Ronny Reich

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Ronny Reich

Ronny Reich (born March 31, 1947 in Rehovot ) is an Israeli archaeologist.

Life

Ronny Reich's mother Herta Reich , b. Eisler came from Mürzzuschlag, Austria . She was the only surviving Austrian on the Kladovo transport . She met her husband Romek Reich on their six-year flight and married him in 1941. In 1944 they were finally able to enter Palestine. Romek Reich fell at Ludd in July 1948 in the course of the Palestine War .

Reich studied archeology and geography at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem . His master's thesis with Yigael Yadin dealt with Assyrian architecture in the Land of Israel (1975). He later published several essays on this subject.

His participation in the excavations in the Jewish quarter of the old city of Jerusalem (1969–1978) under the direction of Nahman Avigad , caused a change of his interests, away from the Iron Age , towards the early Roman period. He completed his dissertation in 1990 with the title "Mikwa'ot in Eretz Israel in the Times of the Second Temple, Mishnah and Talmud " with Nahman Avigad and Israel L. Levine. The work is based on finds from the excavation in the Jewish quarter.

Between 1978 and 1995 Reich worked in the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums Israel, later the Israel Antiquities Authority, as head of the scientific archive (1978–1985) and the archeology department (1986). In 1995 Reich left the Antiquities Authority and became a lecturer in Classical Archeology at the University of Haifa . In 2002 he was promoted to 'Associate' Professor and in 2006 to 'Full' Professor. From 2002 to 2005 he headed the archaeological department.

Excavations and discoveries

In 1989, Reich began its own excavations. He carried out all of his excavations in the old city of Jerusalem :

  • Tombs from the Late Iron Age and Byzantine Period in the Mamilla region . A mass grave of the Christian population of Jerusalem, who were murdered by the Sassanids in 614 AD, was discovered here. Other finds are an extramural district of the Byzantine city with a thermal bath. Immediately under the Ottoman city wall, a long segment of the Ayyubid city wall from the 13th century AD was exposed.
  • Between 1994 and 1996, together with Ya'akov Billig, a 70 m long section of the Herodian Street along the western wall of the Temple Mount was excavated and exposed under the Robinson Arch . Together with Yuval Baruch, a small area was excavated on the southern wall of the Temple Mount, at the eastern Hulda gates .
  • His most important excavation and achievement was carried out between 1995 and 2010, together with Eli Shukron, on the southeast hill of the city, identified with the City of David . The eastern part of a stone-built pond was uncovered on the southwest slope of the Davidstadt. The pond was identified with the pond of Siloam , which is mentioned in the New Testament ( Jn 9:11  EU ). In addition, the southern end of the main street of the Herodian city was exposed and the main drainage canal below. The canal (the actual cloaca maxima of the Herodian city) was then exposed to next to the Temple Mount (approx. 600 m long) and is accessible today.
  • The excavations next to the Gihon spring on the eastern side of the city are particularly important . Several parts of the so-called "Warren's Shaft", which was discovered in 1867, were exposed here. They are parts of a huge fortification (preserved up to 7 m thick and up to 8 m high) and unknown installations hewn out of the rock. These finds made a new interpretation possible for the construction and the function of the water system of the Middle Bronze Age city (MBZ II, 18th - 17th century BC) of the city. It was shown that Warren's Shaft itself was not part of the facility. In contrast, a large pond-like system was found where the water was drawn.
  • Another important discovery at the source was a large pile of dung. Careful sifting revealed a large number of seal impressions (with graphic representations, no Semitic letters) and a very large amount of fish bones, dated to the end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 8th century BC. Chr.

Awards

Fonts (selection)

  • Invitation to Archeology, Chapters in Theoretical Archeology , Dvir Publishing House, Tel-Aviv, 1995 (Hebrew).
  • Excavating the City of David, The Place where the History of Jerusalem Started , The Israel Exploration Society, Jerusalem, 2011 (a Hebrew version was also published in 2011 by the Yad Ben Zvi Institute, Jerusalem).
  • Miqwa'ot (Ritual Baths) in the Second Temple, Mishnah and Talmud Periods (Hebrew) , Based on my Ph.D., Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem (in press).

Translations

Richly translated texts on ancient architecture and art, plays and poems into Hebrew.

  • Bertolt Brecht : Refugee Talks (1996)
  • Andrea Palladio : I Quatro Libri dell'Architettura (2000)
  • Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola: Regola delli Cinque Ordini d'Architettura (2002)
  • Ross King: Brunelleschi's Dome (2003)
  • Christian Morgenstern : Gallows Songs (2004)
  • Louis Hugues Vincent: Underground Jerusalem (2008)
  • Pliny the Elder : Naturalis Historia (Books 33-37) (2009)
  • Herta Reich : Two Days, the Escape of a Mürzzuschlag Jewess (1938–1944) (2009)
  • Fredrick Jones Bliss and Archibald Dickie, Excavations at Jerusalem 1894–1897 (2010)

Web links

Commons : Ronny Reich  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Rich, Ronny
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Rehovot , Israel