This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Eighty-eight years after pioneering British archaeologist Starkey was shot dead while traveling from the ancient city of Lachish to Jerusalem, researchers say they have uncovered compelling new evidence explaining who was behind his murder—and why he was targeted. A new study by professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and historian Dr.
Roy Marom of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute challenges the long-standing account that Starkey was an unfortunate victim of random violence during the Arab Revolt against British rule in Mandatory Palestine (1936–1939). Instead, the researchers argue that his assassination on Jan. 10, 1938, was linked to a bitter land dispute between the British archaeological expedition at Lachish and peasants from the neighboring Palestinian village of al-Qubayba. The findings, published in the journal Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, combine untapped British colonial records, Palestinian historical accounts, intelligence documents and oral testimonies preserved by descendants of the village's residents.
The study also identifies Palestinian rebel commander Issa al-Battat as the assassin in a locally organized operation connected to grievances against the excavation. Starkey was one of the leading British archaeologists working in Mandatory Palestine during the 1930s. Beginning in 1932, he directed the major expedition at Tell ed-Duweir, identified with biblical Lachish, one of the most important cities of ancient Judah.
The excavations were supported by influential British patrons, including the wealthy pharmaceutical entrepreneur Sir Henry Wellcome, and attracted considerable international attention. On Jan. 10, 1938, Starkey left Lachish for Jerusalem, where he was expected to participate in the inauguration of the Palestine Archaeological Museum, now known as the Rockefeller Museum. Near Hebron, armed men stopped his vehicle.
After identifying Starkey as the director of the archaeological excavation at Lachish, they ordered the driver away and shot the archaeologist. His death shocked the international academic community and contributed to the premature end of one of the most ambitious archaeological projects then operating in the region. At the time, British authorities characterized the killing as an act of banditry amid the widespread violence of the Arab Revolt.
They also officially cleared the nearby village of al-Qubayba of responsibility. For decades, the precise circumstances and motives behind the killing remained a mystery. The new research builds directly on a study published by Garfinkel a decade earlier.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
