Amihai Mazar

Amihai "Ami" Mazar (Hebrew: עמיחי מזר‎) (born 1942) is an Israeli archaeologist. Born in Haifa, Israel (then the British Mandate of Palestine), he is currently (since 1994) Professor at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, holding the Eleazer Sukenik Chair in the Archaeology of Israel.

Mazar has directed archaeological excavations at a number of sites in Israel that include:

Mazar is an author in the field of Biblical archaeology, his Archaeology of the Land of the Bible is a text used in many universities.

Mazar is married with three children and resides in Jerusalem. He is the nephew of Benjamin Mazar, one of the first generation of pioneering Israeli archaeologists after Independence, and cousin to fellow archaeologist Eilat Mazar.

Awards

In 2009, Prof. Mazar was awarded the Israel Prize in archaeology.

Ancient beehives

While excavating the ancient city of Rehov (pop. about 2,000 residents at that time) Mazar discovered 30 intact hives, dating from c.900 BC. The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay were found in orderly rows and may be the oldest complete beehives ever discovered.