As professional archaeological research enters its second century, new questions and issues have arisen regarding the role of archaeology and its relevancy to contemporary society. Following decades of extensive archaeological excavation and investigation in Israel during the 1970s through 1990s, it is especially timely to examine the possible future directions of archaeology. Because of the sheer volume of archaeological activity conducted there, its high international profile, and its value as an example of both positive and negative trends, Israel is an ideal case study. This recent ‘golden age’ of archaeological investigation in Israel can be analyzed through four different, and sometimes overlapping, categories of archaeological activity: salvage or rescue excavations; research-based excavations; economically-driven excavations, that attempted to alleviate social problems or encourage economic and touristic development; and archaeological excavations with a political or nationalistic agenda.

In many ways archaeology is a unique discipline. Though grounded in scholarship it has great appeal to the lay public and great potential as a participatory enterprise. Though grounded in the past, archaeology is embedded in the present and bears ramifications for the future. This is where politics come into play. This chapter describes two projects that seek to take advantage of these facets, projects which unabashedly adopt social and political agendas. One of these is an attempt to create a mutually invested relationship between an archaeological site (Givat Sher) and a community (Modi'in) and the other addresses questions of collective memory, narrative construction and political (dis)enfranchisement.

The international significance of Akko’s heritage is best illustrated by the inscription of two UNESCO World Heritage sites in this town of just over 55,000 people. This article describes three projects that focus on the concept of a shared heritage at a World Heritage site in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, diverse town situated in a region that continues to experience ongoing religious and ethnic conflict. The most recent, and still ongoing, effort to balance archaeology and community interests is the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project. While attempting to incorporate community building through archaeology and dialog, the Total Archaeology approach described here aims for a socially just and inclusive archaeology that will benefit local community stakeholders rather than disenfranchise them. It also emphasizes the need for local perspectives and experiences to play an active role in the interpretation of the past.

Summary of Sapienza University of Rome and Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities joint rescue works in the town of Bethlehem 2015-2017 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/protecting-and-rehabilitating-the-archaeology-of-bethlehem/DB116A545A915ED48630D9022E2542CF

Through investigations of the aims and consequences of archaeology in the city and display of the rationale and process of my creation project, it will be exposed in the following pages that my artwork, titled Convergence (2013), is a response to an important issue in contemporary Jerusalem, namely the nationalist approach that is characteristic of – yet not exclusive to – Israeli archaeology, which overlooks the layered past of Jerusalem, privileging one history of the city over another, and which creates contentious issues within the discipline and between the Israeli/Jewish and the Palestinian communities. The role of Palestinians in this sphere will also be addressed. It must be acknowledged, however, that although the main concern of this paper is Israeli archaeology, there has hardly been any neutral or purely scienti c archaeology in Jerusalem at any time from any religious group.

The international significance of Akko's heritage is best illustrated by the inscription of two UNESCO World Heritage sites in this town of just over 55,000 people. This article describes three projects that focus on the concept of a shared heritage at a World Heritage site in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, diverse town situated in a region that continues to experience ongoing religious and ethnic conflict. The most recent, and still ongoing, effort to balance archaeology and community interests is the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project. While attempting to incorporate community building through archaeology and dialog, the Total Archaeology approach described here aims for a socially just and inclusive archaeology that will benefit local community stakeholders rather than disenfranchise them. It also emphasizes the need for local perspectives and experiences to play an active role in the interpretation of the past.

________________________________________________________________ Over the past three centuries, Palestine, a country rich in historic and archaeological sites, has drawn many archaeologists, historians, scholars, clergymen, adventurers and treasure seekers, all wishing to study or, at times, to exploit the cultural heritage of the land. Historically, these Westerners have enjoyed the intellectual and financial fruits of their explorations, while the native population was traditionally relegated to the role of simple laborers in the fieldwork. Until 1977, when the President of Birzeit University, with the support of the Director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, founded the archaeology program at Birzeit University, there was no indigenous institution dedicated to the preservation, protection and study of Palestine's cultural heritage. Since then, four additional Palestinian universities—al-Quds University, an-Najah National University, Hebron University and the Islamic University of Gaza—have developed archaeological programs designed to train qualified professionals committed to the management, preservation, restoration and conservation of cultural resources throughout Palestine. Yet, despite the tireless efforts of countless dedicated men and women at these institutions, there exist numerous political, economic, social and bureaucratic obstacles that greatly diminish the operational effectiveness of these programs and, as a consequence, further jeopardize the future of Palestinian cultural heritage resources. The purpose of this analysis is to diagnose the actual efficacy of these programs so that Palestinian stakeholders and policymakers may develop legislative and bureaucratic remedies which will ensure the continued protection and preservation of the Palestinian cultural heritage. ________________________________________________________________ Résumé: Depuis maintenant trois siècles, la Palestine, un pays riche en sites historiques et archéologiques, a attiré de nombreux archéologues, historiens, savants, ecclésiastiques, ainsi que des aventuriers et des chercheurs de trésors, tous souhaitant e ´tudier voir exploiter son héritage culturel. Historiquement, ces Occidentaux ont profité dans une large mesure REVIEW