Unlike the common practice both in the Greco-Roman West and in the Parthian East, to accord the gods a human form, the Nabateans represented their gods in the form of stelae. A systematic survey of Nabatean art indicates that the negation of figurative representation is also evident in all other domains of their creativity, such as rock-carved facades of tombs, painted pottery, oil lamps, coins and jewelry. The archaeological artifacts, inscriptions and literary sources described and discussed in this book reveal a fascinating cultural and religious phenomenon unique within the surrounding milieu and surprisingly in its persistence and durability. This phenomenon should interest not only the student of Nabatean culture as its implications transcends the boundaries of the time and space in which it appeared and are valid for the study of both ancient religions and history of art.

A digital version of this book is available here This volume presents a small selection of publications by the late Professor Michael Avi–Yonah, some of which are out of print or otherwise difficult to obtain. The articles chosen from Avi -Yonah's more than 400 publications deal with various aspects of art in ancient Palestine, a subject with which Avi-Yonah was much concerned throughout his life. One of the problems that occupied a central place in his studies was the effect of the meeting of occidental and oriental cultures after the conquest of the East by Hellenism, and this interest is reflected in the first group of publications collected here. Others deal with specific objects (e.g., the Leda sarcophagus) or present the whole range of artistic expression in one medium, as recovered from the past through archaeology (e.g; mosaic pavements.) Also included are three articles (in French) on certain problems concerning mosaic pavements, in particular those of synagogues; up to now it has been difficult to obtain these, as they are based on lectures given at international congresses. A number of illustrations which will appeal to the reader has been added to the plates of photographs published with the original articles and a general index appended.

This is a final report on excavations carried out by the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem during the years 1949-1952 at the Neolithic site in the Yarmuk River terrace near Kibbutz Sha'ar Hagolan. Includes 75 Plates

The expedition to Hazor in the mid-1950s under Yigal Yadin was the most important archaeological excavation undertaken by Israel in its early years of statehood. It is the largest archaeological site in northern Israel, featuring an upper tell of 30 acres and a lower city of more than 175 acres.In 2005, the remains of Hazor were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the Biblical Tels - Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba. Yigael Yadin, one of the earliest archaeologists to work on the site, saw certain features as clearly being Omride; Megiddo, Gezer, and Hazor, all feature deep rock cut pits, from the base of which were rock cut tunnels leading to a well that reached the water table, as water-supply systems, which Yadin attributed to the rule of Ahab; Yadin also attributed to Ahab a citadel, measuring 25 x 21 m, with two-meter thick walls, which was erected in the western part of Hazor. However, Yadin's dating was based on the assumption that the layer connected with the gates and administration buildings were built by Solomon. The chief architetect of the excavation was Dunayevsky and his drawings decorate this book. + 365 plates