Eilat Mazar

Eilat Mazar (אילת מזר; 10 September 195625 May 2021) was an Israeli archaeologist.

She specialized in Jerusalem and Phoenician archaeology.

She was also a key person in Biblical archaeology noted for her discovery of the Large Stone Structure, which she surmised to be the palace of King David.

Eilat Mazar was born on 10 September 1956.

She was the granddaughter of pioneering Israeli archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, who served as president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the second cousin of Amihai Mazar, a professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University as well.

She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from that same institution, before joining the excavation team of Yigal Shiloh in 1981 and working there for four years.

She was granted a Doctor of Philosophy from Hebrew University in 1997.

Her thesis was written on the culture of Phoenicia, based on the excavations she undertook in Achziv.

Mazar had one daughter from her first marriage, which ended in divorce.

Her second marriage was to Yair Shoham, who was also an archaeologist.

They remained married until his death from a heart attack in 1997, at the age of 44.

Together, they had three sons.

Mazar died on 25 May 2021.

She was 64, and suffered from an unspecified long illness prior to her death.

Mazar served as a senior fellow at the Shalem Center.

She worked on the Temple Mount excavations and excavations at Achzib.

She was previously head of Shalem Center's Institute of Archaeology.

On 4 August 2005, Mazar announced she had discovered in Jerusalem what may have been the palace of the biblical King David, according to the Bible the second king of a united Kingdom of Israel, who may have ruled in the late eleventh century/early tenth century BCE.

In 2007 Mazar uncovered what she suggested was Nehemiah's wall.

In July 2008, she also found a second bulla, belonging to Gedaliah ben Pashhur, who is mentioned together with Jehucal in Jeremiah 38:1.

In her preliminary report published in 2009, Dr. Mazar recognized that this was possible, but she also explained why it is highly unlikely.

The Jebusites would not have invested the time and resources necessary to build a massive palatial structure outside their fortress city, at a time when the Israelites were growing in power and preparing to conquer the Jebusite territory.

Now referred to as the Large Stone structure, Mazar's discovery consists of a public building she dated from the 10th century BCE, a copper scroll, pottery from the same period, and a clay bulla, or inscribed seal, of Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi, an official mentioned at least twice in the Book of Jeremiah.

In 2010 Mazar announced the discovery of part of the ancient city walls around the City of David which she believed date to the tenth century BCE.

According to Mazar, "It's the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel" and "It means that at that time, the 10th century, in Jerusalem there was a regime capable of carrying out such construction."

The tenth century BCE is the period the Bible describes as the reign of King Solomon.

Not all archaeologists believe that there was a strong state at that time, and the archaeologist Aren Maeir is dubious about such claims and about Mazar's dating.

It dates to 11th–10th century BCE.

In 2012, Mazar announced the discovery of inscription at the Ophel excavation.

The Ophel inscription was made on a large storage jar, and only a piece of 8 letters has been preserved.

Several readings were suggested, as well as several attributions, possibly to Jebusites or to Hebrews.

On 9 September 2013, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced that Eilat Mazar recently discovered a gold treasure at the foot of Temple Mount, dating back to the end of the Byzantine period (beginning of the 7th century).

The identifications of the four biblical figures in these two bullae, namely, Jehucal, Shelemiah, Gedaliah, and Pashhur, are affirmed to be strong identifications in Lawrence Mykytiuk, "Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible," Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 40, issue 2 (March/April 2014), p. 47 (persons 31–34) and p. 49, with endnotes on all 50 persons, including persons 31-34, freely available online at http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically/comment-page-1/#comments.

Earlier, these four identifications had been found to be very reasonable in Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, "Corrections and Updates to 'Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E.,'" Maarav 16/1 (2009), pp. 85–100, which is freely available online at https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/129/.

The dig was sponsored by the Shalem Center and financed by an American investment banker, Baron Corso de Palenzuela Ha Levi-Kahana Mayuha.

The land is owned by the Ir David Foundation.

Amihai Mazar, a professor of archeology at Hebrew University, and Mazar's cousin, called the find "something of a miracle".

He has said that he believes that the building may be the Fortress of Zion that David is said to have captured.

Other scholars are skeptical that the foundation walls are from David's palace.

They suggest that the Large Stone Structure is a massive Jebusite building that was constructed at the end of Jebusite rule over Jerusalem.