Milton C. Fisher<\/b><\/p>\n
Many of the pioneer archaeologists discussed in this series have been strong personalities. Driven by curiosity or a flare for adventure, they were ambitious to explore and discover. Some were practically loners in their work, choosing to perform a whole range of tasks on their own.<\/p>\n
Clarence Fisher at Herodian Colonnade, Sebaste (June 4, 1908) – from plate in second Harvard University volume<\/i>.<\/b><\/p>\n
One notable exception was George Reisner (see Archaeology and Biblical Research<\/i> Winter 1992). He recognized the need for a trained staff to care for all phases of the work. It was in his excavation at Sebaste (ancient Samaria) that such a concept was put in practice in the land of Palestine for the first time. The techniques of digging and recording developed in that excavation would be known thereafter as the Reisner-Fisher Method. It was to become the official procedure for archaeological excavation in the land of Palestine for the next three decades.<\/p>\n
Now, Reisner we know \u2014 but who was Fisher?<\/b> Well, it certainly wasn\u2019t me! Clearance Stanley Fisher was a University of Pennsylvania trained architect who already had field experience at Nippur in Iraq. Reisner and Fisher\u2019s Harvard excavation at Samaria from <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 6:2 (Spring 1993) p. 57<\/p>\n
1908\u20131910, was not only the first systematic large-scale, well organized and well financed archaeological excavation undertaken in Palestine, it was also the first American excavation in that country.<\/p>\n
After further field work at Giza in Egypt, Fisher was again back in Palestine in 1921 – this time heading the first large scale post World War I excavation in the country at Beth Shan. It was sponsored by the University Museum at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, where he also had been employed for most of his professional career.<\/p>\n
While that excavation continued until 1933, Fisher left the dig after only four years because he received an offer most archaeologists can only dream about. Sponsored by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and financed by the Rockefeller family, C.S. Fisher was invited to direct a thorough excavation at Megiddo. With virtually unlimited funds and all the time required to carry out his work he willingly accepted.<\/p>\n
True to its mission, the Megiddo excavation continued until 1939. Even then, it only ceased with the outbreak of the Second World War. Unfortunately, Fisher had to withdraw from the dig after only two years due to ill health. He finished his career as Professor of Archaeology at the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. During this tenure he also served in an advisory capacity for a number of excavations.<\/p>\n
While not having the usual education in history and ancient languages which most archaeologists receive, Fisher brought precision, accuracy, detail, and a clear system of records with him. And after his training with Reisner he became, in W. F. Albright\u2019s words, \u201can archaeological genius of no mean quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having excavated in the regions of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine – it was the later which was his clear preference. Here Fisher spent most of his time, especially in the last half of his career. In fact, it could be said that the name C.S. Fisher was attached to three of the most important excavations in Palestine prior to the Second World War.<\/p>\n
Some might suggest that Fisher, because of his constant moving about, was restless or did not work well with others. But following Fisher\u2019s sudden death in 1941, his colleague Nelson Glueck wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company of his friends misses him sorely. The host of those who loved him for his goodness of heart and humility of spirit will cherish the memory of this gentle man, whose last pilgrimage was to Nazareth, and whose final resting place is in Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Milton C. Fisher Many of the pioneer archaeologists discussed in this series have been strong personalities. Driven by curiosity or a flare for adventure, they were ambitious to explore and discover. Some were practically loners in their work, choosing to perform a whole range of tasks on their own. Clarence Fisher at Herodian Colonnade, Sebaste … Continue reading “CLARENCE
\nSTANLEY FISHER (1876\u20131941)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}