R.A. Stewart Macalister
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Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister (8 July 1870 – 26 April 1950) was an Irish
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
.


Biography

Macalister was born in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland, the son of
Alexander Macalister Prof Alexander Macalister FRS Hon.FRSE FSA FRAI (9 April 1844 – 2 September 1919) was an Irish anatomist, Professor of Anatomy, Cambridge University, from 1883 until his death. He was a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. Life He w ...
, then Professor of
Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
, University of Dublin. His father was appointed professor of anatomy at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 1883, and he was educated at
The Perse School The Perse School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging Day school, day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded i ...
, and then studied at Cambridge University. Although his earliest interest was in the archaeology of Ireland, he soon developed a strong interest in
biblical archaeology Biblical archaeology is an academic school and a subset of Biblical studies and Levantine archaeology. Biblical archaeology studies archaeological sites from the Ancient Near East and especially the Holy Land (also known as Land of Israel and ...
. Along with
Frederick J. Bliss Frederick Jones Bliss (22 January 1859-–3 June 1937) was an American archaeologist. Biography He was born in Mount Lebanon, Syria, on 22 January 1859. His father, Daniel Bliss, was first a Congregational missionary and later president of ...
, he excavated several towns in the
Shephelah The Shephelah () or Shfela (), or the Judaean Foothills (), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Jud ...
region of
Ottoman Palestine The region of Palestine (region), Palestine is part of the wider region of the Levant, which represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia.Steiner & Killebrew, p9: "The general limits ..., as defined here, begin at the Plain of ' ...
from 1898 to 1900. Using advances in
stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
building on the work of
Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English people, English Egyptology, Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. ...
, they developed a chronology for the region using ceramic
typology A typology is a system of classification used to organize things according to similar or dissimilar characteristics. Groups of things within a typology are known as "types". Typologies are distinct from taxonomies in that they primarily address t ...
. Upon Bliss' retirement, Macalister became director of excavations for the
Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization i ...
(PEF) in 1901. From 1902 to 1909 he was responsible for the excavations at
Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer (), in – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is now an List of national parks ...
, in the modern state of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, just west of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. This was one of the earliest large-scale scientific archaeological excavations in the region. The Gezer calendar found there is a very early
paleo-Hebrew The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...
calendrical inscription. Macalister also documents his findings of
child sacrifice Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please or appease a deity, supernatural beings, or sacred social order, tribal, group or national loyalties in order to achieve a desired result. As such, it is a form of human ...
s around the High Place of Gezer, by the
Amorites The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Eg ...
, a tribe of Canaan. He associates his findings with biblical records of the sins of the Amorites, which he calls "the iniquity of the Amorites" in his 1906 publication "Bible side-lights from the mound of Gezer". Macalister left the field of Biblical archaeology in 1909 to accept a position as professor of
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
archaeology at
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
, where he taught until his retirement in 1943. During this period, he worked at the ancient Irish royal site at the
Hill of Tara The Hill of Tara ( or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. ...
and was responsible for editing the catalogue of all known
ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...
inscriptions from Great Britain and Ireland. Many of his translations of Irish myths and legends are still widely used today. He was elected to the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
in 1910 and served as their president from 1926 to 1931. He was also president of the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is an Irish learned society whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquities, langua ...
from 1924 to 1928. He is buried at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge, with his wife Margaret A. M. Macalister.


Gallery

From "Bible Side Lights from Gezer". File:Twomoderngezerites.png, File:Teraphimandtongueofgold.png, File:Twohornedastarte.png, File:Waterpotsfound.png, File:Sacredcaveplan.png, File:Massebotlady.png, File:Highplacecave.png, ''Iniquity of the Amorite'' "That a Canaanite altar should consist of a heap of human heads covered with earth is a new idea, though it is not inherently improbable; for it is evident from the excavations that the Canaanites showed an Aztec-like disregard of the value of human life." File:Girl sawn asunder infant in jar.png, File:Taanachaltar.png,


Published works

* * * * * * * *
Vol.1alt link

Vol.IIalt link

Vol.III [Plates
/nowiki>">lates">Vol.III [Plates
/nowiki>br>alt link
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Part I
34, 1938,
Part II
35, 1939,
Part III
39, 1940,
Part IV
41, 1941,
Part V
44, 1956, *


Works on Macalister

*(2015), Villain or Visionary? Samuel R Wolff


See also

*''Lebor Gabála Érenn''


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

*
Bible Side-Lights from Gezer
' (1907) at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart 1870 births 1950 deaths Academics of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Cambridge Archaeologists from Dublin (city) Archaeologists of the Near East Biblical archaeologists Irish Anglicans Oghamologists Presidents of the Royal Irish Academy People educated at The Perse School 19th-century Irish archaeologists 20th-century Irish archaeologists Gezer