Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East

Shmuel Ahituv
- ahituvbgu.acil
- Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East - Emeritus Full Professor
Person: Retired
19862021
Michal Birkenfeld
- birkemicbgu.acil
- Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East - Senior Lecturer
- The Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change - Member
Person: Academic
20082025
Peter Fabian
- fabianbgu.acil
- Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East - Retired Senior Lecturer
Person: Retired
19832024

A tale of two agricultural revolutions: crop introductions in the long 1st millennium ce southern Levant
Hansen, A. M., Heinrich, F., Langgut, D., Weiss, E. & Fuks, D., 1 Jan 2026, In: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 35, 1, p. 157-180 24 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Open Access
1 Scopus citations
Contextualizing the Early Upper Paleolithic in the Negev Desert, southern Levant: Chronologies, lithic technologies, and paleoenvironments of the Boker sites
Barzilai, O., Weiner, S., Avni, Y., Caracuta, V., Edeltin, L., Porat, N. & Boaretto, E., 1 Jan 2026, In: Journal of Human Evolution. 210, 103783.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Scopus citations
Moving plants: introduction to the special issue on crop diffusion across the Middle East and Mediterranean in the 1st millennium ce
Fuks, D., Schmidt, F. & Payne, N., 1 Jan 2026, In: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 35, 1, p. 1-9 9 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial

Open Access

Alon Fellowship
Kleiman, A. (Recipient), 2022
Prize
Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize
Kleiman, A. (Recipient), 2019
Prize
The Routledge Philip R. Davies Early Career Publication Award (Runner-up)
Kleiman, A. (Recipient), 2021
Prize

The Early Bronze Age III in Nahal Lachish A New Perspective: From Countryside to The City
Mizrahi, A. S. (Author), Paz, Y. (Supervisor) & Yekutieli, Y. (Supervisor), 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
The Chalcolithic Period in the Shephelah, Israel (4500?3800 BCE): Material Culture, Settlement Dynamics and Social Organization
Ben-Ari, N. (Author), Gilead, I. (Supervisor) & Marder, O. (Supervisor), 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
Urbanization of the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age IB and its Manifestation at the Site of 'En Esur
Elad, I. (Author), Paz, Y. (Supervisor) & Yekutieli, Y. (Supervisor), 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Turns Out Our Ancestors Were Artists 60,000 Years Before Cave Paintings
Marder, O.
23/03/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
Strange Ancient Burials Found in Southern Israel
Lehmann, G.
30/03/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media

BGU Digital Archaeology Research Lab [BGU_DARC]
Birkenfeld, M. (PI)
Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East
Equipment/facility: lab
The Stephen and David Breslauer Archaeological Laboratory
Lehmann, G. (PI)
Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East
Equipment/facility: lab

Copper isotope fractionation during prehistoric smelting of copper sulfides: experimental and analytical data
Rose, T. (Creator), Klein, S. (Creator), Hanning, E. K. (Creator), Rose, T. (Contributor), Rose, T. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Hanning, E. K. (Contributor), Hanning, E. K. (Contributor), Bode, M. (Contributor), Sessing, J. (Contributor), Kutz, R. (Contributor), Seitz, H.-M. (Contributor), Herdick, M. (Contributor), Mayen, L. F. E. A. O. T. R. S. E. (Contributor), Bochum, G. M. M. S. P. (Contributor) & Frankfurt, F. C. I. A. (Contributor), GFZ Data Services, 6 Mar 2020
DOI: 10.5880/fidgeo.2020.013, http://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de/panmetaworks/showshort.php?id=escidoc:5070893
Dataset
Additional file 1 of First evidence for alloying practices in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant (4500–3800 BCE) as revealed by metallography
Rose, T. (Creator), Natali, S. (Creator), Brotzu, A. (Creator), Bar, S. (Creator) & Goren, Y. (Creator), figshare, 2024
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.26615413.v1, https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Additional_file_1_of_First_evidence_for_alloying_practices_in_the_Chalcolithic_Southern_Levant_4500_3800_BCE_as_revealed_by_metallography/26615413/1
Dataset
GlobaLID – Global Lead Isotope Database
Westner, K. J. (Creator), Rose, T. (Creator), Klein, S. (Creator), Hsu, Y.-K. (Creator), Westner, K. J. (Contributor), Westner, K. J. (Contributor), Westner, K. J. (Contributor), Rose, T. (Contributor), Rose, T. (Contributor), Rose, T. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Klein, S. (Contributor), Hsu, Y.-K. (Contributor), Hsu, Y.-K. (Contributor), Nezafati, N. (Contributor) & Team, G. C. (Contributor), GFZ Data Services, 2021
DOI: 10.5880/fidgeo.2021.031, https://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de/panmetaworks/showshort.php?id=37ba6697-155b-11ec-9603-497c92695674
Dataset

10 Active
29 Finished

Renaissance Brass Casting: Innsbruck´s Schwarze Mander
Mödlinger, M. M. (PI), Zajic, A. A. (CoPI), Stagl, A. A. (CoPI), Martina, G. G. (CoPI), Goren, Y. (CoPI), Negri, M. M. (CoPI), Ramírez Barat, B. B. (CoPI) & Pinedo, K. C. O. D. K. C. O. D. (CoPI)
Austrian Science Fund
1/07/25 → 30/06/28
Project: Research
The Oral Dimensions and Aspects of performance of Ugaritic Religious-Poetic Texts
Natan-yulzary, S. S. (PI) & Yona, S. (CoPI)
Israel Science Foundation
1/01/25 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
Cultural Dynamics and Paleoenvironments of the Marginal Mediterranean during the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary – View from the northeastern Negev and Judean Desert
Marder, O. (PI)
Israel Science Foundation
1/01/24 → 31/12/28
Project: Research

Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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Shmuel Ahituv

Michal Birkenfeld

Peter Fabian

A tale of two agricultural revolutions: crop introductions in the long 1st millennium ce southern Levant

Contextualizing the Early Upper Paleolithic in the Negev Desert, southern Levant: Chronologies, lithic technologies, and paleoenvironments of the Boker sites

Moving plants: introduction to the special issue on crop diffusion across the Middle East and Mediterranean in the 1st millennium ce

Alon Fellowship

Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize

The Routledge Philip R. Davies Early Career Publication Award (Runner-up)

The Early Bronze Age III in Nahal Lachish A New Perspective: From Countryside to The City

The Chalcolithic Period in the Shephelah, Israel (4500?3800 BCE): Material Culture, Settlement Dynamics and Social Organization

Urbanization of the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age IB and its Manifestation at the Site of 'En Esur

Turns Out Our Ancestors Were Artists 60,000 Years Before Cave Paintings

Strange Ancient Burials Found in Southern Israel

BGU Digital Archaeology Research Lab [BGU_DARC]

The Stephen and David Breslauer Archaeological Laboratory

Copper isotope fractionation during prehistoric smelting of copper sulfides: experimental and analytical data

Additional file 1 of First evidence for alloying practices in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant (4500–3800 BCE) as revealed by metallography

GlobaLID – Global Lead Isotope Database

Renaissance Brass Casting: Innsbruck´s Schwarze Mander

The Oral Dimensions and Aspects of performance of Ugaritic Religious-Poetic Texts

Cultural Dynamics and Paleoenvironments of the Marginal Mediterranean during the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary – View from the northeastern Negev and Judean Desert

Department of Bible Studies, Archeology and the Ancient Near East

Fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Profiles

Research output

Prizes

Student theses

Press/Media

Equipment

Datasets

Projects