One of the most interesting Israeli archaeologists you could meet is Gabriel Barkay. His archaeological career spans the history of modern Israel. As a Jew born in the Hungarian ghetto, he was within a week of being sent to a Nazi death camp.
Instead, he survived the war and emigrated to the fledgling state of Israel at the age of six. Growing up in Jerusalem with an enthusiasm for archaeology, Barkay’s knowledge of the history of the city is second to none. He became a specialist in ancient burial practices and discovered many of the Biblical period tombs around Jerusalem. Barkay carried out an archaeological survey of the famous ‘Garden Tomb’ (dating it to the eighth or seventh century BC).
Barkay has also excavated at Lachish, Megiddo and even in Iran. He is a very humorous and sharp-witted Israeli, with a good reputation across scholarship. I interview him in my own Sifting the Evidence film on YouTube. At that time we spoke together at the remarkable Temple Mount Sifting Project where important debris (dumped by the Muslim authorities who administer the Temple area) is being sorted and preserved.
