Monday, 19th January 2009
Dr David Milson (Oriental Institute, University of Oxford)
A MODERN HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE: 150 YEARS OF RESEARCH
The institution known as the synagogue has been the bedrock of Jewish communities from a time even before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, 2,000 years ago. With its many functions, including, but not limited to: reading and teaching of the Law, civil administration, communal meals and hostels for visitors, it became a central place to Jews the world over, as it still remains today.
Our modern understanding of its early development, though, has been coloured with pre-conceived ideas and a less-than-hoped-for appreciation for archaeological evidence. The scholars involved in bringing this material to light, such as the American Edward Robinson, the Frenchman Ernest Renan, the Englishmen who made the first survey of Palestine such as Claude Conder and Horatio Kitchener, or the Israelis too many to mention, all put their special mark on modern research.
This lecture will trace that path, to demonstrate how our present 'ecumenical' view of the ancient synagogue has been shaped by both historical ideas and modern politics.
Dr Milson received his doctorate from Oxford University in 2002. He taught for six years in Israel and worked as a researcher at the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology at Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem. He was the surveyor for the renewed excavations in the City of David, Jerusalem, with Eilat Mazar, and worked on various excavations, among them Tel Dan. He has published a book on the ancient synagogue and early churches, as well as numerous articles on Late Antique and Bronze Age architecture. David now works for Archaeopress, a small publishing house in Oxford specializing in archaeology books.
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