Institutionalization

This chapter surveys the process of institutionalization of archaeological exploration in the city, highlighting several key excavations and surveys, some of the most legendary individuals, establishments, as well as governmental agencies who have administered the field. At stake here are the interaction and interdependency of archaeologists, discoveries, and institutions; how these have evolved over time, and most significantly how professionals in their administrative contexts have produced together what I argue represents the inseparable interplay of science, knowledge, and ideology. As Jerusalem has moved through numerous political realities, archaeological explorations have flourished, and evolved from several individually motivated endeavors, to countless institutionalized and governmental undertakings, at an ever-growing speed and scale. Israeli archaeology has been taking the field to new levels of mastery and scientific excellence, building on the professional advances made previously under Ottoman, British, and Jordanian rules. One could thus argue, that the story of success of archaeological exploration in Jerusalem, is one of increasing professionalism, at its very best when the zeal of the explorers converges with the ideology of the state.