james bennett pritchard - American Philosophical Society

JAMES BENNETT PRITCHARD
(4 October 1909–1 January 1997)
Fred Roll/Courtesy of Mrs. James B. Pritchard
JAMES BENNETT PRITCHARD
(4 October 1909–1 January 1997)
J
ames Bennett Pritchard, educator, archaeologist, author, and scholar,
died 1 January 1997. Professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, and curator emeritus of Syro-Palestinian archaeology at the
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Dr. Pritchard had a long and distinguished association with the
university. Professor of religious thought from 1962 until his retirement in 1978, Pritchard was the first curator of biblical archaeology at
the University Museum. He also served as associate director of the
museum from 1967 to 1976 and director in 1976–77. A superb educator,
Professor Pritchard was able to bring to life the people, cultures, and
literature of the Old Testament and to place the Old Testament within
its proper context in the ancient Near Eastern world. This eminent
scholar can be credited with the publication of numerous books and
articles, and the excavation of several key archaeological sites within
lands of the Bible.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on 4 October 1909, James received
an A.B. from Asbury College in 1930, a B.D. from Drew University in
1935, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942. His
graduate thesis, Palestinian Figurines in Relation to Certain Goddesses
Known Through Literature, was published by the American Oriental
Society in 1943. While pursuing his graduate degree, Jim married Anne
Elizabeth Cassedy in 1937. His deep affection for and dedication to his
wife, Anne, throughout nearly sixty years of marriage, and his commitment to their daughters, Sally and Mary, and their families, were most
important to him.
Prior to his tenured appointment to the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Pritchard taught at Crozer Theological Seminary, 1942–
54, and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 1954–62. He was
annual professor at the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, 1950–51, and visiting professor, 1956–57, and 1961–62. He was
Fulbright-Hays visiting professor of archaeology at the American University of Beirut in 1966–67.
Professor Pritchard was an extraordinary teacher and mentor. He
was well informed, and, although demanding in results, was readily
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
accessible and personable. He would frequently invite students to discuss subject matter informally and would provide kindly advice when
the occasion arose. His calm demeanor and ability to make prudent
decisions gained him wide respect. Dr. Pritchard was at ease in a classroom, lecture hall, and seminar. He could explain archaeological techniques on the level of elementary-school children by excavating the
contents of a waste basket; he could fill a lecture hall with undergraduate students eager to learn of the interrelationships of the religions of
ancient Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon; he could instill in
the minds of graduate students a desire to probe for information
through diligent research. Over the years he trained quite a number of
Old Testament scholars and Syro-Palestinian archaeologists. Many of
his students, through his efforts, hold positions in major colleges and
universities throughout the world; people whom he trained in the field
have participated in or directed the excavations at sites throughout the
Near East.
Jim Pritchard spent much of his time sifting through the ruins of
ancient cities searching for cultural materials and evidence that would
clarify the meaning of the Old Testament and shed light on the way in
which daily life was lived. His first excavation experience was at Bethel
in 1930 as a volunteer who paid his own travel expenses. He was a member of the staff of an expedition to Dhiban (Dibon), Jordan, in 1950. In
1951 he was field director of excavations at the site of King Herod’s
winter palace at Jericho (The Excavations at Herodian Jericho, 1958).
His archaeological expertise became well known during four seasons of excavations at el Jib, 1956–62. The site was unmistakably
identified as the ancient city of Gibeon by the discovery of the characters gb’n neatly inscribed in ancient Hebrew script on the handles of
jars once used to store wine (Hebrew Inscriptions and Stamps from
Gibeon, 1959). The remains of factories where wine was produced and
stored were found (Winery, Defenses, and Soundings at Gibeon, 1964).
Ethnographic analogy and available information, including a visit to a
monastic winery, were used to identify rock cut chambers as wine cellars and to suggest that wine in jars was sealed by olive oil. Two wellengineered systems by which the residents of the city could access fresh
spring water also were cleared (The Water System at Gibeon, 1961).
Pritchard followed up his excavations at el Jib with campaigns
(1964–67) at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, located on the east bank of the central
Jordan Valley. A cemetery, exposed on the rectangular lower mound,
revealed that the site was a meeting place of disparate cultures and itinerant craftspeople during the Late Bronze Age and the critical years
of transition to the Iron Age (“New Evidence on the Role of the Sea
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Peoples in Canaan at the Beginning of the Iron Age,” in The Role of the
Phoenicians in the Interactions of Mediterranean Civilizations, 1968;
The Cemetery at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, Jordan, 1980). The top of the higher
mound was exposed to the level of the remains of row houses and
workshops of the Iron Age II (Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, Excavations on the
Tell, 1964–66, 1985). A massive staircase, which provided covered access
to perennial springs, was located on the slopes of the higher mound.
The settlement to which this staircase belonged could not be reached
before excavations were halted by early spring rains and the 1967 war.
The last excavations directed by Dr. Pritchard occurred at
Sarafand, Lebanon, 1969–74. That coastal village is the location of the
ancient city of Sarepta. For the first time, the stratified remains of a
Phoenician city were exposed in the heart of the Phoenician homeland
(Sarepta, A Preliminary Report on the Iron Age, 1975). Of critical
importance were the recovery of the workshops and kilns in which pottery was manufactured, a Phoenician shrine, and numerous Phoenician
inscriptions, including one in Ugaritic script and a seal referring to the
name of the city. Jim Pritchard’s final archaeological publication was a
catalogue of the artifacts of religious and daily use recovered from the
site (Sarepta IV, 1988).
The discoveries made during the archaeological excavations directed
by Pritchard were not simply a matter of good fortune or exceptional
financing. The outcome was frequently dependent upon a combination
of careful planning, painstaking research, and diligent supervision. The
results were accurately and thoroughly published in timely fashion.
Dr. Pritchard was the author of a number of fine articles and
books appealing to a wide range of audiences. Able to describe in accurate detail to scholars the discovery, attribution, and significance of an
archaeological find, he could just as easily hold the attention of a general audience with fascinating accounts of his excavation experiences.
Notices, reviews, and articles have appeared in such diverse publications as Archaeology, Bible et Terre Sainte, The Biblical Archaeologist,
Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth, Bulletin of the American Schools of
Oriental Research, Expedition, The Illustrated London News, and
Vetus Testamentum. Articles also were published in festschrifts and
other collected works. In one of the more important articles, “The
Megiddo Stables, a Reassessment” (in Near Eastern Archaeology in the
Twentieth Century, 1970), Jim summarized earlier debate, reevaluated
the archaeological data, and reopened discussion of a classic problem in
the archaeology of ancient Palestine. Another article, “Sarepta in History and Tradition” (in Understanding the Sacred Text, 1972) illustrates
the background research employed as part of his excavation procedure.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Arguably the greatest single contribution made by James Pritchard was the compilation of information in Ancient Near Eastern
Texts Relating to the Old Testament (1950, 1955, 1969). Known by the
acronym ANET, that work brought together reliably translated documents from several ancient languages. The three editions of ANET have
provided the most important references to link the text of the Old Testament with the cultures and peoples of the ancient Near Eastern
world, and are familiar to all students and scholars trained in the Old
Testament and related disciplines. A companion volume, The Ancient
Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (ANEP, 1954,
1969), furnished portraits of the religious customs and daily activities
of the people in Bible times. Anthologies of the most important texts
and illustrations were made available in two manuals for undergraduate
students and the general reader, The Ancient Near East, an Anthology
of Texts and Pictures (1958) and The Ancient Near East Vol. II (1975).
Other works should be mentioned as well. More than a hundred
years of archaeological adventures by pioneers in Syro-Palestinian
archaeology were traced in Archaeology and the Old Testament (1958).
Fact and fantasy surrounding a well-known biblical legend were presented in Solomon and Sheba (1974). Jim’s goal to make archaeology
accessible to the general public was achieved in popular accounts of two
of his excavations, Gibeon, Where the Sun Stood Still (1962), and Recovering Sarepta, A Phoenician City (1978). Pritchard’s editorial skills were
often sought, and he was consultant on various projects, including those
of the National Geographic Society, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Time-Life Books. He was the primary consultant and general
editor of the authoritative Times Atlas of the Bible (1987); his final contribution was as editor of the Times Concise Atlas of the Bible (1991).
At one time or another during his career, Jim was associate editor
and editor of the Journal of the American Oriental Society, editor of publications for the American Philosophical Society, and chairman of the
publication committee for the American Institute of Archaeology. He
was secretary to the board of trustees of the American Schools of Oriental Research (1962–72) and trustee at the American University in
Beirut (1970–79). He was president of the American Institute of
Archaeology in 1972–73.
Respect for Dr. Pritchard and admiration for his achievements are
apparent in the honors and awards bestowed on him. He received several honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Theology from Sweden’s
Royal University of Uppsala in 1977. He was a visiting scholar at the
Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 1978. In 1983 the Archaeological Institute of America awarded James B. Pritchard the Gold
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Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement, stating that he
“. . . illuminated Near Eastern archaeology for his colleagues and students with his erudition and charm.” In 1990, the American Philosophical Society presented him with the prestigious Benjamin Franklin
Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Humanities or Sciences,
“in recognition of his unexcelled eminence in archaeological research
and literary scholarship on the Ancient Near East. . . .” A special symposium, “The Eyes and Ears of the Ancient Near East,” was held in
1989 in honor of his eightieth birthday at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. A Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa was conferred
on Dr. Pritchard in 1991 by the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, acclaiming him an “exceptional teacher . . . and friend,” and representing half a century of contribution to scholarship since receiving his
first degree from the university in 1942. The culmination of honors
occurred in 1993, when the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania and the University Museum endowed the James B.
Pritchard Chair for Biblical Archaeology and Related Fields.
James B. Pritchard was a major figure in the study of the peoples
and civilizations of the ancient Near East. He contributed significantly
to the advancement of knowledge through his teaching, his speaking,
his writings, and his excavations. He remarked on several occasions in
his later years that all of his publication work was complete, and that he
had accomplished all that he had set out to do. Like a true pioneer, he
achieved those goals and more. It was a privilege to have known this
extraordinarily gifted gentleman not only as one of his students, but
also as a colleague, and most importantly as a friend. To our beloved
Mudîr, you have taught us well. Your instruction will be remembered
with admiration and fondness and your legacy shall never be forgotten.
Elected 1973; Secretary 1984–85; Councillor 1980–83; Committees:
Advisory on Election of Members 1983–84; Development or Campaign National 1990–93; Meetings 1983–97; Membership IV 1977–84;
Publications 1975–91
William P. Anderson
Research Associate
University Museum
of Archaeology and Anthropology
University of Pennsylvania
This essay was originally published in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental
Research 308 (November 1997). It is used with permission.