EILAT MAZAR -QUEEN OF JERUSALEM ARCHAEOLOGY

THE STORY BEHIND THE SHIRT

Eilat Mazar (Hebrew: אילת מזר; 10 September 1956 – 25 May 2021) was an Israeli archaeologist. She specialized in Jerusalem and Phoenician archaeology. She was also a key person in Biblical archaeology noted for her discovery of the Large Stone Structure, which she surmised to be the palace of King David.

Eilat Mazar was born on 10 September 1956.^[1] She was the granddaughter of pioneering Israeli archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, who served as president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.^[2] She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from that same institution, before joining the excavation team of Yigal Shiloh in 1981 and working there for four years.^[3] She was granted a Doctor of Philosophy from Hebrew University in 1997.^[4] Her thesis was written on the culture of Phoenicia, based on the excavations she undertook in Achziv.

Mazar was a biblical maximalist and, according to herself, "I work with the Bible in one hand and the tools of excavation in the other, and I try to consider everything."  Her discoveries include:

The Large Stone Structure ("King David's palace"),

Nehemiah's wall 

Solomonic gate and tower

Ophel inscription

Ophel gold hoard

Bulla of Hezekiah

Bulla of Isaiah

Mazar died on 25 May 2021. She was 64, and suffered from an unspecified long illness prior to her death. [WIKIPEDIA]