Shiloh, Yigal
SHILOH, YIGAL
SHILOH, YIGAL (1937–1987), Israeli archaeologist, expert on Iron Age town-planning and architecture in the Land of Israel. Born in Haifa, he was educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, eventually joining the faculty in 1974. Shiloh received his Ph.D. in 1977, and a revised version of his dissertation was published in 1979 as The Proto-Aeolic Capital and Israelite Ashlar Masonry. From 1983 to 1986 Shiloh headed the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University and was a visiting professor abroad.
As a student Shiloh participated in numerous excavations in Israel, notably in the Survey of the Judean Desert Caves, Masada, Tell Nagila, Ramat Raḥel, Arad, Megiddo, and Hazor. In addition to these digs, he also participated in an expedition working on a prehistoric site in northern Italy. From 1978 to 1987 Shiloh undertook major archaeological excavations in the area of the "City of David" in Jerusalem. He was the author of numerous articles and research papers. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Jerusalem Prize only one week before he succumbed to cancer at the young age of 50.
bibliography:
J.M. Cahill and A. de Groot, "Obituary: Professor Yigal Shiloh, 1937–1987," in: Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, 8 (1988–89), 77; W.G. Dever, "In Memoriam – Yigal Shiloh, in: basor, 274 (1989), 1–2; T. Shiloh, "Shiloh, Yigal," in: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 5 (1997), 29–30.
[Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.)]