2025 Day of Learning
REGISTRATION OPENS IN JANUARY!
Presented by Dr. Jodi Magness
Kenan Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Session #1
What Makes Jerusalem Special?
Jodi Magness’ new book, Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024), presents a broad yet detailed account of one of the world’s oldest, holiest, and most contested cities. In the first talk of the day, we will journey back thousands of years to understand how this remote and relatively poor mountain town came to be sacred to followers of the three Abrahamic faiths.
Session #2
Herodian Jerusalem
In this slide-illustrated lecture, we will survey the history and archaeology of Jerusalem from the reign of Herod the Great (beginning in 40 BCE) until its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE. We will focus especially on Herod’s reconstruction of the Second Temple and Temple Mount, as well as sites associated with Jesus’s final hours in Jerusalem.
Session #3
Ossuaries and the Burials of Jesus and James
In 2002, an ossuary inscribed "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus" surfaced in the hands of a private collector. A few years later, a Discovery Channel documentary and related book claimed that the tomb of Jesus and his family has been found in Jerusalem. In this slide-illustrated lecture, we examine the validity of these sensational claims in light of archaeological and historical evidence for ancient Jewish tombs and burial customs in Jerusalem, including the burials of Jesus and his brother James.
Registration includes three lectures with Dr. Jodi Magness, a light breakfast, lunch, coffee, and snacks.
Location: In-person only at Kol Shalom, 9110 Darnestown Road, Rockville, MD 20850
Time: 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Dr. Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A Classical and Biblical archaeologist, Dr. Magness specializes in ancient Palestine (modern Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories) from the time of Jesus up to the tenth century. Her research interests include Jerusalem, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient synagogues, Masada, the Roman army in the East, ancient pottery, the Byzantine-early Islamic transition, and Diaspora Judaism in the Roman world.
She has participated on over 20 excavations in Israel and Greece, including co-directing the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Since 2011,she has directed excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee, which are bringing to light a monumental Late Roman (fifth century) synagogue paved with stunning mosaics.
Magness' most recent books are Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades (2024) and Ancient Synagogues in Palestine: A Reevaluation Nearly a Century After Sukenik’s Schweich Lectures. The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 2022 (2024). Dr. Magness is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Past President of the Archaeological Institute of America.