PEF ANNUALS

The Palestine Exploration Fund Annuals began in 1911 and after a gap of fifty years the series was relaunched in 2007

The Annuals are devoted to virtually all aspects of the history, archaeology, culture, ethnology, geography and geology of the Levant, especially but not exclusively research conducted or supported by the Fund and including excavation reports, major conference proceedings and monographs. Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the current Editor of the series, Dr. Daniel Reynolds, at d.k.reynolds@bham.ac.uk. PEF members are entitled to generous discounts on all Annual titles. Please contact the office for more details (execsec@pef.org.uk or admin@pef.org.uk) , and then place your order at 

 https://www.routledge.com/The-Palestine-Exploration-Fund-Annual/book-series/PEF

PEF Annual XVIII

Ancient Landscapes of Zoara II. Finds from the Surveys and Excavations at the Ghor as-Safi in Jordan, 1997 - 2018

by Konstantinos D. Politis.
With contributions by Anthony Grey, Anette M. Hansen, Louise Joyner, Kalliope I. Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou, Louise A. Martin, Rula Shafiq, Peter Edwell, Georgios A. Papaioannou, & Aliza Taft.
  • ISBN 9781032359656
  • Published December 9, 2022 by Routledge. AVAILABLE NOW
  • 350 Pages 419 B/W Illustrations
  • Ancient Landscapes of Zoara II reveals the unique set of objects discovered through the meticulous excavations at Ghor es Safi in Jordan. Some of them are unique works of art, but others are no less valuable for the information knowledge they hold. 

    Complementing the previous volume Ancient Landscapes of Zoara I, this book explores Ghor es Safi’s ancient history and archaeology through the material found during excavations. The finds are from historical periods and include previously unpublished Christian and Aramaic inscriptions as well as Arabic writing and graffiti. Newly discovered mosaic pavements are presented alongside other noteworthy finds such as glazed imported wares, local industrial pottery, fine glass, an array of coins and specialised metal work. 

    Animal and plant remains testify  to varied and rich agricultural regimes which sustained the prosperity of ancient communities. In turn, this affluence seems to have led to a fairly sophisticated and literate society in an otherwise rather desolate environment. Studies on the human remains affirm a robust population.

    Ancient Landscapes of Zoara II, as with the previous volume, is aimed at students and researchers of the archaeology of the Near East and the Southern Levant in particular. It is also of interest to readers wishing to further their understanding of the region’s medieval cultures, with a focus on material finds from archaeological excavations belonging to the Byzantine and Islamic periods. 

    Konstantinos D. Politis is an archaeologist educated in Greece, the United States, Britain and Belgium. He is well-versed on the Near East from prehistory through to the medieval periods and focuses on Late Antiquity. He has published eight books and numerous scholarly articles and has presented many lectures in Europe, the Near East, Australia, and North America. From 1986 to 2004, Dr. Politis led the Sanctuary of Lot Project for the British Museum, and from 1997 to 2018, he directed the Ghor es-Safi Project, instigating the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth. He has also headed other projects for the Greek, Jordanian, Syrian, and Omani governments, as well as the British Council, UNESCO, and USAID. Recently, he has completed seminal EU-funded research about the Ghor es-Safi at Athens and Ionian universities, now published. 

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual XVII

    Ancient Landscapes of Zoara I. Surveys and Excavations at the Ghor as-Safi in Jordan, 1997 - 2018

    by Konstantinos D. Politis
  • ISBN 9780367622800
  • Published November 30, 2020 by Routledge. 
  • 384 Pages 399 B/W Illustrations
  •  Biblical Zoara is located in the Ghor as-Safi, precisely at the lowest place on earth. Its environmental and cultural history is therefore unique. During two decades, an archaeological project was conducted which discovered many significant finds of human occupations spanning some 12,000 years. These have been meticulously studied and the results are now presented in this comprehensive volume.

    Table of Contents

    Part I Introduction

    1. Location, topography and climate Konstantinos D. Politis  

    2. Geology, geomorphology and landscape history R. Neil Munro  

    3. Historical background Konstantinos D. Politis   

    4. History of research Konstantinos D. Politis  

    5. Surveys and excavation strategies Konstantinos D. Politis   

    Part II The Pre-Pottery Neolithic periods   

    6. Introduction and discoveries Konstantinos D. Politis  

    7. Wadi Sharara excavations, 2011 Adamantios Sampson  

    8. Wadi Hamrash excavations, 2009–2011 Adamantios Sampson  

    Part III The Bronze Age periods  

    9. The Early and Middle Bronze Ages Konstantinos D. Politis  

    10. Observations on the Early Bronze Age cemetery at An-Naq‘ Eliot Braun  

    Part IV The Iron Age II period   

    11. The discovery of Tuleilat Qasr Mousa Hamid Konstantinos D. Politis  

    12. Excavations at Tuleilat Qasr Mousa Hamid, 2000 Konstantinos D. Politis and Georgios A. Papaioannou   

    13. Excavations at Tuleilat Qasr Mousa Hamid, 2015 Josephine A. Verduci  

    Part V The Late Hellenistic and Nabataean period 

    14. Introduction and regional survey Konstantinos D. Politis   

    15. Umm Tawabin excavations, 2017 and 2018 Alexandra Ariotti   

    Part VI The Early Byzantine period   

    16. Archaeology and architecture Konstantinos D. Politis  

    17. The Wadi al-Hasa hermitage Konstantinos D. Politis and Georgios A. Papaioannou   

    Part VII The Abbasid and Ayyubid-Mamluk periods

    18. Archaeology and architecture Konstantinos D. Politis   

    Part VIII The Ottoman period to modern times   

    19. The Ottoman Ghor as-Safi Konstantinos D. Politis   

    20. Ghor as-Safi and the Arab Revolt Penny Edwell   

    21. From the British Mandate to the Hashemite Kingdom Konstantinos D. Politis   

    Part IX Conclusion

    22. Conservation, heritage management and tourism development Konstantinos D. Politis

    Konstantinos D. Politis is an archaeologist educated in Greece, the United States, Britain and Belgium. He is well-versed on the Near East from prehistory through to the medieval periods and focuses on Late Antiquity.

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual XVI

    The Sisters of Nazareth Convent. A Roman-Period, Byzantine, and Crusader Site in Central Nazareth

    by Ken Dark
  • ISBN 9780367542191
  • Published September 17, 2020 by Routledge
  • 284 Pages 18 Colour & 147 B/W Illustrations
  • This book transforms archaeological knowledge of Nazareth by publishing over 80 years of archaeological work at the Sisters of Nazareth convent, including a detailed re-investigation in the early twenty-first century under the author’s direction.

    Although one of the world’s most famous places and of key importance to understanding early Christianity, Nazareth has attracted little archaeological attention. Following a chance discovery in the 1880s, the site was initially explored by the nuns of the convent themselves – one of the earliest examples of a major programme of excavations initiated and directed by women – and then for decades by Henri Senès, whose excavations (like those of the nuns) have remained almost entirely unpublished. Their work revealed a complex sequence, elucidated and dated by twenty-first century study, beginning with a partly rock-cut Early Roman-period domestic building, followed by Roman-period quarrying and burial, a well-preserved cave-church, and major surface-level Byzantine and Crusader churches. The interpretation and broader implications of each phase of activity are discussed in the context of recent studies of Roman-period, Byzantine, and later archaeology and contemporary archaeological theory, and their relationship to written accounts of Nazareth is also assessed.

    The Sisters of Nazareth Convent provides a crucial archaeological study for those wishing to understand the archaeology of Nazareth and its place in early Christianity and beyond.

    Ken Dark has a PhD in Archaeology and History from the University of Cambridge and was Director of the Research Centre for Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at the University of Reading for 15 years. Currently Associate Professor in Archaeology and History at Reading, he is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute, the author of numerous academic books and papers on archaeology and history, and has directed many archaeological excavations and surveys in Europe and the Middle East.

    PEF Annual XV

    Roman-Period and Byzantine Nazareth and its Hinterland

    by Ken Dark
    • ISBN 9780367408237
    • Published February 6, 2020 by Routledge
    • 200 Pages 32 Color & 47 B/W Illustrations

    Roman-Period and Byzantine Nazareth and its Hinterland presents a new social and economic interpretation of Roman-period and Byzantine Nazareth and its hinterland as a whole, showing the transformation of a Roman-period Jewish village into a major Byzantine Christian pilgrimage centre.

    Although Nazareth is one of the most famous places in the world, this is the first book on Roman-period and Byzantine Nazareth by a professional archaeologist, the only book to consider the archaeology of Nazareth in the context of its adjacent landscape, and the first to use contemporary archaeological methods and theory to explore Nazareth’s archaeology. Taking as his starting point a systematic survey of the valley between Nazareth and the Roman town of Sepphoris, Dark offers an interpretation of communities elsewhere in the Roman world as networks of interlocking cells, with interactions along routeways being more important in cultural and economic terms than the relationship between urban centres and their surrounding countryside. His conclusions have implications for the wider archaeology of the Roman and Byzantine worlds, as well as for archaeological theory, and demonstrate the importance of Nazareth to world archaeology.

    This unique book will be invaluable to those interested in Nazareth and its surrounding landscape, as well as to archaeologists and scholars of the Roman and Byzantine worlds

    Ken Dark has a PhD in Archaeology and History from the University of Cambridge and was Director of the Research Centre for Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at the University of Reading for 15 years. Currently Associate Professor in Archaeology and History at Reading, he is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute, the author of numerous academic books and papers on archaeology and history, and has directed many archaeological excavations and surveys in Europe and the Middle East.

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or 0207 935 5379) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual XIV

    Dolmens in the Levant

    by James A Fraser

  • ISBN 9781138551855
  • Published January 24, 2018 by Routledge
  • 394 Pages
  • When Western explorers first encountered dolmens in the Levant, they thought they had discovered the origins of a megalithic phenomenon that spread as far as the Atlantic coast. Although European dolmens are now considered an unrelated tradition, many researchers continue to approach dolmens in the Levant as part of a trans-regional phenomenon that spanned the Taurus mountains to the Arabian peninsula.

    By tightly defining the term ‘dolmen’ itself, this book brings these mysterious monuments into sharper focus. Drawing on historical, archaeological and geological sources, it is shown that dolmens in the Levant mostly concentrate in the eastern escarpment of the Jordan Rift Valley, and in the Galilean hills. They cluster near proto-urban settlements of the Early Bronze I period (3700–3000 BCE) in particular geological zones suitable for the extraction of megalithic slabs. Rather than approaching dolmens as a regional phenomenon, this book considers dolmens as part of a local burial tradition whose tomb forms varied depending on geological constraints.

    ‘Dolmens in the Levant’ is essential for anyone interested in the rise of civilisations in the ancient Middle East, and particularly those who have wondered at the origins of these enigmatic burial monuments that dominate the landscape.

    James A. Fraser was awarded his PhD at the university of Sydney, for his thesis on Levantine dolmens in 2016. He served as Project Curator for the Ancient Levant at the British Museum 2015–2017, and is now Senior Curator of the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney. He has worked on archaeolgical projects in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, Greece, Cambodia, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. He currently directs the Khirbet Ghozlan Excavation Project, investigating the production of olive oil in Jordan around 2000 BCE.

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or 0207 935 5379) with your details and we will provide you with the code. https://www.routledge.com/The-Palestine-Exploration-Fund-Annual/book-series/PEF

    PEF Annual XIII

    The Excavations of Beth Shemesh, November–December 1912

    by Duncan Mackenzie, Nicoletta Momigliano, Shlomo Bunimovitz, & Zvi Lederman

    • ISBN 9781138640740
    • Published July 18, 2016 by Routledge
    • 164 Pages

    In 1909 the Scottish archaeologist Duncan Mackenzie was appointed ‘Explorer’ of the PEF. From the spring of 1910 until December 1912 he was engaged in archaeological fieldwork in Palestine, especially directing excavation campaigns at Ain Shems (biblical Beth Shemesh) – an important site in the Shephelah of Judah at the crossroads of Canaanite, Philistine, and Israelite cultures. Because of a financial dispute with the PEF, however, he never submitted a detailed publication of his last campaign at Beth Shemesh, conducted in November-December 1912.

    In 1992 Nicoletta Momigliano rediscovered Mackenzie’s lost manuscript, which one of his nephews had kept for nearly 80 years at his old family home in the Scottish Highlands. At about the same time, Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman initiated new excavations at Beth Shemesh. This volume presents Mackenzie’s detailed discussion of his last excavations in the light of these more recent discoveries. Although written over a century ago, Mackenzie’s manuscript provides significant new information on this important site and constitutes an intriguing historical document, shedding light on the history of field archaeology and of biblical archaeology. Moreover, Mackenzie’s pioneering approach and the significance of his finds can often be better appreciated today, from the perspective of more recent developments and discoveries.

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual XII

    Villain or Visionary? R.A.S. Macalister and the Archaeology of Palestine

    edited by Samuel R. Wolff
  • ISBN 9781909662605
  • Published August 28, 2015 by Routledge
  • 200 Pages
  • R.A.S. Macalister is an important but controversial figure inthe history of Palestinian archaeology.

    This volume celebrates the cePEF Annual XII ntennial of the publication of his excavations at Tel Gezer (1912), conducted under the auspices of the PEF. This excavation was the most ambitious one of its time in the land, yielding important architectural remains and thousands of artefacts, including the well-known Gezer Calendar. The contributions of several eminent scholars reflect on the man and his work, and also report on how his work influenced the understanding of the sites he excavated in Palestine, all of which are currently being re-investigated. It is also richly illustrated with images from the PEF archives.

    Evaluations of Macalister’s work vary tremendously and are reflected here. Many learnt from him, others deplored his methods and record keeping. As one contributor puts it, ‘an industrious archaeologist but an awful excavator’, and a man who was both admired and intensely disliked: regarded as both a villain and a visionary. But it is generally agreed that he is a figure who cannot be ignored, and anyone interested in Palestinian archaeology will find a great deal to learn from this book.

     

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual XI - CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

    Tourists Travellers and Hotels in 19th Century Jerusalem

    by Shimon Gibson, Yoni Shapira, and Rupert L. Chapman III

    Jerusalem was a constant focus in the hearts and minds of all pilgrims Annual XI coverand tourists travelling to the Holy Land in the nineteenth century, but knowing exactly where they might get clean and decent accommodations on arrival was of the utmost importance.

    This volume is a study of the rise of commercial hotel keeping in Jerusalem, from the beginnings in the early 1840s, drawing extensively on travel accounts and archives, notably those of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Chapters cover modes of travel and the role of dragomen, the appearance of early guidebooks, and various other aspects of secular tourism, such as the development of travel bureaus in the Levant, notably the Thomas Cook & Son company, and the significant part that freemasonry played amongst tourism vendors.

    The book primarily provides readers with a comprehensive account of early hotels, inns and hostels in Jerusalem, and the names and personal histories of their proprietors. Special attention is given to the development of the Mediterranean Hotel which was one of the most important establishments of its kind in nineteenth-century Jerusalem, and the fascinating story of the rediscovery of its second location.

    Many travellers passed through its doors, notably the writers Herman Melville and Mark Twain, U. S. Grant, the explorer Charles Warren, and members of the Survey of Western Palestine mapping party.

    This study which includes a wide variety of pictorial archival materials, was initiated and made possible by the Shapell Manuscript Foundation.

     

    • CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    ISBN: 9781907975288

    PEF Annual X

    Mapping Jordan through Two Millennia

    by John R. Bartlett

  • ISBN 9781905981403
  • Published July 1, 2008 by Routledge
  • 175 Pages
  • This book shows how travellers and scholars since Roman times have put together their maps of the land east of the River Jordan. It traces the contribution of Roman armies and early Christian pilgrims and medieval European travellers, Crusading armies, learned scholars like Jacob Ziegler, sixteenth-century mapmakers like Mercator and Ortelius, eighteenth-century travellers and savants, and nineteenth-century biblical scholars and explorers like Robinson and Smith, culminating in the late-nineteenth century surveyors working for the Palestine Exploration Fund. This original and valuable book shows, with full illustrations, how maps of the Transjordan region developed through the centuries, and with its detailed tables and bibliography will aid future scholars in further research.

    The author took part in archaeological excavations and surveys in Jordan, was Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, has published research papers and books on ancient Jordan. John Bartlett was the editor of the Palestine Exploration Quarterly, and until recently was the Chairman of the Palestine Exploration Fund.

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual IX

    The Levant in Transition

    edited by Peter J. Parr

  • ISBN 9781904350996
  • Published February 15, 2009 by Routledge
  • 128 Pages
  • The latter part of the 3rd millennium BC witnessed severe dislocations in the social, economic and political structures of the lands at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea – the Levant. In the south, in what is now Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan, hitherto thriving urban centres disappeared, to be replaced for several centuries by smaller agricultural and pastoral settlements, with an apparently increasingly large semi-nomadic or nomadic element in the population.

    In the north – modern Syria – life in many of the earlier towns was also disrupted, but there does not seem to have been such a major break in urban traditions, and the new towns which soon replaced the old were to rise to unprecedented heights of prosperity and cultural achievement well before the end of the millennium.

    The causes of these different but related historical developments – including possible environmental changes, military activity, and ethnic movements – have long enthralled archaeologists and ancient historians. This volume contains the papers given at a conference held in 2004 at the British Museum, presenting both new evidence and new theories bearing on this transitional period. Edited by Peter J. Parr, it contains contributions by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, Rupert Chapman III, Karen Covello-Paran, Claude Doumet-Serha, Ram Gophna, Moti Haiman, Moshe Kochavi, Jessie C. Long Jr., Minna Lonnqvist, Peter J. Parr, Francis Pinnock, Kay Prag, Suzanne Richard, R.Thomas Schaub, and Jonathan N.Tubb.

     

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or 0207 935 5379) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

     

    PEF Annual VIII

    Stone Vessels in the Levant

    by Rachael Thyrza Sparks

  • ISBN 9781904350972
  • Published November 23, 2007 by Routledge
  • 506 Pages

  • Examining stone vessels in the Levant during the 2nd millennium BC, the author explores the links between material culture and society through a comprehensive study of production and distribution. Extensively illustrated with 100 drawings, maps and charts, this volume includes a full object catalogue.

    This study represents the first comprehensive overview of the stone vessel assemblagesof the Levant in this period, a time which, fed by an increase of wealth and interregional trade, saw a growth in the popularity and variety of such vessels.

    Previously, our understanding of the varied functions and forms of these diverse vessels has been relatively underdeveloped. In this volume the author attempts to address this problem by creating a typological framework though which we can analyse variability and define essential characteristics of local stone vessel workshops. Only once this has been achieved is it possible to look at stone vessel production in its wider cultural context.

    Subsequent chapters explore broader themes, beginning within the workshops themselves, examining the links between craftsmen, their sources of raw materials, and the authorities that controlled and distributed their output. Considerations of the geographical and chronological distribution of such goods are then used to provide a regional perspective for the operation of these workshops, connections between them, and further insights into the nature of local and international trade. Finally, the objects themselves can be used to assess the impact of trends such as the growing Egyptianization of the ruling classes of the Levant at this time.

     

     

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

    PEF Annual VII

    The Hellenistic Paintings of Marisa

    by David M. Jacobson

  • ISBN 9781904350989
  • Published November 23, 2007 by Routledge
  • 260 Pages
  • In early June 1902, John Peters, an American theologian, and Hermann Thiersch, a German classical scholar, were alerted to the discovery of two painted burial caves at Marisa/Beit Jibrin, less than 40 miles (62 km) by road southwest from Jerusalem. Tomb robbers had, a short time previously, forced their way into the burial chambers and caused damage to their fabric. Realising that these splendid tombs dated to about 200 BCE and the importance of their painted interiors, the two scholars immediately commissioned a leading Jerusalem photographer, Chalil Raad, to record them. This was fortunate, because the paintings on the soft limestone walls rapidly deteriorated and now can no longer be seen. Peters and Thiersch published a monograph on the painted tombs, illustrated with hand-drawn copies of the photographs, but the original plates have lain all these years in the archives of the Palestine Exploration Fund in London, unpublished.

    The paintings are unique in the Greek pictorial repertoire and are among the most important surviving examples of Ptolemaic art. The remarkable painted frieze extending along the two long sides of the main chamber of Tomb I depicts 22 different animal species, drawn from the wild fauna of the Levant, the Nile basin and the Horn of Africa – as well as a few mythical beasts. This animal frieze attests to the interest in exotic animals shown in the Hellenistic period. Other remarkable subjects represented in the Marisa paintings include Cerberus, the three-headed guard-dog of Hades, and a pair of elegant musicians in Greek dress.

    Timed to coincide with the centenary of the discovery of the painted tombs, a new study on the paintings has been produced by David Jacobson. This study appears as Annual VII of the Palestine Exploration Fund. It contains, for the first time, high quality reproductions of the photographic plates taken in 1902, which are held in the PEF collections. Reproduced with the photographs are the proofs of the coloured lithographs, which are superior in quality to the versions that were published. The inaccuracies and loss of delicate detail of the originals in the coloured lithographs used by Peters and Thiersch for their 1905 publication are clearly apparent. The accompanying text includes an analysis of all the paintings in the light of a century of scholarship and an assessment is made of their religious and cultural significance. Each of the animals in the frieze is compared with descriptions given by ancient writers, and a new interpretation is presented of the cycle as a whole. An appraisal is made of the overall contribution of the Marisa paintings to our knowledge of the art and culture of the Levant in the Ptolemaic period.

    Included with this new study is facsimile reprint of the original 1905 publication, now long out of print, and it includes superior copies of the coloured lithographs from that edition. This new publication also reproduces a very rare addenda section prepared by R.A.S. Macalister after inspecting the Marisa tombs in October of that year.

    Members of the PEF receive generous discounts on all Annuals purchased online through the above website, so to find out how to claim your discount, please contact the PEF office (admin@pef.org.uk or execsec@pef.org.uk ) with your details and we will provide you with the code.

     

    First: Original photograph (1902) and coloured lithograph of Cerberus from Tomb I at Marisa, c. 200 BC. Second: Original photograph (1902) and coloured lithograph of a rooster from Tomb I at Marisa, c. 200 BC

    PEF Annual III – No Longer Available

    The Wilderness of Zin (revised 3rd edition)

    by C. Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence

    The Wilderness of Zin was first published as the Annual of the Palestine Exploration Fund for 1914/15. It describes an incredible archaeological survey carried out as cover for a British military mapping operation in southern Palestine just before the outbreak of World War One in 1914. In the space of less than two months, the two men had traversed much of the Negeb Desert and the Wadi Arabah, recording numerous monuments from previous eras. Such was the whirlwind of war that both men were already serving with Military Intelligence in Cairo when their report was published in early 1915. It was to be the most comprehensive account of the region at the time and is still vital reading for scholars in the field. However, it is also of interest to the general reader because it gives an insight into archaeological research in the early 20th century. Finally, it is wonderfully written.

    This edition also includes much extra material, most of it from the extensive Palestine Exploration Fund archives. There are numerous unpublished letters written by Lawrence, Woolley, and the expedition leader Stewart Newcombe. Official War Office and PEF letters are also included and help to set the survey against its political background. Four book reviews of the 1935 Jonathan Cape Edition and timeline round off the supplementary material.

     

    Selected review comments from 1936 for the 2nd edition of The Wilderness of Zin, published by Jonathan Cape:

    Natal Advertiser: 
    “… an excellent work of archaeological research …. It introduces the reader to a portion of the earth that has changed little since the time of Moses.”

    New York Sun:
    “… a brilliant record of hazardous adventure …”
     

    The Montreal Gazette:
    “… admirers of T. E. Lawrence will find it a valuable addition to the ana of that strange and impressive personage.”

    The Egyptian Gazette:
    “… the quality of writing throughout is of a very high order, with the easy attractive style of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.”

    Glasgow Herald:
    “… it is an astonishingly rich harvest to have been garnered in less than seven weeks.”

    Great Britain and the East:
    “… a magnificent proof, if proof were needed, of the work of such institutions as the Palestine Exploration Fund.

    Jewish Chronicle:
    “… exquisite style and occasional flashes of unexpected humour.”

    The Guardian:
    “They really give the impression of a ‘god-forsaken’ land …. Was it ever so?”

    TITLE OUT OF PRINT

    No longer available directly. Please try sourcing a copy through a reseller.

    Price:
    For non-PEF members: £26
    For PEF members: £22.50

    ISBN: 1900988291
    Publisher: Stacey International for the Palestine Exploration Fund (revised 3rd edition), 2003
    Dimensions: 18 x 21 cm, portrait

    264 pages, 56 Plates, 58 line drawings, 2 maps, casebound

    First: T.E. Lawrence and C.L. Woolley at Carchemish, 1912. Second: Byzantine Cistern on the Darb el-Shur near Bir Birien. Dahoum is seen acting as scale (Plate VIII:1). Third: Ain Kadeis: Spring and Rivulet (Plate XI:1). This was where the American Scholar Trumbull had claimed to have found a large oasis. Woolley referred to his account as a ‘farrago of lies’ in one of the unpublished letters included in the new edition. Fourth: Roman blockhouse below Naqb el-Safa (Building A at Mezad Neqarot – on the Kurnub-Petra Road) (Plate XXXII:1).

    OTHER PEF TITLES AND RELATED Books

    These titles cover a range of topics on the history, archaeology and geography of the Levant.

    Beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem. The Archaeology and Early History of Traditional Golgotha.

    by Shimon Gibson & Joan E. Taylor

    This book collects together and reexamines records from various excavations and studies of the architecture and archaeology of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, in an attempt to clarify  numerous outstanding problems, and to shed light on the history of Christianity’s most holy site. The book brings together archival and photographic  material from the Palestine Exploration Fund, and from numerous experts with deep connections to the site, including Archibald Walls, Magen Broshi, and Sven Helms. It is an essential sourcebook for all students of Christian archaeology and architecture.  This book is available as a free download pdf and in hard copy.

    Price:

    Hard copy £10 plus postage. 

    ISBN: 01903562-53-0

    ISSN Series: 1354-5183

    Copyright The Palestine Exploration Fund and Authors

    1994, 102pp, 280 x 210mm, 46 black and white illustrations, throughout, including photographs, plans, and drawings

    Distant Views of the Holy Land

    by Felicity Cobbing & David M. Jacobson

    The Holy Land has been an enduring magnet for visitors seeking to retrace the footsteps of biblical prophets, kings and saints and to glimpse the setting of eventsDistant Views cover recorded in the Scriptures. This book offers a selection of over 350 early photographs, paintings, and drawings of the length and breadth of the Holy Land from the rich repository of images in the archives of the Palestine Exploration Fund. As these images were produced before modern development impacted on these landscapes they are an invaluable resource.The pictures are accompanied by nine maps and plans showing the locations depicted and a commentary describing the biblical context, informed by up-to-date scholarship. The book is divided into five chapters; an introduction which includes a brief account of pilgrimage to the Holy Land through the ages, followed by a series of geographical ‘tours’ through Galilee, Samaria, and Judaea and Philistia, before culminating with a focus on the two main sites of interest for the traveller: Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

    While often very beautiful in their own right, the pictures also reflect the interest and sensibilities of the photographers and those who collected them, and capture the opposing undercurrents of scientific enquiry and piety characteristic of 19th Century European society. In the case of the photographers engaged by the PEF, a striving for objectivity is strikingly evident in their work.

    Price:
    Publisher’s recommended price: £125 / $200
    Introductory offer: £81.25 / $130

    ISBN: 9781781790618 (hb)

    2014, 308pp, 275 x 210mm, 350 illustrations, including colour throughout and 7 maps and plans

    The Survey of Palestine Under the British Mandate, 1920–1948

    by Dov Gavish

    This book, which is sponsored by the PEF, is a historical study of the survey and mapping system of Palestine under the British Mandate. It traces the background and the reasoning behind the establishment of this survey project, examines the foundations of this enterprise, and attempts to understand the motivation of those who carried it out. The author, Dr. Dov Gavish, is an expert on Cartographic History at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

    Dr. Gavish shows that the survey system under the British Mandate was established with the objective of surveying and mapping Palestine, as demanded by the Zionist Organisation, in order to implement legally binding land settlement and registration of tenure rights and to establish the distribution of land ownership. The land issue was at the core concern of the mapping activity, and it remains as a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

    This study will be of interest to historians of cartography and land surveys, historians of the British mandate period, the Arab-Israel conflict, experts in Land Law, and those of British colonial administration. With the material being presented in an accessible form, with basic concepts clearly explained, Dr. Gavish’s book should also appeal to students of historical geography, cartography, and political science. It is published by Routledge Curzon, under the aegis of the PEF.

    To see the maps mentioned in the text in colour, and download them, go to this website.

    Price:
    Price for non-members: £60
    Price for PEF members: £50 (all profits donated to the PEF)

    • To order please contact: 
      The Financial Assistant
      Palestine Exploration Fund
      2 Hinde Mews
      Marylebone Lane
      LONDON
      W1U 2AA
      Tel: +44-(0)20-7935-5379
      Fax: +44-(0)120-7486-7438
      E-mail: admin@pef.org.uk

    Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005
    ISBN-10: 0714656518
    ISBN-13: 978-0714656519
    Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 2.5cm

    264 pages, hardback

    First: Measurement taken from point 2M of the Palestine Major triangulation base line, Imara lands 1925 (Source: J.H. Mankin photo collection in PEF Archives, London). Second: The Major Triangulation system in Palestine at the end of World War II, 31 December 1946 (Source: Pal. Govt., Annual Reports of Director of Surveys, 1940-1946, Map 3). Third: Leveling survey in the Kabara swamps, 1925 (Source: Photo by Z. Oron-Oroshkes, CZA Subjects/102). Fourth: School for Arab surveyors at Nazareth, 1945 (Source: J. Loxton, Taunton, England). Fifth: Base lines of two triangulation nets in the lands of Samakh, Deganya A and Deganya B, 22 December 1924 (Source: Field Book of J.H. Mankin, 24 December 1924, Letter T/4/184, SoI/C/14, Tel Aviv). Sixth: 1:2,000 Map of Jerusalem, section of Sheet VII-D (Source: ML, Jerusalem).