Calendar of Events

Free and Open to the Public

Location: The Parthenon (Directions)

The mound of Jezreel sits in the fertile plains by majestic Mt. Tabor, overlooking major trade routes in ancient times. The Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible sets a dramatic story there, pitting the prophet Elijah against King Ahab of Israel and his infamous wife Jezebel for acquiring a coveted vineyard by sordidly plotting the murder of its owner, Naboth. There too is where King Jehu brings retribution by slaughtering Jezebel and sixty sons of Ahab. Excavations at Jezreel have now resumed, aided by airborne laser (LiDAR) technology for the first time on an archaeological project in Israel to enhance understanding of the site and its environs. It has already revealed new features that will be explored in an exciting excavation program for the summer of 2013. Jezreel: The View from Jezebel's Window will provide a sense of Jezreel's importance by highlighting the key economic and military roles that it played not just during the biblical period but also subsequently and up to twentieth century.

The lecturer: Dr. Norma Franklin is affiliated with the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Israel. She is a field archaeologist with more than 20 years/ experience and holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology from Tel Aviv University. She has presented the results of her research on Samaria, Megiddo, and Jezreel at international academic forums including the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institute. She is a frequent lecturer at archaeological and biblical studies conferences and has appeared in television documentaries for the History Channel, National Geographic, and the BBC.

Dr. Franklin was a founding member of Tel Aviv University's Megiddo Expedition, and many Vanderbilt students learned their archaeological field techniques from her. This year she launched the Jezreel Expedition which she co-directs with Professor Jennie Ebeling of the University of Evansville.


Co-sponsors: Vanderbilt University: Anthropology Department, Classical Studies Department, Divinity School
History of Art Department, Goldberg Lecture Series Jewish Studies Program, Religious Studies Department,
Nashville Society of the Archaeological Institute of America