Barry Gittlen

Biography

Dr. Barry M. Gittlen, Professor of Biblical and Archaeological Studies at Towson University, has spent the better part of his life as an archaeologist in the pursuit of the past. He has scoured the earth in search of ancient Canaanites and Israelites at Tell Gezer, the Jenin-Megiddo Survey, Tell Jemmeh, Tel Ser’a, and Har Resisim. As Field Archaeologist and Archaeological Coordinator for the Tel Miqne/Ekron Excavations in Israel (1982-1996), he helped recover the fascinating history of this Philistine industrial city. Combining the disciplines of Archaeology and Biblical Studies, Dr. Gittlen strives to bring the past to life and to reach new understandings of the ancient Israelite populace.

Dr. Gittlen received his Ph.D. from the Department of Oriental Studies of the University of Pennsylvania (1977) and has authored many scholarly articles and edited Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel (Eisenbrauns 2002). While currently preparing Tel Miqne-Ekron: Report of the 1984-1996 Excavations in Field III, the final report on his excavations at Philistine Ekron, he is also researching the function and meaning of images, especially anthropomorphic images, in Israelite civilization. Related to that research, Dr. Gittlen delivered the Plenary Address to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting of the Society for Biblical Literature (March 2013), “What Mean these Stones?” He currently serves as a Trustee of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

At Towson University, Dr. Gittlen serves on a number of committees: University Core Curriculum Committee, the Ancient Mediterranean Studies Steering Committee, and the Graduate Program in Jewish Studies. Dr. Gittlen is also the Director of the Undergraduate Program Jewish Studies and serves on the Board of Hillel of Towson University.

The recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, Dr. Gittlen is listed in the Who’s Who in Cypriote Archaeology and Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology and has served as consultant to, and actor in, archaeological/historical documentary films (most recently brought to Egypt by the BBC and Discovery Channel). Named Baltimore Hebrew University’s “Most Popular Professor” by Baltimore Magazine (January 1997) and the 1993 recipient of the President's Award for “The Professor Who Most Exemplifies the High Ideals of the Baltimore Hebrew University,” Dr. Gittlen’s students constitute his most important legacy.

Publication

• Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, Eisenbrauns, 2002