Dan Bahat
Dan Bahat is an Israeli archaeologist especially known for his excavations in Jerusalem, particularly at the Western Wall tunnels.
Bahat was born in Poland to parents who were citizens of Mandatory Palestine. The family moved to Tel Aviv in 1939 and became Israeli citizens in 1948. He served in the IDF from 1956 to 1958. 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.
He taught until 2004 at Bar Ilan University, Israel, and he is currently teaching at St. Michael College, University of Toronto, Canada. Between 1963 and 1990 was employed by the Israel Government's Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture and Education, including as the District Archeologist of Jerusalem.
In January 1992, Dan Bahat published the IAA’s archaeological findings of what became known as the largest ashlar stone found to date in Israel, at ca. 10 – 12 metres above the base of the Temple Mount’s western wall enclosure. The stone measured in length, in depth, in height, and is estimated at weighing ca. 517 tonnes, the world’s third largest block of stone used in building.Books
