The Archaeology of the Holy Land

Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is the author and editor of several books, including Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus (2011), The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine (2003) and The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (2002).

• 1. Introduction; 2. The topography and early history of Jerusalem (to 586 BCE); 3. The Babylonian (586–539 BCE) and Persian (539–332 BCE) periods; 4. The early Hellenistic period (332–167 BCE); 5. The late Hellenistic (Hasmonean) period (167–40 BCE); 6. The archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls; 7. The early Roman (Herodian) period (40 BCE–70 CE): Jerusalem; 8. The early Roman (Herodian) period (40 BCE–70 CE): Caesarea Maritima, Samaria-Sebaste, Herodian Jericho, and Herodium; 9. The early Roman (Herodian) period (40 BCE–70 CE): Jesus' birth and Galilean setting; 10. The early Roman (Herodian) period (40 BCE–70 CE): Masada; 11. Ancient Jewish tombs and burial customs (to 70 CE); 12. From 70 CE to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (135/136 CE) (the Second Jewish Revolt against the Romans); 13. Aelia Capitolina (Hadrianic Jerusalem) (135 to ca. 500 CE); 14. Roman and the late antique period synagogues in Palestine; 15. The Byzantine (early Christian) period (313–640 CE): Jerusalem; 16. The Byzantine (early Christian) period (313–640 CE): Palestine under Christian rule; 17. Epilogue: early Islamic Jerusalem (638–750 CE).

'The strength of Magness' volume are fourfold: first, it is well illustrated with maps and photographs; second, descriptions of archaeological periods are concise and salient; third, the information in the sidebars is used to debunk some of the pseudo-science that is prevalent in the media and in popular culture; fourth, this textbook is written in a manner that makes the subject matter accessible to undergraduate students. For instance, her chapter summarising archaeological methods is perhaps one of the best that I have read for an introductory textbook. It is readable and her use of contemporary analogies in order to illustrate archaeological methods is excellent.' Benjamin A. Saidel, East Carolina University