Just Past?

During the last decade substantive changes have occurred in the way that archaeology is conducted in the 'Holy Land' as indeed throughout the Near East but one thing never seems to change: archaeology in Israel/Palestine always takes on a political dimension.This book tells the story of the creation of Israeli Archaeology in the 1950s and early 1960s. Unlike other books on the archaeology of the 'holy-land', it isn't just a chronological parade of important excavations and nice finds, but a history of intrigues, budgets, failures and, above all, dreams. The book is based on documentary material, often from obscure periodicals in Hebrew, as well as thousands of original documents never published before. It is the first large scale publication using preliminary archival material about Israeli archaeology. It is also an independent study that reflects the author's personal views.