Advisor: Prof. Nigel Goring-Morris

Numismatic expertise for archaeological excavations from academic institutions in Israel

• Herodium (Prof. E. Netzer
• Cypros (Prof. E. Netzer)
• Dir 'Aziz (Dr. H. Ben Daviv)
• The Twins Cave (Dr. B. Zisso)
• H. Jomjom (E. Mair)

Advisor: Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat

My M.A. thesis focuses on the architectural decoration found at Herodium, the first century BCE palace of king Herod and on the sources of cultural influence, which can be inferred from the analysis and the context of the architectural elements at the site. At the focal point of my research stands the architectural decorative assemblage which was revealed in the mountain palace-fortress. Those items, the vast majority of which has never been scientifically analysed, are presented in detail and several aspects are examined, such as the stone types and the carving techniques, typology and their archaeological and architectural context. My methodology includes an on-site 3D-scanning and following computational analyses, together with more traditional research methods. The long-run excavation project at Herodium has identified several construction phases at the site, which can be aligned in a relative stratigraphy. Thus, examining the architectural items in their archaeological context helps us trace stylistic changes in the decoration that stretches across a chronological scale, and to identify accordingly trends of progress and development in Herod’s building program. Additionally, the project seeks to suggest a reconstruction for some of the architectural units and their decoration at the site. This reconstruction will help in understanding the architectural characteristics of Herodium in particular and King Herod’s architecture in general. Equipped with such knowledge, many unsolved questions that the sheer architectural plan cannot answer, might be addressed, such as: which architectural units had the most elaborate decoration? How did the upper parts of the towers look like? etc.

Advisor: Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat

Abstract: Graffiti, i.e. texts and/or images that are engraved or painted by people who are not professional artists in public or private environments, buildings, objects, and natural sites, are nowadays viewed as an act of vandalism. In antiquity, however, graffiti was considered a legitimate tool for expressing ideas, messages, or attitudes of the makers of the graffiti. The study examines the appearance of graffiti in the region of Jerusalem and its environs during the Hellenistic and Roman periods (second century BCE to the fourth century CE), relying on the approach of anthropology of art, which is sub-field within Social Anthropology, that considers every work of art, even the most simple and ordinary ones, as a meaningful creation. The graffiti will be also examined in its environmental–architectural context, since graffiti should be seen as an active intervention of the person in his environment. The purpose of this study is to study both cultural differences between different ethnic groups and changes in their use of this medium over time.

Abstract:

In my doctoral research I aim to develop methods for analyzing archeological engraving techniques through studying the "Chariots" engraving at the Timna site.

The goal of the study is to formulate criteria paving the way for characterizing the engraving techniques used in ancient times. This will be done by clarifying the methods, tools and skills required for making specific rock engravings. The study will couple examining the creative process with digital analysis methods.  This will be accomplished by understanding the way in which the localized craft technology including skills, techniques and material conceptions can be used as a research tool in the effort to examine, analyse and decode archaeological findings.

• Presidential stipend 2017-2018 at Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities

Biography:

Lena Dubinsky studied ceramic design at Bezazel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. Upon graduation, she opened her own design studio.  She shortly returned to Bezalel as an instructor, where she still teaches.  While lecturing at Bezalel, she earned a master's degree with honors at Tel Aviv University.  Her thesis discussed the aesthetic and political implications of city plans developed by the Jerusalem Committee formed to modernize architecture and municipal design in Jerusalem after 1967. Additionally, she curates exhibitions concerning craft in the modern world, and is included in international exhibitions and collections.

Publications:

• "העשייה והתעשייה: המקרה של מפעלי הפורצלן באירופה בראשית המאה ה-21", בתוך: 'מחשבות על קראפט', עורכים: ערן ארליך, אורי ברטל, ראובן זהבי, הוצאת רסלינג: ירושלים, 2015.

• "תהליכי ייצור בכבישה יבשה ויישומם בתעשיית האריחים: סיור במפעל נגב", '1280ºC' כתב עת לתרבות חומרית, חורף 2011.

• "רב שיח: קראפט, עיצוב וטכנולוגיה" בשיתוף עם פרופ' גד צ'רני, עינת לידר, הדס רוזנברג-ניר, טל גור, דב גנשרוא ושלומית באומן, קטלוג תערוכת "עיצוב קרמי: כלים טכנולוגיים", מוזיאון ארץ ישראל, תל אביב, 2011.

Topic of research (m.a.): Provenance of mosaic tessera from the Classical periods in Israel

Advisors: Prof. Zeev Weiss, Prof. Naomi Porat (Geological Survey of Israel)

Research Summery:

Much has been written about mosaics from an artistic and iconographic point of view. I would like to look at mosaics from a geological point of view: from finding out what kind of stone was used, I shall try to understand where the stone was brought from, and learn through that how much effort and money was put into the building. In my research I will compare the tessera from various mosaics whether synagogue floors, church floors or other buildings from the Roman and Byzantine periods.   

Areas of interest:

• Geoarchaeology- archaeological research using geological tools.
• The classical periods

Projects:

• Research on the provenance of mosaic tesssera
• Taking part in a paleomagnetic research project, headed by Dr. Ron Shaar- reconstructing earth's magnetic field in the past, based on archaeological material which has been heated.
• Sepphoris excavation team

Advisor: Prof. Nigel Goring-Morris

Research summary: Evidence for the existence of complex symbolic behavior in Levantine Mousterian Levant contexts, or before the Upper Paleolithic, is still today under hard scrutiny. This is also the case for other regions in the Old World. In various archaeological sites both in Africa and Eurasia, ochre fragments and examples of their application have been recovered on various archaeological artifacts. The use of ochre as source of pigments is associated with the emergence of complex symbolic behaviors in the antiquity of mankind, which are related to the evolution of the modern mind, and even language. It is traditionally believed these characteristics originated exclusively in Africa in the context of the emergence of Homo sapiens quickly spread to the rest of the world with the territorial replacement of Homo neanderthalensis by our own species.

The aim of this project is to explore evidence for the existence of symbolic behavior in the Levant linked to the use of pigments and its exploitation methods, long before the so-called Upper Paleolithic revolution and general, massive spread of Homo sapiens out of Africa.

Areas of interest: Symbolic behavior in Middle Paleolithic; cultural paleoanthropology; evolution of human cognition. Projects: Tinshemet cave excavations, since 2020 (Tinshemet Cave Project).

Education: BA in Anthropology and Human Evolution, Rovira i Virgili University (Catalonia, Spain). Papers: researchgate.net

PhD Thesis topic: Technology and style in Prehistoric Architecture

Advisor: Prof. Leore Grosman

Abstract: The development of durable stone structures within the context of incipient villages in the late Epipalaeolithic unto the early Neolithic is a major innovation, as they are the physical manifestations of developing group dynamics and changes in human-environment relationships. Changes in the physical characteristics of structures, new building materials and methods reflect changes in the social dynamics and usage of the landscape, alongside the ‘invention’ and developments of technical knowledge. The large-scale building efforts go hand-in-hand with other massive cultural and economic shifts – mainly the settling of substantial, sedentary villages and the gradual domestication of plants and animals. These early structures echo another domestication process, that of the landscape, and the increase and sophistication in the utilization of natural resources.

Many structures have been excavated and described throughout the Levant, and many studies have attempted to infer social structure and dynamics. Yet there is a paucity of studies concerning a more direct approach to the analysis of structures, the materials of which they are made, how they were built, and their role in understanding long-term neolithization processes.

This project aims to address several key-questions regarding the architectural remains of the Natufian culture and the early Neolithic in the southern Levant. I aim to investigate several aspects of construction such as building techniques, roofing methods and the advent of building materials (such as the early employment of mud and lime-plaster), as well as stylistic choices involved in the construction of prehistoric buildings. These issues will be addressed with a novel set of tools, both computational and micromorphological. Computational tools include GIS and new tools developed at the Computational Archaeology Laboratory at the Hebrew University. Micromorphological tools include phytolith, chemical and micromorphological analyses of sections and materials. This combination of tools is unique and has yet to be employed to better study the role of architecture and built environments in the development of sedentary villages.

My research endeavors to expand the understanding of this important transition in human history, from hunter-gatherers to the sedentary village life of the Neolithic populations, and to develop a comprehensive set of tools that will be widely applicable to the analysis of architectural remains.

Research Interests:

• Burial customs and ritual practice in Prehistory
• Landscape archaeology and spatial analysis
• Origins of agriculture
• Architectural style and technology
• The Natufian Culture and Early Neolithic of the Levant
• Computational applications in archaeology

Projects:

• Nahal Ein Gev II Excavation Project since - research assistant – since 2015.
• Hilazon Tachtit Cave project digitization and documentation – research assistant – since 2014.
• Computational Archaeology Laboratory - research assistant – since 2017.

Publications:

• Goldgeier, H., Munro, N.D., & Grosman, L. 2019. Remembering a Sacred Place – The Depositional History of Hilazon Tachtit, a Natufian Burial Cave. Journal of Anthropological Anthropology 56:1-9.
• Birkenfeld, M., Kolska Horwitz, L., Bar-Yosef Mayer, D., Cummings, L.S., Goldgeier, H., Krakovsky, M., Natalio, F., Nebenhaus, K., Neumann, F., Porat, N., Scott, L., Simmons, L., Yashuv, T. & U. Avner. 2019. Investigations at Naḥal Roded 110 - a Late Neolithic ritual site in the Southern Negev. Antiquity 93(367).
• Grosman, L., D. Shaham, F. Valletta, I. Abadi, H. Goldgeier, N. Klein, L. Dubreuil & N.D. Munro. 2017. A Human Face Carved on a pebble from the Late Natufian Site of Nahal Ein Gev II. Antiquity 91(38).