The birth of Israel in 1948 marked the start of a flurry of archeological activity in the fledgling state.
A number of reasons may account for this.
It may be because, as a new state, Israel was looking to a glorious and hallowed past to bond its diverse population together, as well as to inspire them for the formidable task of building a new nation. Archeology would provide tangible proof that there had been a Jewish presence in Israel for a long time before the establishment of the state in modern times. This common history was something that all Jews shared, regardless of where they came from in the Diaspora.
By as early as 1949, archeological excavations had begun in earnest in the new Jewish state. Benjamin Mazar led one of the first excavations at the site of Tel Qasile, which was located on the campus of Tel Aviv University.
Ironically, Tel Qasile was first settled by the Philistines, the archenemies of the Israelites, at the dawn of the conquest of Canaan, circa 1200 BCE. The Philistines were part of the Sea Peoples, who had close links with the Mycenaean Greeks. These Mycenaean Greeks were the same people whom many scholars think were responsible for the destruction of Troy.
It is an amazing coincidence that these two peoples, the Israelites and the Greeks, who would have such an enormous impact on western civilization, should meet in a life and death struggle at the dawn of both of their histories. It is one of the great ironies of history that the epic stories of these two groups, who provide the foundation of western civilization, were interwoven from such an early time.
But it was another site that would capture the imagination of the new nation and turn its already famous excavator into even more of a household name. The site was Hazor, and its renowned director was Yigael Yadin, who had gained fame as the young chief of staff of the Haganah during the War Of Independence. Afterward, Yadin would become even better known to the public when he managed to retrieve a number of the Dead Sea Scrolls for the State of Israel. These were scrolls that Yadin’s father, Prof. Eliezer Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, had helped bring to the attention of the world a few years earlier.
While excavating Hazor, Yadin ran across what he considered to be substantive proof for the conquest of Canaan by the ancient Israelites. Here was a site that showed how the ancestors of the modern Israelis had conquered the land that God had promised to Abraham. It was a task that would have to be repeated again by the citizens of the new Jewish state as they fought to preserve their country against hostile neighbours.
At Hazor, Yadin assembled a team that would dominate archeology in Israel for more than a generation. Furthermore, his team would also become the directors of most of the newly emergent institutes of archeology in the new state.
The team included Yohanan Aharoni, who would go on to direct the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and would become Yadin’s opponent on the key issue of the conquest of Canaan in the years to come. Also part of the Hazor team was Ruth Amiran, who would go on to write the definitive work on Israelite pottery titled Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land. Trude Dothan and her husband, Moshe, would become the pre-eminent authorities on the Philistines. They would also individually direct the excavations of a number of major archeological sites, including Ashdod, Acco and Ekron.
But it was another site that Yadin would excavate a few years later that not only captured the imagination of Israel, but captivated the world. That site was Masada. No wonder archeology had become a national pastime in the new nation.