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Doing Archaeology in the Land of the Bible: A Basic Guide
A popular introduction to archaeology and the methods archaeologists use to reconstruct the history of ancient Israel.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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53 people want to read
About the author
John D. Currid
39 books14 followersDr. Currid has been part of the RTS Faculty for 20 years, serving as both Chair of the Biblical Studies Division in Jackson and Professor of Old Testament in Charlotte. Prior to coming to RTS, he served as Associate Professor of Religion at Grove City College. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Currid serves as Project Director of the Bethsaida Excavations Project in Israel (1995-present). He lectures and preaches in many countries including Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Australia, and Brazil.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 12, 2020
This was a fun, not-too-daunting book! It kinda made me want to take up archaeology in my spare time.
September 16, 2022
I learned something, but this book read like a textbook and I had to force myself to finish it. It is all about technique and very little about what has been discovered.
May 4, 2024
There's quite a lot of overlap between the material in this book and Currid's more recent title, The Case for Biblical Archaeology. Both books serve the same basic purpose: to introduce the reader to the field of Syro-Palestinian archaeology. I'm not sure that I would say one is better than the other. They both have their own pros and cons.
What Doing Archaeology Does Better
This book is something like a third of the length of the other. That's due partially to the fact that this one includes a bit less detail on certain subjects, but primarily to the amount of additional material in the other. Doing Archaeology has no general history of the aNE or geographical survey of the Levant. Where the material overlaps, this one is generally (but not always!) shorter. Depending on what you're hoping to get out of it, the concision of Doing Archaeology may be a point in its favor.
Despite being more concise, Doing Archaeology also includes more bibliography. So, perhaps counterintuitively, if you're looking to do more digging on the subject on the long-term, you may actually want the shorter of Currid's two books!
Where Doing Archaeology includes a little more detail is on the how-to of archaeology. The later work talks more about what an archaeologist studies, this one talks a little more about how an archaeologist studies.
What The Case for Biblical Archaeology Does Better
The later of the two books contains a good deal more information on broad aNE history, Palestinian geography, specific sites, architecture, water systems, agriculture, pottery, small finds, etc. It's also got a glossary of technical terms for reference. All of that makes it arguably a better singular resource for biblical archaeology.
Whereas Doing Archaeology has a few black and white images, The Case for Biblical Archaeology is full of colored photos. For a topic that's so focused on realia, those pictures are very much helpful. However, this earlier book does make good use of the pictures -- and especially diagrams -- that it does have (some of which have no parallel in the other book), so it's not a total loss.
For my purposes, I'm glad to have both. I'll probably make reference to both in the future; this one for its bibliographies and discussion of methods and techniques, the other for its more detailed information on geography, sites, and finds.
What Doing Archaeology Does Better
This book is something like a third of the length of the other. That's due partially to the fact that this one includes a bit less detail on certain subjects, but primarily to the amount of additional material in the other. Doing Archaeology has no general history of the aNE or geographical survey of the Levant. Where the material overlaps, this one is generally (but not always!) shorter. Depending on what you're hoping to get out of it, the concision of Doing Archaeology may be a point in its favor.
Despite being more concise, Doing Archaeology also includes more bibliography. So, perhaps counterintuitively, if you're looking to do more digging on the subject on the long-term, you may actually want the shorter of Currid's two books!
Where Doing Archaeology includes a little more detail is on the how-to of archaeology. The later work talks more about what an archaeologist studies, this one talks a little more about how an archaeologist studies.
What The Case for Biblical Archaeology Does Better
The later of the two books contains a good deal more information on broad aNE history, Palestinian geography, specific sites, architecture, water systems, agriculture, pottery, small finds, etc. It's also got a glossary of technical terms for reference. All of that makes it arguably a better singular resource for biblical archaeology.
Whereas Doing Archaeology has a few black and white images, The Case for Biblical Archaeology is full of colored photos. For a topic that's so focused on realia, those pictures are very much helpful. However, this earlier book does make good use of the pictures -- and especially diagrams -- that it does have (some of which have no parallel in the other book), so it's not a total loss.
For my purposes, I'm glad to have both. I'll probably make reference to both in the future; this one for its bibliographies and discussion of methods and techniques, the other for its more detailed information on geography, sites, and finds.
January 18, 2025
Typically archaeology (and textual criticism) bore me. Unfortunately, I had two archaeology classes for my doctoral program and have to prepare for comprehensive exams. Fortunately, Currid's brief book is well-written and interesting. Highly recommended.
January 20, 2014
John Currid has done a valuable work in his book “Doing Archaeology in the Land of the Bible. I’m sure as Christian you’ve probably heard many times about how certain sites were dug up and shows how accurate the bible is, that is of course a heart warming discovery, but how does one actually to know where to dig, and how to dig? Why aren’t there much more startlingly archaeological finds?
This is the first of such book that I’ve read and found that it was especially helpful for this book to be written in such a non-technical laymen way. In this thin book (approx. 120 pg), Currid does a great job giving a brief overview of the subject, along with a brief history of the growth and improvement in archaeology.
Thereafter, he has specific chapters to explain technical terms that are used in archaeology and highlights the many problems an archaeologist faces in the field, such as decided/knowing where to start digging, how do you date the items you have found, what can you tell from the soil patterns you see while digging. It does bring with it many interesting facts and finding that you might not expect from such a dry looking topic.
Pictures and diagrams are also located within the book to help the reader visualise what the author is describing, and these pictures are certainly helpful when you are lost at what the author is trying to describe. However if this book goes for a second printing or revision, some of these pictures could be a little more recent (however, I do understand that even to include pictures in the book already adds to their costs considerable, so thanks for the publisher for making these pictures available, without them this book wouldn’t have been as useful as it was)
Most importantly, the author summarises the various methods used in one archaeological find showing how practically these processes are used in a real-life setting, and how each helps to reveal more information about the place, the setting and the time it is located in.
All in all, this is the book to go to if you’re looking for a primer book to understand about biblical archaeology, helpful, short and lucid, a great tool that is meant for the church.
This book deserves the 5 stars rating.
This is the first of such book that I’ve read and found that it was especially helpful for this book to be written in such a non-technical laymen way. In this thin book (approx. 120 pg), Currid does a great job giving a brief overview of the subject, along with a brief history of the growth and improvement in archaeology.
Thereafter, he has specific chapters to explain technical terms that are used in archaeology and highlights the many problems an archaeologist faces in the field, such as decided/knowing where to start digging, how do you date the items you have found, what can you tell from the soil patterns you see while digging. It does bring with it many interesting facts and finding that you might not expect from such a dry looking topic.
Pictures and diagrams are also located within the book to help the reader visualise what the author is describing, and these pictures are certainly helpful when you are lost at what the author is trying to describe. However if this book goes for a second printing or revision, some of these pictures could be a little more recent (however, I do understand that even to include pictures in the book already adds to their costs considerable, so thanks for the publisher for making these pictures available, without them this book wouldn’t have been as useful as it was)
Most importantly, the author summarises the various methods used in one archaeological find showing how practically these processes are used in a real-life setting, and how each helps to reveal more information about the place, the setting and the time it is located in.
All in all, this is the book to go to if you’re looking for a primer book to understand about biblical archaeology, helpful, short and lucid, a great tool that is meant for the church.
This book deserves the 5 stars rating.
September 3, 2012
This book provides a decent overview of archaeology in Palestine for those who are totally unfamiliar with archaeology or at least Syro-Palestinean archaeology. However, this book goes into very little detail and shows little criticism of the failures of the early biblical archaeologists methods.
February 7, 2015
Currid wrote this brief book so that novices could gain a good idea of the history and current practices of biblical archaeology. Currid's writing is clear and understandable. A helpful book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews