Lorenzo Nigro

Lorenzo Nigro (born 1967) is an Italian field archaeologist and a professor of archaeology at Sapienza University of Rome. His studies and excavations are focused on ancient societies in the Levant and Mediterranean.[1][2][3]

Career

Lorenzo Nigro is the director of the Italian journal Vicino Oriente. He previously served as director of the Museum of the Near East, Egypt and the Mediterranean at Sapienza University and curator of the Gregorian Egyptian Museum.[1][2]

Tell es-Sultan

Beginning in 1997, Nigro led a series of excavations at Tell es-Sultan (ancient Jericho, Palestine), in collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.[4][5] His team discovered patterns of crop cultivation, canal construction, and animal husbandry in the tell.[5] The Tell-es Sultan conservation project, which is implemented jointly by UNESCO, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and Sapienza University, hosted an international symposium in February 2023, where Nigro spoke about strategies used to preserve the ancient site during excavation.[6] On 17 September 2023, the World Heritage Committee inscribed Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the State of Palestine.[7][8]

Motya

For twenty years, Nigro led archaeological digs on the southern part of island of Motya off the coast of Sicily, in collaboration with the Regional Superintendency of Trapani. His excavations of the ancient Phoenician settlement on the island unearthed "early temples to Baal and Astarte" and a nearby "cult building", surrounded by a wall dated to 550 BCE.[9] His expedition uncovered "offerings and architectural elements" in these temples, showing that "water and the stars" were important ritual elements of Phoenician religious worship.[10] In 2013, Nigro and his team drained the kothon on the island and discovered evidence that the lagoon was actually used for religious rituals, rather than serving a dry dock as previously believed. In an interview for Archaeology magazine, Nigro explained that the area was part of a "sacred pool" centered on Baal, with a cult statue in the middle "as a central point and a visual attraction".[11]

On the island, Nigro and his team discovered "Egyptian-like artifacts" such as scarabs, as well as evidence that the Phoenicians adopted customs and traditions from the Elymians.[10] They also found a white terracotta face of a woman with red hair, representing the goddess Astarte.[12][13]

Bethlehem

In 2015, Nigro led a joint Italian-Palestinian team to excavate a site near Bethlehem in the West Bank, after a construction crew found signs of a burial ground. Their archaeological expedition uncovered Canaanite artifacts and an ancient necropolis dating between 2200 BCE – 650 BCE. The site is now called Khalet al-Jam'a.[14][15]

Khirbet al-Batrawy

Beginning in December 2004, a Sapienza University archaeological expedition directed by Nigro uncovered the previously unknown city of Khirbet al-Batrawy in Jordan.[16][17] The site has a royal palace with substantive fortifications and towers, which Nigro and his team have called "the Palace of Copper Axes", based on the five copper axes discovered there.[16] They've also found other artifacts like jewels, ceremonial vessels, and several potter's wheels.[16][17]

Awards

  • 2026–2027 – Albright Institute of Archaeological Research Fellowship in Jerusalem[18]
  • 2026 – Premio Pasquale Rotondi ai Salvatori dell'Arte (transl. Pasquale Rotondi Award for Saviours of Art) for contributions to the Tell es-Sultan site's World Heritage inscription[19][20][21]
  • 2021 – Antonino Di Vita Award[22]
  • 2020 – Solunto International Award[23]
  • 2019 – Silvia Dell'Orso Award[24]

Publications

Articles and chapters

  • with Marchetti, "Cultic Activities in the Sacred Area of Ishtar at Ebla during the Old Syrian Period: The Favissae F.5327 and F.5238", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 1997, 1-44
  • "The two steles of Sargon: iconology and visual propaganda at the beginning of royal Akkadian relief", Iraq, 1988, 85-102
  • with Zalloua et al. "Ancient DNA of Phoenician remains indicates discontinuity in the settlement history of Ibiza", Scientific Reports, 2018.
  • with Calcagnile, Yasin, Gallo, Quarta. "Jericho and the Chronology of Palestine in the Early Bronze Age: A Radiometric Re-Assessment", Radiocarbon, 2019, 211-241
  • "The Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan, Ancient Jericho (1997-2015): Archaeology and Valorisation of Material and Immaterial Heritage" in (eds. Sparks, Finlayson, Wagemakers, Briffa) 'Digging Up Jericho: Past, Present, and Future,' Oxford: Archaeopress, 2020, pp. 175-214
  • "The sacred pool of Ba'al: a reinterpretation of the ‘Kothon’ at Motya", Antiquity, 2022, pp. 354-371

Books

  • Tell es-Sultan/Jericho in the Context of the Jordan Valley: Site Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development. 2006.
  • Tell Es-Sultan/Jericho in the Early Bronze II (3000-2700 BC): The Rise of an Early Palestinian City : a Synthesis of the Results of Four Archaeological Expeditions. 2010.

References

  1. 1 2 "LORENZO NIGRO". phd.uniroma1.it. Sapienza University of Rome. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Speakers: Lorenzo Nigro, Sapienza Università di Roma". romemuseumexhibition.com. Rome Museum Exhibition. 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Lorenzo Nigro Biografia". museoradio3.rai.it (in Italian). RAI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ancient Jericho added to Unesco World Heritage list". phd.uniroma1.it. Sapienza University of Rome. 18 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 July 2026. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 Arielli 2024, p. 21.
  6. ↑ "International Symposium on the conservation and management of Tell es-Sultan, Jericho". UNESCO. 16 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Nobani, Ayman (18 September 2023). "Jericho's Tell es-Sultan added to UNESCO World Heritage list". Al Jazeera.
  8. ↑ "Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Leonard 2022, p. 41.
  10. 1 2 Leonard 2022, p. 42.
  11. ↑ Leonard 2022, p. 43.
  12. ↑ Bernardelli Curuz, Maurizio (8 October 2021). "Dalla fossa emerge il volto di Astarte-Afrodite con altri tesori. Il sensazionale scavo a Mozia di Marsala" [The face of Astarte-Aphrodite emerges from the pit, along with other treasures. The sensational excavation at Mozia di Marsala]. stilearte.it (in Italian). StileArte. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Greco, Fabio (9 October 2021). "A Mozia è stato scoperto il volto 'luminoso' della dea Astarte" [The 'luminous' face of the goddess Astarte was discovered in Mozia]. agi.it (in Italian). Agenzia Giornalistica Italia. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Jarus, Owen (4 March 2016). "Ancient Burial Ground with 100 Tombs Found Near Biblical Bethlehem". Live Science. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Bohstrom, Philippe (6 March 2016). "Vast 4,200-year Old Prehistoric Necropolis Found by Bethlehem". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 "Khirbet al-Batrawy". dipantichita.web.uniroma1.it. Sapienza University of Rome. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 Rawashdeh, Saeb (28 December 2017). "Excavation in Khirbet Al Batrawy gives clues to ancient urban centre". Jordan Times. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "AIAR Monthly Newsletter – August 2026". W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. 9 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Premio Rotondi ai salvatori d'Arte, XXVIII edizione" [Rotondi Award for Saviours of Arts, 28th edition]. Il Metauro (in Italian). 24 May 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "28ª edizione del Premio Rotondi" [28th edition of the Rotondi Award]. La Voce di New York (in Italian). 24 May 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Programma Premio Rotondi 2026" [Rotondi Award 2026 Program]. premiorotondi.it (in Italian). 2026. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Festival della Comunicazione e del Cinema Archeologico: 2021 Edition" [Festival of Communication and Archaeological Cinema: 2021 Edition]. rassegnalicodia.it (in Italian). Archeovisiva ETS Associazione Culturale. 2021. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "'Solunto International Award': le immagini della cerimonia di premiazione a Bagheria" [Solunto International Award: Images from the awards ceremony in Bagheria]. balarm.it (in Italian). Balarm. 8 September 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "A Lorenzo Nigro e all'archeologia il Premio 2019" [2019 Prize Award to Lorenzo Nigro and Archaeology]. a-sdo.org (in Italian). Associazione Culturale Silvia Dell'Orso ETS. 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Bibliography

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