Michael avi yonah biography

AVI-YONAH, MICHAEL (1904–1974), Israeli classical historian, historical geographer, and archaeologist; remembered for his extraordinary breadth of knowledge and didactic approach to scholarship. A native of Galicia from the Polish city of Lemberg, then in Austria, Avi-Yonah came from a very creative family. He wrote: "My father, who was a lawyer by profession, played the violin to orchestral standards, would enthusiastically attend operas and concerts, and became one of the founders of the local Jewish Society of Music. Both he and my mother appreciated paintings and sculpture, and, whenever possible, they would commission pictures from young Jewish painters who came to our house.…" Avi-Yonah left for Palestine in 1921 and worked as Records Officer of the Palestine Department of Antiquities from 1931 to 1948. In 1931 he assisted L.A. *Mayer, the librarian of the pda, with the task of editing the Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine (qdap). Eventually he took over the editing of qdap between 1933 to 1950 and some of his most important articles were published within its pages: on mosaic pavements, on lead coffins, and on the map of Roman Palestine. Avi-Yonah became the scientific secretary of the Israel Department of Antiquities, servi

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