{{Short description|Israeli archaeologist (born 1938)}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = Doctorate professor | name = | native_name = דן בהט | honorific_suffix = | native_name_lang = he | image = File:Dan Bahat - Israeli archeologist.jpg | caption = Dan Bahat in 1999 | birth_date = 1938 | birth_place = Lviv, Poland | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | field = Archaeology | work_institutions = Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture and Education, District Archeologist of Jerusalem<br>Bar-Ilan University<br>St. Michael College, University of Toronto | alma_mater = Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA AR/JHis '64, MA '78, PhD T'gphy&T'nymy of CruJer '90) | doctoral_advisor = Joshua Prawer | doctoral_students = | known_for = Head of archaeological research at the Western Wall tunnels<br>leading the two-season excavations at Tel Yavne, the Crusader Ibelin castle excavations | spouse = | influences = | influenced = | prizes = }} '''Dan Bahat''' ({{langx|he|דן בהט}}; born 1938 in Lviv in Poland) is an Israeli archaeologist especially known for his excavations in Jerusalem, particularly at the Western Wall tunnels.
==Biography== Dan Bahat was born in Poland to Polish Jewish parents who were citizens of Mandatory Palestine.<ref name=CV>[http://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/shared/DanbahatCVITAE_1__1_.pdf Dan Bahat: Curriculum vitae] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309184208/https://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/shared/DanbahatCVITAE_1__1_.pdf |date=2021-03-09 }} Bar-Ilan University</ref> The family moved to Tel Aviv in 1939 and became Israeli citizens in 1952.<ref name=CV/> He served in the IDF from 1956 to 1958.<ref name=CV/> In 1964 he gained a Bachelor's degree in archaeology and Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He finished his master's degree in 1978. In 1990 he obtained the PhD degree from the Hebrew University on the topic "Topography and Toponymy of Crusader Jerusalem" under the supervision of Joshua Prawer.<ref name=CV/>
==Academic and archaeology career== Between 1963 and 1990 Bahat was employed by the Israel Government's Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture and Education, including as the District Archeologist of Jerusalem.
He taught until 2004 at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and he is currently{{when|date=September 2021}} teaching at St. Michael College, University of Toronto, Canada.
===Archaeological projects=== ====Western Wall Tunnels==== Bahat was the head of archaeological research at the Western Wall tunnels between 1986–2007.<ref>[https://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=1738&mag_id=118 "Jerusalem, the Old City, Wilson's Arch and the Great Causeway: Preliminary Report"] Alexander Onn, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Rachel Bar-Nathan for ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot'', Volume 123 (2011), posted 15 Aug 2011. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024.</ref>
In January 1992, Dan Bahat published the IAA's archaeological finding of the Western Stone, the largest ashlar stone found to date in Israel, at ca. 10–12 metres above the base{{cn|date=April 2023}} of the Temple Mount's Western Wall. The stone measures {{convert|13.6|m|ft|}} in length, presumably {{convert|4.6|m|ft|}} in depth, {{convert|3.5|m|ft|}} in height, and is estimated at weighing ca. 517 tonnes (570 short tons), the world's third largest block of stone used in building.<ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/01/18/wailing-wall-includes-one-of-worlds-biggest-blocks/ Orlando Sentinel: ''Wailing Wall Includes One Of World's Biggest Blocks'']</ref>
====Tel Yavne: Ibelin Castle==== Bahat led the two-season dig at Tel Yavne, unearthing remains of the Crusader castle of the Ibelin family.
==Published works== *{{cite book |author= Dan Bahat |title= Twenty Centuries of Jewish Life in the Holy Land: The Forgotten Generations |year= 1976 |publisher= The Israel Economist}} *{{cite book |author= Dan Bahat |title= The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem |year= 1990 |publisher= Simon & Schuster |isbn= 978-0134516424}} *{{cite book |author= Dan Bahat |title= The Western Wall Tunnels: Touching The Stones of Our Heritage |year= 2002 |publisher= Israel MOD/The Western Wall Heritage Foundation |isbn= 978-9650512071}} *{{cite book |author= Dan Bahat |title= The Atlas of Biblical Jerusalem |publisher= Carta |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0134516424}} *{{cite book |author= Dan Bahat and Chaim T. Rubinstein |title= The Carta Jerusalem Atlas (formerly: Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem) |year= 2011 |publisher= Carta, the Israel Map & Pub Co Ltd |isbn= 978-9652208071}} *{{cite book |author= Dan Bahat |title= The Jerusalem western wall tunnel |year= 2013 |publisher= Israel Exploration Society |isbn= 978-965-221-091-3}}
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahat, Dan}} Category:1938 births Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Category:Israeli archaeologists Category:Living people Category:Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Category:Tichon Hadash High School (Tel Aviv) alumni Category:Academic staff of Bar-Ilan University