigad earned his PhD in 1952, with a dissertation on the tombs of theKidron Valley, Jerusalem. He taught atHebrew University from 1949 and until his retirement in 1974.
He directed the dig atBeit She'arim beginning in 1953. Avigad also worked on the excavations ofMasada, the mountaintop complex built byHerod the Great. He was involved in the exploration of caves in the Judean desert, and published one of theDead Sea Scrolls.[1]
In 1969, Avigad was invited to undertake the excavation of theJewish Quarter in theOld City of Jerusalem, devastated by the 1948 war and its aftermath. Among the finds were what was believed to be the earliest depiction of themenorah that once burned in the Second Temple, cut into a wall plastered 2,200 years ago, and theBurnt House, the remnant of a building destroyed whenTitus, the futureRoman Emperor, repressed theJewish Revolt against Roman rule. This was the first physical or archaeological evidence for the destruction described in the work ofFlavius Josephus. The dig also unearthed lavish villas belonging to the Herodian upper classes, remains of the ByzantineNea (new) Church and Jerusalem'sCardo, a fifth-century 70-foot (21 m)-wide road connecting theChurch of the Holy Sepulcher and Nea Church. Among the most exciting finds was the remnants of theBroad Wall twice mentioned in theBook of Nehemiah. Built to defend Jerusalem during the reign of KingHezekiah in the late 8th century BCE, there remains an 80-foot (24 m) stretch of wall, 23 feet (7.0 m) thick, rising from bedrock west of the Temple Mount. Nearby, Avigad also unearthed theIsraelite Tower, a remnant of Jerusalem's Iron Age fortifications attesting to theBabyloniansack of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.[2]
Avigad published on many topics, notably onHebrewseals. One of the seals found by him in 1964 has been tentatively identified as belonging to Queen Jezebel, mentioned in the Bible:[3] however, this identification is contested by others.[4]According to Bible scholarFrank Moore Cross, Avigad "was Israel's most distinguished epigraphist in his generation, and one of the great figures in the history of Hebrew and Jewish epigraphy."[5]
Nahman is the father ofIsrael Prize recipientGad Avigad. Nahman and Gad are of the few father-son duos to have received the prestigious award.
A complete bibliography and a biography can be found in thefestschrift published in Avigad's honor: Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies. Vol. 18, Nahman Avigad. Eds. B. Mazar and Y. Yadin. Jerusalem, The Israel Exploration Society and the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University 1985.
