Jodi Magness

Magness is a distinguished scholar of ancient Judaism from the second temple period through the early Byzantine era, especially as known through its material remains. A hands-on archaeologist, Magness has supervised digs at major sites in Israel (Masada; Yodefat in the Galilee; currently Huqoq, an important post-Roman Galilean synagogue site), she has done significant work on such topics as the ancient synagogue (including its art and mosaics), Qumran, Masada, and the Roman army in the east. Magness is the author of some ten books and co-author or co-editor of many more. Among her numerous prize-winning histories is The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine (2003), which was awarded the 2006 Irene Levi-Sala Book Prize in non-fiction on the archaeology of Israel.