Scienceאדם זרטל

Adam Zertal

Adam Zertal was an Israeli archaeologist and professor at the University of Haifa, known for the Mount Ebal site he identified as Joshua's altar.

1936 to 2015The Mount Ebal altar siteThe Manasseh Hill Country SurveyFoot-shaped enclosures in the Jordan Valley

Born: 3 December 1936, Hadera
Died: 18 October 2015, Tel Aviv
Occupation: anthropologist, archaeologist, biblical scholar, university teacher
Education: Tel Aviv University

Adam Zertal was born in 1936 in Hadera

Adam Zertal was born in Hadera in 1936 and grew up on Kibbutz Ein Shemer. His father, Moshe Zertal, was a Hashomer Hatzair leader, literary critic and editor. His younger sister is the writer and scholar Idith Zertal.

He studied economics and agriculture for the kibbutz and held key roles there. In the 1960s he wrote stories and screenplays, and a collection of his stories came out in 1969. In 1979 his Hebrew translation of Virginia Woolf's The Years was published.

In the Yom Kippur War he served as a senior engineering officer during the Suez Canal crossing and was badly wounded by an Egyptian shell. He spent about a year in the hospital, then began to study archaeology.

From 1978 he led the Manasseh Hill Country Survey, walking on crutches. He excavated at Mount Ebal, Khirbet el-Hammam and el-Ahwat, and completed his doctorate at Tel Aviv University. His view that the Mount Ebal structure was Joshua's altar was not accepted by many archaeologists.

In 2008 a book was published in his honor. He died in 2015 and was buried with his crutches.

Adam Zertal's life in 8 milestones

1936
Born in Hadera.
1969
Published a collection of his stories.
1978
Began the Manasseh Hill Country Survey.
1980
Began excavating Khirbet el-Hammam with members of his kibbutz.
1982
Began excavating the Mount Ebal site.
1992
Began excavations at el-Ahwat.
2009
Led a team that found an ancient underground quarry in the Jordan Valley.
2015
Died.

Adam Zertal served in Combat Engineering Corps

He served in the Combat Engineering Corps and, as a senior engineering officer, helped manage the Suez Canal crossing in the Yom Kippur War, where he was badly wounded.

Combat Engineering Corps