Scienceמשה פראוסניץ

Moshe Prausnitz

Moshe Prausnitz was an Israeli archaeologist who specialized in prehistory and led excavations in northern Israel, including at Tel Achziv.

1922 to 1998Prehistoric archaeology in IsraelExcavations at Tel AchzivComplaint over Dayan's illegal digsEditing Mitekufat Haeven journal

Born: 8 December 1922, Berlin
Died: 1 July 1998, Jerusalem
Occupation: anthropologist, archaeologist
Education: University of Edinburgh

Moshe Prausnitz was born in 1922 in Berlin

Moshe Prausnitz was born in Berlin in 1922. In 1937 he moved with his family to Mandatory Palestine and lived on Mount Carmel in Haifa.

After World War II he studied at the University of Edinburgh. In 1953 he went to England to study under V. Gordon Childe. He earned his doctorate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his work on Neolithic flint tools was published as a book.

He worked at the Israel Antiquities Department, starting as an assistant to Shmuel Yeivin at Caesarea. His first excavation as director was at Rosh HaNikra. He later dug at Tell Abu Hawam, Shavei Tzion, Tel Achziv, Tel Kabri, Neve Yam and the Evron quarry.

In 1959, as northern district inspector, he filed a complaint against Moshe Dayan and other officers over illegal digs at Tel el-Arabi. He also edited the journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society.

He died in 1998 and was buried in Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem. He left a wife and 3 children, and his estate went to the Antiquities Authority.