Yizhar Hirschfeld

Who was Yizhar Hirschfeld?

Yizhar Hirschfeld was an Israeli archaeologist studying Greco-Roman and Byzantine archaeology. He was an associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and director of excavations at a number of sites around Israel, including Ramat Hanadiv, Tiberias, and Khirbet ed-Deir. He also published a book on the archaeology of Qumran in which he proposed an assessment of the site that was contrary to prevailing views.

Professor Hirschfeld was born at Kibbutz Beth Keshet in Israel in 1950. He was already working on an excavation site in 1974 at Emmaus where he acted as excavation and survey director. From 1984 to 1987 he directed digs at Ramat HaNadiv. He received his doctorate at the Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology in 1987 and the following year he was awarded a Rothschild fellowship. He returned to Ramat Hanadiv in 1989, the year he also started work on excavations at Tiberias. In 1998 he was appointed as associate professor at the Hebrew University.

From 1996-2002 Hirschfeld directed excavations at a site on a terrace overlooking Ein Gedi, which consisted of a series of small dwellings. His analysis led him to conclude that "[a]ll features of the site--its location above Ein Gedi, simplicity, and unique nature--conform to Pliny the Elder's famous passage on the Essenes". His proposal on the site has found little acceptance among archaeologists.