Strata: Milestones: Amos Kloner (1940–2019)

Professor Amos Kloner was a member of the teaching and research faculty of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University from 1980 until 2009, when he was named professor emeritus. Until shortly before his passing on March 15, 2019, he continued to teach and advise students on a volunteer basis. His fieldwork and research, which focused on the archaeology of Israel and neighboring countries during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, were astounding in terms of both quality and quantity.

Amos was born in 1940 in Givatayim, near Tel Aviv, to Dina and Pesach Kloner. In his youth, he traveled the length and breadth of the country and volunteered on archaeological excavations. In 1958, Amos was drafted by the Israel Defense Forces where he served with distinction. Following his service, he participated in Yigael Yadin’s 1961 excavation of the Cave of Letters, perhaps the most famous refuge cave from the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. The outstanding discoveries in the cave led him to study archaeology and geography. He enrolled in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1962 and received his bachelor’s degree in 1965.

In the autumn of 1965, Amos assisted Avraham Negev in the excavations of Mamshit, a Nabatean city in the Negev, and afterward he became a guide in this region. After the Six-Day War, Amos took part in archaeological surveys and research of new sites and areas. From 1968 to 1970, he served as secretary of the Archaeological Survey of Israel.