2020/01/01 by Mordechay Lash, Y. Goldstein, Itzhaq Shai · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Ancient history #Archaeological Research and Protection #Archaeology #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Foreign policy #Government (linguistics) #History #Law #Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts #Palestine #Partition (number theory) #Political science #Politics #State (computer science) #West bank
paper · doi:10.5334/bha-650
openalex publication_date 2020/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The outcome of the 1948 war in Palestine resulted not only in the country’s partition between the state of Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan but also in the division of its archaeological research. The Jordanian Department of Antiquities, which was responsible for administering archaeological research in the West Bank until 1967, prioritized research in the East Bank over research in the West Bank as a function of broader Jordanian government policy. The bulk of the research in the West Bank during this period was conducted by foreign institutions and researchers, who were forced to choose between researching in Israel and researching in the Arab countries, including the West Bank. Those who chose to research in Israel were denied the ability to simultaneously research and excavate in the West Bank. In this way, the choice of the foreign researchers divided them, placing them on the two different sides of the ‘Green Line’. <br />The excavations in the West Bank piqued the curiosity of the Israelis, who never ceased trying to acquire information about them and their findings. These efforts included secret meetings with foreign researchers, attempts to acquire the Qumran scrolls, and the secret transfer to Israel of a few findings for the sake of secret research. For many years, part of their story remained classified in archives. It is shared here for the first time.