James Leslie Starkey

James Leslie Starkey ( born January 3, 1895 in London, † January 10, 1938 in Bayt Jibrin in Hebron ) was a British archaeologist.

Life

James Leslie Starkey was born the son of a surveyor. Was not very pronounced His interest in school education. In World War Starkey was a member of the Royal Flying Corps and was awarded.

At University College London, he deciphered by Margaret Alice Murray Egyptian hieroglyphs and came into contact with Flinders Petrie. With Guy Brunton, he accompanied this with one of his research trips to Qau - Badari in Upper Egypt, where they worked for Petrie's " British School of Archaeology in Egypt". From 1926 he assisted Petrie in Palestine, at first in Tell Jemmeh, he worked without Petrie in " Tell el- Far'ah, South " and 1931 in " Tall al - Ajjul ".

In 1932 he received its own excavation contract in which supported him Gerald Lankester Harding and Olga Tufnell. On the already measured by Petrie Tell ed - Duwer they found a place of worship from the Late Bronze Age, remains of city walls and city gates, as well as a sun shrine from the Hellenistic period. But above all succeeded Starkey thanks his meticulous method of ostraca " Lachian period", described shortly before the time of the Babylonian exile, locate, eighteen pieces in 1935, three more in 1938. It was at this time the first document in a classic Hebrew.

Lachish ostracon - 3 ( replica ) with ancient Hebrew writing

Back of the same ostracon

His research came to an abrupt end when he fell victim to a band of insurgent attack Arabs in Bayt Jibrin at the age of 43 years, on the way from Lachish to the opening of the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem. Starkey was buried in the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Starkey was a board member of the Palestine Exploration Fund and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA ). In 1924 he had married Marjorie Rice. They had three children.

Works

  • Beth- pelet: (Tell Fara ), London British school of archeology in Egypt [etc. ] 1930 ( with William Flinders Petrie M, Olga Tufnell; EANN Macdonald, Gerald Lankester Harding )
  • Finds from Biblical Lachish, a city of changing fortunes on the western frontier of Judah. First report of the Wellcome archaeological research expedition to the Near East, London 1935
  • The Lachish letters, and in alphabetic "missing link"; military despatches of Biblical inscriptions one thousand years older than the Codex Sinaiticus: second report of the Wellcome archaeological research expedition to the Near East. , London 1935
  • Palestine surgery 2500 years ago; skulls from Lachish marked by operations of the 7th- 8th centuries BC, and other interesting new discoveries at the historic Biblical site. , London 1936
Margaret Murray Badari culture Tel Lachish Babylonian captivity
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