Lecture explores archeology and history

CARLSBAD — The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture’s scholar lectures on Jewish studies continues with Professor Aren Maeir presenting “The Temple Mount in Jerusalem: History, Archaeology and Contemporary Politics” at 7 p.m. April 22 in the Schulman Auditorium of the Carlsbad Dove Library, 1775 Dove Lane.In this lecture, Maeir will discuss the archaeology and history of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the effects of contemporary politics on the conservation and preservation of the site. He will also highlight the deep ideological, political and religious role the Temple Mount plays in the contemporary Middle East.

Maeir is professor of archaeology at the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and is co-director of the Bar-Ilan University/Weizmann Institute of Science joint program in Archaeological Science. Maeir completed a B.A. in archaeology and Jewish history and attained his Ph.D. in archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1997. His primary expertise is Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern archaeology, and he has participated in excavations at numerous sites in Israel, including: Hazor, Jerusalem, Beth Shean and Qasile, and has directed archaeological excavations and surveys in Jerusalem (The Western Wall Tunnels, Mamilla, Kikar Safra, Malha), Tell es-Safi/Gath, the Beth Shean Valley and Tel Yavneh. He has written and edited several books and is director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, a long-term, multi-national excavation of one of the largest ancient sites in Israel.

The Scholar Lectures on Jewish Studies is a program of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, co-sponsored by Jewish Federation of San Diego County and Leichtag Foundation. All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at (858) 362-1327 or visit sdcjc.org.