BAR 34:05, Sep/Oct 2008 In Their Own Words Adam Zertal is
professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at Haifa University. As
director of the Manasseh Hill Country Survey, Zertal discovered
hundreds of archaeological sites dating to the earliest periods
of ancient Israel’s existence, including the controversial
cultic site of Mt. Ebal.a In this excerpt from a recent
interview Zertal gave to Israel National Radio, he discusses the
importance of the Manasseh Survey and its findings for
understanding the history of ancient Israel. Survey is mapping.
We map and register every archaeological site, everything that
was made by man, from all periods. I think one of the motives
[for the Manasseh survey] was that [the northern hill-country]
is the area most relevant for the beginning of Israel.