Amihai Mazar

Amihai Mazar was born in 1942 in Haifa

Amihai Mazar was born in Haifa on November 19, 1942. His father Hanoch was the brother of archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, and he is a cousin of archaeologist Eilat Mazar. He attended the Hebrew Reali School and joined digs at Beit She'arim, Ramat Rachel and Ein Gedi as a youth.

After his army service, he began studying archaeology and Jewish history at the Hebrew University in 1963. He earned his BA in 1966, his MA in 1972 and his doctorate in 1977. His doctorate dealt with the temples of Tell Qasile and was supervised by Yigael Yadin and Trude Dothan.

In 1968 he led his first excavation project and surveyed the ancient aqueducts of Jerusalem. He later directed digs at Timnah (Tel Batash), the Bull Site, Bet She'an and Tel Rehov, where he found 30 intact beehives from about 900 BCE. He helped bring radiocarbon dating into common use at Levantine sites.

He began teaching in 1977 and became a full professor at the Hebrew University in 1994, holding the Eleazar Sukenik Chair. His work shaped the Modified Conventional Chronology for the Iron Age, and his book Archaeology of the Land of the Bible is used as a university textbook. He is married with 3 children and lives in Jerusalem.