Burton MacDonald (September 13, 1939 – October 20, 2022) was a Canadianbiblical archaeologist specialising in the archaeology ofJordan. He was a professor atSt. Francis Xavier University from 1965 to 2005, then a Senior Research Professor, and was made Professor Emeritus in the Religious Studies department in 2017.[1]
MacDonald was born in Témiscamingue, Quebec, and attendedSt. Francis Xavier University (St. F. X.) and graduated with a BA in philosophy in 1960. He then began studies at St. Paul's Seminary, part of theUniversity of Ottawa, where he obtained a baccalaureate in theology in 1962, a licentiate in theology in 1964, and a masters in religious education in 1965. After working as a priest and two years teaching at Xavier College (nowCape Breton University) and St. F. X., he enrolled in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literature at theCatholic University of America (CUA), where he obtained a PhD in 1974 with a dissertation on the biblicalTribe of Benjamin. In 1968, he was elected a member of theCatholic Biblical Association. He also studied at theÉcole Biblique et Archéologique Française inJerusalem between 1969 and 1971.[2]
MacDonald returned to St. F. X. in 1972 as a professor in the Department of Theology (later the Department of Religious Studies). He became afull professor in 1989 and served as the chair of the department between 1992 and 1995 and 1996 to 2000. He held the Father Edo Gatto Chair of Christian Studies in 2006.
MacDonald first became involved in archaeological fieldwork whilst studying at theÉcole Biblique, including the sites ofGezer (1970) andTell el-Hesi (1971) inIsrael. He then joined excavations led byG. Ernest Wright at Idalion,Cyprus (1971). After further work at Idalion (1974) and Tell el-Hesi (1975), he was introduced to the archaeology of Jordan as a member of theExpedition to the Dead Sea Plain, directed by Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub (1977) and theCentral Moab Survey, directed by J. Maxwell Miller (1979). He also participated in theUniversity of Toronto'sThe Wadi Tumilat Project, East Nile Delta, Tell al Maskhuta, Egypt, under the directorship of John S. Holladay (1978–1979).[3]
MacDonald directed five major field projects, focusing on theEdomite plateau in southern Jordan:
The Wadi el-Hasa Archaeological Survey (1979-1983)[4]
The Southern Ghors and Northeast `Arabah Archaeological Survey (1985-1986)[5]
The Tafila-Busayra Archaeological Survey (1999-2001)[4]
The Ayl to Ras an-Naqb Archaeological Survey (2005-2007)[6]
The Shammakh to Ayl Archaeological Survey (2010-2012)[7]
MacDonald, B.; Banning, E. B.; Clark, G. A., Majchrowicz, D. and Coinman, N. R.; Coinman, N., Clark, G. A. and Lindly, J.; Donahue, J. and Beynon, D. E., Harlan, J. R.; Betlyon, J.; King, G.; and Piccirillo, M. (1988), The Wadi el-Hasa Archaeological Survey 1979-1983, West-Central Jordan. Wildrid Laurier UniversityISBN0-88920-965-0
MacDonald, B.; `Amr, K.; Broeder, N. H.; Skinner, H. C. W.; Meyer, C.; Neeley, M. P.; Reese, D. S.; and Whitcomb, D. S. (1992), The Southern Ghors and Northeast `Arabah Archaeological Survey. Sheffield Archaeological Monographs 5. J. R. Collis, Department of Archaeology and History, University of SheffieldISBN0-906090-43-1
MacDonald, B. (1994), Ammon, Moab and Edom: Early States/Nations of Jordan in the Biblical Period (End of the 2nd and During the 1st Millennium B.C.). Al KutbaOCLC32430317
MacDonald, B., and Younker, R. (eds.) (1999), Ancient Ammon. BrillISSN0169-9024
MacDonald, B. (2000), "East of the Jordan": Territories and Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures. American Schools of Oriental ResearchISBN0-89757-031-6
MacDonald, B.; Adams, R. B.; and Bienkowski, P. (eds.) (2001), The Archaeology of Jordan. Levantine Archaeology 1. Sheffield AcademicISBN1-84127-136-5
MacDonald, B.; Herr, L. G.; Neeley, M. P.; Gagos, T.; Moumani, K.; and Rockman, M. (2004), The Tafila-Busayra Archaeological Survey 1999-2001, West-Central Jordan. Archaeological Reports 8. American Schools of Oriental ResearchISBN0-89757-066-9
MacDonald, B. (2010), Pilgrimage in Early Christian Jordan: A Literary and Archaeological Guide. OxbowISBN978-0-9774094-9-5
MacDonald, B.; Herr, L. G.; Quaintance, D. S.; Clark, G. A.; and Macdonald, M. C. A. (2012), The Ayl to Ras an-Naqab Archaeological Survey, Southern Jordan (2005-2007). Archaeological Reports 16. American Schools of Oriental ResearchISBN978-0-89757-085-5
MacDonald, B. (2015), The Southern Transjordan Edomite Plateau and the Dead Sea Rift Valley: The Bronze Age to the Islamic Period (3800/3700 BC-AD 1917). OxbowISBN978-1-78297-832-9
MacDonald, B.; Herr, L. G.; Quaintance, D. S.; Clark, G. A.; Hayajneh, H.; and Eggler, J. (2016), The Shammakh to Ayl Archaeological Survey, Southern Jordan (2010-2012). Archaeological Reports 24. American Schools of Oriental ResearchISBN978-0-89757-093-0
Neeley, M. P.; Clark, G. A.; and Daviau, P. M. M. (eds.) (2017), Walking through Jordan: Essays in Honor of Burton MacDonald. EquinoxISBN9781781792834
