Gabriel Barkay

Gabriel Barkay (né Breslauer; ; sometimes transcribed from the Hebrew Gavriel Barkai; 20 June 1944 – 11 January 2026) was an Israeli archaeologist whose research and fieldwork focused on the archaeology of Jerusalem. He was a professor and lecturer at several academic institutions, and a prominent public figure in the archaeology of Israel.

Barkay is perhaps best known for his discovery of the Ketef Hinnom amulets, two inscribed silver scrolls dating to the 7th century BCE that preserve a version of the priestly benediction from the Book of Numbers. These amulets, found in rock-cut tombs from the kingdom of Judah, are among the earliest known extra-biblical examples of biblical passages. Additionally, Barkay was a co-founder of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, which sought to recover and document archaeological material from soil removed from the Temple Mount.

Over the course of his career, he received multiple honors for his contributions to the archaeology of Jerusalem, including the Jerusalem Prize for Archaeological Research, the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, and the Yakir Yerushalaim Award. His work was cited in both academic scholarship and popular media. The New York Times described him as "a leading figure in biblical archaeology" and "one of Israel's leading archaeologists." Provided by Wikipedia