1960s–1980s, however, ranging from Paleolithic to Islamic, from north to south, and including the Israeli-occupied territories as well. In addition, the first systematic surveys were carried out in the latter regions, especially by younger archaeologists of the third generation, many of them from the Tel Aviv Institute of Archaeology carrying out the emphasis of their mentor, Aharoni, concerning regional archaeology. Particularly noteworthy were the intensive surveys of the Galilee (Z. Gal and Y. Frankel), of the Samaria region (A. Zertal and I. Finkelstein), the Judean highlands (A. Ofer), and the Sinai (E. Oren, Y. Beit-Arieh, and others). In Israel proper, surveys along the Mediterranean coast continued (R. Gophna and others), and there were very extensive surveys in the Negev (R. Cohen, M. Heimann, Y. Dagan, and others).

Classical archaeology was not neglected in the 1960s–1980s as there was a revival of interest in synagogues and Jewish settlements, with excavations by both local and foreign archaeologists. Other classical and later period sites included sites in the Golan Heights, Caesarea, Herodian, Jericho, and the Herodium, and several Byzantine sites in the Negev as well as early Christian monasteries and churches. Underwater and coastal archaeology also began in earnest, especially under the aegis of the Center for Maritime Studies of Haifa University. Finally, prehistoric sites were not overlooked; indeed research burgeoned.

In the 1990s, the Israeli school matured and several newer or intesified emphrases developed:

  1. 1.  In 1989, the old Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Education and Culture was transformed into an independent body, the Israel Antiquities Authority, which has some 200 employees, and greatly expanded resources and responsibilities. It continues to publish the serial Antigot in both Hebrew and other languages as well as Excavations and Surveys in Israel and other materials.
  2. 2.  More modern stratigraphic methods, hotly debated in the 1970s and even into the 1980s, were now taken for granted by a younger generation of archaeologists.
  3. 3.  Some of the underlying socioanthropological theory and the emphasis on quantitative methods, advocated by “the new archaeology” of the 1970s–1980s in America, was finally adopted in Israel, although very selectively.
  4. 4.  New large-scale projects were undertaken, often with subsidies from the Antiquities Authority designed to restore and develop key sites for tourism. The largest such project was the massive clearance and restoration of Roman-Byzantine Beth-shan, which even surpasses another Decapolis city, Jerash in Jordan. Other sites that underwent large-scale restoration were Dan, Hazor, Caesarea, Lachish, Beersheba, and Arad.
  5. 5.  Both the Antiquities Authority and the several institutes of archaeology placed more emphasis on prompt publication, and the younger generation set a higher mark than their predecessors, both in preliminary and final reports.
  6. 6.  It may be said that “the third generation” of Israeli archaeologists had finally “come of age” with the creation of a self-conscious, highly professional national school, one that was well organized and well supported. This school easily dominated the scene, in comparison with the few remaining foreign-sponsored projects; few other than American projects persisted, and these were often joint Israeli-American enterprises.
Conclusion

Despite its rapid growth in just under fifty years and its complex character, Israeli archaeology throughout has had a certain consistent, distinctive character. First, it has been deeply grounded in traditional ancient Near Eastern scholarship. Second, it has taken the Bible (i.e., the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament) seriously, yet unlike American (and some European) “biblical archaeology,” it has maintained a professional, specialized, and thoroughly secular character, utilizing the Bible, not as confessional literature, but largely as the foundation of national history and culture. Third, it has remained largely pragmatic, grounded in the realia, and has been preoccupied more with description and classification than with explanation and little concerned with anything but the most basic theory.

Fourth, Israeli architecture emphasized large-scale architectural exposure rather than