Uzi Avner

Office:        The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Kibbutz Ketura, mobile post Hevel Eilot 88840, Israel

Research Interest

·        Desert cultures and history- the last 10,000 years.

·        Settlement pattern of the desert

·        Ancient desert agriculture

·        Ancint copper production

·        Ancient cult sites and burials in the desert

·        Ancient desert roads

·        “Desert Kites” (ancient animal traps)

·        Paleo-climate of the desert, last 10,000 years

·        Energy-efficient building in the Arava, in light of the ancient architecture of the region.

·        Development of ancient sites for education and tourism.

Current Research

·        Ancient agricultural settlement in Uvda Valley (6^th-3^rd millennia B.C.)

·        Advanced agriculture and irrigation systems in the Arava valley (Nabatean to Early Islamic)

·        Neolithic cult sites on the Eilat Mountains

·        “Desert Kites” of the Negev (with Dr. Dani Nadel and Dr. Guy Bar-Oz, Haifa University)

·        Ancient Roads of the Negev.

·        The desert background of early Israel

Selected Publications  (Hebrew papers are not mentioned)

1.     Avner,  U.  1984.   Ancient Cult Sites in the Negev and Sinai Deserts. TA  11:115-131.

2.     Avner,  U. 1990. Ancient Agricultural Settlement and Religion in the ‘Uvda  Valley, Southern Israel.  BA 53:125-141.                                                

3.     Avner,  U.  1993.  Masseboth Sites in the Negev and Sinai and Their Significance. In J. Aviram (ed.), Second International Congress on Biblical Archaeology in Jerusalem  1990.  Pp. 166-181.  Jerusalem.

4.     Avner, U. 1998.  Settlement, Agriculture, and Paleoclimate in ‘Uvda Valley, Southern Negev Desert,  6th - 3rd Millennia B.C. In. A. Issar and N. Brown (eds.), Water,  Environment  and Society in Times of Climate Change. Pp. 147-202. Dordrecht.

5.     Avner, U. and J. Magness. 1998.  Early Islamic Settlement in the Southern Negev. BASOR. 310:39-57.

6.     Avner, U. and R. Avner. 1999.  Circles, Triangles and Lines in Desert Archaeological Remains and Rock Engravings, and Their Interpretations. NWES 95, International Rock Art Congress, Turin 1995. Pinerolo (CD).

7.     Avner,  U.  2000.  Nabatean Standing Stones and Their Interpretation.  ARAM 11-12:95-120.

8.     Avner,  U. 2001. Sacred Stones in the Desert. BAR  27:30-41.

9.     Avner,  U. 2002.  Ancient Water Management in the Southern Negev.  ARAM 13-14:389-407.

10. Avner, U.  2002. Studies in the Material and Spiritual culture of the Negev and Sinai Population During the 6th-3rd millennia B.C.: (Ph.D dissertation. Hebrew University, Jerusalem).

11.  Avner, U. P. Anderson, B. T. Mai J. Chacot and L. Cummings. 2003. Ancient Threshing Floors, Threshing Tools and Plant Remains in 'Uvda Valley, Southern Negev Desert, Israel, a Preliminary Report. In. P. Andesrson, L. Cummings, T. Schippers and B.  Simonel (eds). Le traitment des récoltes: un regard sur la diversité du Neolithique de au présent. XXIII reconteres internationales d archéologie et d'historie d'Antibes. Pp.455-475. Antibes.

12. Avner U., G. Davies  and J. Magness. 2004. The Roman Fort at Yotvata: Intrim Report (2003). JRA 17:405-412.

13. Avner, U.  2006  Settlement Pattern in the ‘Araba Valley and the Adjacent Desert Areas, a View from the Eilat Region. In P. Bienkowski and K. Galor (eds). Crossing the Rift, Oxford. 51-74.

14. Avner, U. 2006. Book Review: E.C. Larocca-Pitts: "Of Wood and Stone" The Significance of Israelite Cultic Items in the Bible and its Early Interpreters. (Winona Lake 2001). JNES 65:51-55.

15. Avner, U. 2007. Bedouin Cultural Remains in the Eilat Region. In.  E. van der Steen & B. Saidel (eds) On the Fringe of Society: Archaeological and Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives on Pastoral and Agricultural Societies. BAR International Series. 1657:112-146.

16. Gilat, A., M. Shirav, R. Bogoch, L. Halicz, U. Avner and  D. Nahlieli.  1993.  Significance of Gold Exploitation in the Early Islamic Period, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 20:429-437.

17. Sharon, M., U. Avner and D. Nahlieli. 1996.  An Early Muslim Mosque Near Be’er Ora in the Southern Negev: Possible Evidence for an Early Eastern Qiblah?  ‘Atiqot 30:107-114.

18. Shaked, Y. A. Agnon, B. Lazar,1 S. Marco,U. Avner and M. Stein. 2004. Large earthquakes kill coral reefs at the north-west Gulf of Aqaba. Terra Nova, 16, 133–138.

19. Roll I. and U. Avner, In press Tetrarchic Milestones and Related Roads in the Southern Aravah . Journal of Roman Studies.