Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder

by Ehud Netzer

Herod the Great, one of the most famous builders of the biblical world, is a name well known to readers of the New Testament. Recently a team led by Ehud Netzer, a leading Israeli archaeologist of the Herodian period, discovered the tomb of Herod. Netzer here highlights Herod's involvement with and contributions to his building projects, which benefited from his analytical mind, imagination, and understanding of the building and planning process. The book presents a comprehensive synthesis of Herod's enterprises from architectural and archaeological viewpoints. Originally published in hardcover by Mohr Siebeck, it is now available in paper.

Genres: Ancient History

464 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2006

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a useful introduction to the major building projects of Herod the Great, if one already has some experience with the history or the period and with archaeological & architectural terms.

Netzer's concern here is giving an overview in order to argue for Herod's personal involvement with his building projects. His descriptions and interpretations of the remains and the literary evidence are clear and the reader is provided with many references (many of which are in Hebrew, which is to be expected of an Israeli scholar writing about things that are (mostly) found in modern Israel). Netzer notes when his opinions differ from other scholars.

My biggest problem with the book was the in adequacy of the plans, drawings and photos. There weren't enough of them and many weren't as detailed as I would have liked. This is also true of the appendices. It's much easier to follow the description of a site, a building or an architectural detail with there are good plans, drawings and photos.

[Anja Noordam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure how interesting it is for people who have not been to Israel and walked through Herod’s building projects, but to me it was an interesting book, excavations are ongoing so a book like this needs updating regularly