Ehud Netzer

Ehud Netzer (; 13 May 1934 – 28 October 2010 ) was an Israeli architect, archaeologist and educator, known for his extensive excavations at Herodium, where in 2007 he found and identified the tomb of Herod the Great; and the discovery of a structure defined by Netzer as a synagogue, which, if true would be the oldest one ever found (the "Wadi Qelt Synagogue").

Netzer served as a professor at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He was a world-renowned expert on Herodian architecture. Netzer worked at Masada with Yigael Yadin, and later completed the official excavation report for the site. He later led teams of archaeologists like Rachel Chachy, who did important fieldwork at the Herodian palace at Jericho. At Herodium, in the desert near Bethlehem and south of Jerusalem, for more than three decades, Netzer oversaw extensive excavations focusing on remains at the foot and on the sides of the partially artificial mountain.

Biography Ehud Netzer was born in Jerusalem in 1934 to Israeli educators Joseph and Puah Menczel. Netzer was reported to have changed his surname from Menczel to Netzer because of the complexity and recurring mistakes in spelling his name in the Hebrew language as well as in English. He graduated with a degree in architecture from the Technion in 1958. As an undergraduate, Netzer would spend his summer vacation in excavations of the noted archaeologist Yigael Yadin. He later obtained a Ph.D. in the field of archaeology from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He became a professor at the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University. Netzer was eventually recognized as the world's foremost authority on Herodian architecture.

Archaeological and architectural career Netzer initiated and directed excavations at several building projects of Herod the Great, the ancient king of Judea. In the mid-1960s, Netzer was co-architect, together with I. Dunayevsky, of the excavations at Masada, directed by Professor Yigael Yadin. After Yadin's death, Netzer completed the final excavation report The Buildings, Stratigraphy and Architecture of Masada. Later, Netzer directed the restoration of the Masada site on behalf of Israel's National Parks Authority.

In 1968, Netzer initiated and directed large-scale excavations at the site of Herod's winter palace at Jericho.

In 1972, he began excavating at the huge palace complex of Herodium, located in the desert outside Bethlehem. His first phase of work continued to 1987, as he excavated palace structures. He returned to the dig from 1997–2000, and again from 2000–2010. The ancient Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius, had written that Herod's tomb was located at his fortified palace of Herodium. According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features. an opinion which by now has become generally accepted.

Jericho Netzer excavated at Jericho from 1973, and continued working there over the next decade.

Private life; death He married Devora and they had four children, all of whom live in Israel: Chana, Ruti, Yael and Yossef.

On 25 October 2010, Netzer fell and was seriously injured when a railing gave way at the dig at Herodium. He died of his injuries three days later at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.

Between February 2013 and January 2014, the Israel Museum hosted the exhibition Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey in memory of Netzer.

Published works The architecture of Herod, the great builder, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2006 (Texts and studies in ancient Judaism, Bd. 117) The Hebrew University excavations at Sepphoris during the years 1992-1996. Qadmoniot. No. 113, pp 2–21, 1997 "Architectural development of Sepphoris during the Roman and Byzantine Periods", in: Archaeology and the Galilee: Texts and Contexts. pp. 117–130, 1997 Promise and Redemption: A Synagogue Mosaic from Sepphoris, Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 44 pp., 1996 "New evidence for Late Roman and Byzantine Sepphoris", in: The Roman and Byzantine Near East: Recent Archaeological. 1995, pp 162–176 Zippori, Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 71 pp., 1994 "Byzantine mosaics at Sepphoris: New finds", Israel Museum Journal. No. 10, pp 75–80, 1992