Beno Rothenberg
Rothenberg in 1949
BornOctober 23, 1914
Frankfurt, German Empire
DiedMarch 13, 2012(2012-03-13) (aged 97)
Ramat Gan, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
EducationHebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Frankfurt
Occupation(s)Archaeologist, photographer and one of the founders of archaeometallurgy.

Beno Rothenberg (Hebrew: בנו רותנברג, October 23, 1914, in Frankfurt am Main - March 13, 2012, in Ramat Gan, Israel) was an Israeli archaeologist, photographer and one of the founders of archaeometallurgy.

Early life and education

Beno Rothenberg was born in a wealthy hassidic[1] Jewish family in Frankfurt am Main on October 23, 1914. He emigrated to Israel with his family in 1933. He initially studied mathematics and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later at the University of Frankfurt, where he received his Ph.D. in 1961.[2] After three years he joined the Hagana. In 1945 he bough a photocamera and became a press photographer.[1] During the Second World War he served with the Royal Air Force Meteorological Service in Egypt. During the 1948 War of Independence he was assigned to an armed brigade under Yitzhak Sadeh as a photographer.[3]

Rothenberg took about 32,000 photos from 1947 to 1957.[4] The photos are now in the Meitar Collection at the National Library of Israel.[1]

Scientific work

Rothenberg in 1955
Rothenberg in 2004

His photography led him to work with American archaeologist Nelson Glueck in the 1950s surveying biblical sites for King Solomon's mines. He became an expedition supervisor and an administrator of the field team. His first major work was a survey of the Sinai Peninsula in 1956. He later worked with Yohanan Aharoni. Rothenberg went on to lead excavations uncovering the expansive ancient copper mines at Timna Valley in the Negev desert, dating to the 11th-12th centuries BCE. Expedition found a "vast ancient industrial landscape around" there, that disputed the prevailing view that the mines were founded by King Solomon.[2] Rothenberg also led the major Arabah Expedition surveying ancient mining and smelting sites in the Sinai Peninsula. His research revealed the scale of metallurgy in this region in antiquity.[3]

In 1973, Rothenberg together with Mortimer Wheeler founded the Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies in London to support his work. He partnered with academic institutions in the UK and Germany, establishing archaeometallurgy as an academic field. In 1968, Rothenberg joined American Theodore Wertime, "on a long reconnaissance journey through Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan in search of the origins of pyrotechnology".[3][5]

Rothenberg trained many students who became leaders in archaeometallurgy. He lectured into his 90s, and gave last lecture in 2008, at 94. Rothenberg died in Ramat Gan at the age of 97, on March 13, 2012.[3]

Publications

  • Rothenberg, Benno (1961). God's Wilderness: Discoveries in Sinai. Thames and Hudson. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  • Rothenberg, Benno (1972). Timna; Valley of the Biblical Copper Mines. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-39010-8. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  • Rothenberg, Benno (1972). Were These King Solomon's Mines?: Excavations in the Timna Valley. Stein and Day. ISBN 978-0-8128-1506-1. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  • Rothenberg, Beno; Weyer, Helfried (1979). Sinai: Pharaohs, Miners, Pilgrims, and Soldiers. Binns. ISBN 978-0896740020.
  • Rothenberg, Benno (1988). The Egyptian Mining Temple at Timna. Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies [and] Institute of Archaeology, University College, London. ISBN 978-0-906183-02-1. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  • Levene, Dan; Rothenberg, Benno (2007). A Metallurgical Gemara: Metals in the Jewish Sources. Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies, Institute of Archaeology, University College. ISBN 978-0-906183-04-5. Retrieved 4 November 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Meitar Collection: worth 200 million words". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 "In Memoriam: Professor Beno Rothenberg". www.tau.ac.il. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Professor Rothenberg Obituary". Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Galia Gur Zeev - projects : Beno Rothenberg". www.galiagurzeev.com. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Arab, Roya, and Thilo Rehren. "The pyrotechnological expedition of 1968." Proceedings of International Conference, Persia's Ancient Splendour, Mining, Handicraft and Archaeology, Stöllner T., Slotta R. and Vatandoust, A.(eds.), Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum. 2004.
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