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[[Image:BryantGWood.jpg|right]]

[[Image:BryantGWood.jpg|right]]

'''Bryant G. Wood''' is a Biblical archaeologist and Research Director of the [[Associates for Biblical Research]]. He is internationally known for his 1990 extensive research on the stratigraphy and pottery associated with the destruction of late Bronze Age [[Jericho]] that led him to the conclusion that the date the city fell was in close agreement with the Biblical date in the latter half of the 15th century BC, a date which was also in agreement with the earlier archaeological findings of [[John Garstang]]. Recent developments in the radiocarbon dating dispute offer additional support of the Biblical date and against the date of 1550 BC conjectured by [[Kathleen Kenyon]].  

'''Bryant G. Wood''' is a biblical archaeologist and Research Director of the [[Associates for Biblical Research]]. He is internationally known for his 1990 extensive research on the stratigraphy and pottery associated with the destruction of late Bronze Age [[Jericho]] that led him to the conclusion that the date the city fell was in close agreement with the biblical date in the latter half of the 15th century BC, despite the efforts of [[Kathleen Kenyon]] to date it to the mid-16th century BC.

==Biography==

==Biography==

Bryant Wood attended Syracuse University on an athletic scholarship, graduating with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering.  After graduation, he worked for the General Electric Company in Schenectady NY.  While with G.E., Wood held various positions at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory related to the design, fabrication and testing of nuclear reactors, and earned a M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] in Troy NY. His employment with G.E. was interrupted by a two-year term of service as a lieutenant in the Army Security Agency.

Bryant Wood attended Syracuse University on an athletic scholarship, graduating with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering.  After graduation, he worked for the General Electric Company in Schenectady NY.  While with G.E., Wood held various positions at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory related to the design, fabrication and testing of nuclear reactors, and earned a M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] in Troy NY. His employment with G.E. was interrupted by a two-year term of service as a lieutenant in the Army Security Agency.

In 1973 Wood left G.E. to pursue Biblical and archaeological studies, earning an M.A. degree in Biblical History from the University of Michigan in 1974 and a Ph.D. degree in Syro-Palestinian archaeology from the University of Toronto in 1985.  In 1989–90, Dr. Wood was visiting professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto.  He is currently Director of research with the Associates for Biblical Research, Akron PA, and editor of their quarterly publication ''Bible and Spade''. In addition, he has served as adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield PA; Evangelical School of Theology, Myerstown PA; Faith Theological Seminary, Los Angeles; Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster PA; Messiah College, Grantham PA; Ontario Theological Seminary, Toronto; and Toronto Baptist Seminary, Toronto.

In 1973 Wood left G.E. to pursue biblical and archaeological studies, earning an M.A. degree in Biblical History from the University of Michigan in 1974 and a Ph.D. degree in Syro-Palestinian archaeology from the University of Toronto in 1985.  In 1989–90, Dr. Wood was visiting professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto.  He is currently the Director of Research with the Associates for Biblical Research, Akron PA, and editor of their quarterly publication ''Bible and Spade''. In addition, he has served as adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield PA; Evangelical School of Theology, Myerstown PA; Faith Theological Seminary, Los Angeles; Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster PA; Messiah College, Grantham PA; Ontario Theological Seminary, Toronto; and Toronto Baptist Seminary, Toronto.

Dr. Wood’s extensive archaeological field work includes serving as co-director of a survey of three reservoir areas in northern Jordan, 1978; area supervisor for the Wadi Tumilat Project excavation at Tell el-Maskhuta, Egypt, 1979, 1981, and 1983; volunteer at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev excavation at Haruvit in the northern Sinai, 1981; member of the Wadi Tumilat Project survey of the Wadi Tumilat, Egypt, 1983; field archaeologist for the Associates for Biblical Research excavation at Khirbet Nisya, Israel, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994; and Director of the Khirbet el-Maqatir excavation, Israel, 1995–present.

Dr. Wood’s extensive archaeological field work includes serving as co-director of a survey of three reservoir areas in northern Jordan, 1978; area supervisor for the Wadi Tumilat Project excavation at Tell el-Maskhuta, Egypt, 1979, 1981, and 1983; volunteer at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev excavation at Haruvit in the northern Sinai, 1981; member of the Wadi Tumilat Project survey of the Wadi Tumilat, Egypt, 1983; field archaeologist for the Associates for Biblical Research excavation at Khirbet Nisya, Israel, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994; and Director of the Khirbet el-Maqatir excavation, Israel, 1995–present.

Wood is a specialist in Canaanite pottery of the Late Bronze Age.  He is author of ''The Sociology of Pottery in Ancient Palestine: The Ceramic Industry and the Diffusion of Ceramic Style in the Bronze and Iron Ages'' (1990), as well as numerous articles on archaeological subjects published in various academic journals. He is listed in ''Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology'', 1993; ''Who’s Who in the East'', 1995–1996; ''Who’s Who in the World'', 1996; ''International Who’s Who of Professionals'', 1999; ''Strathmore’s Who’s Who'', 2002–2003 and ''2000 Outstanding Academics of the 21st Century''. He is a member of the Near East Archaeological Society and a Fellow of the Institute for Biblical Research.  Bryant Wood and his wife Faith reside in Manheim PA.  They have four children and nine grandchildren.

Wood is a specialist in Canaanite pottery of the Late Bronze Age.  He is author of ''The Sociology of Pottery in Ancient Palestine: The Ceramic Industry and the Diffusion of Ceramic Style in the Bronze and Iron Ages'' (1990), as well as numerous articles on archaeological subjects published in various academic journals. He is listed in ''Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology'', 1993; ''Who’s Who in the East'', 1995–1996; ''Who’s Who in the World'', 1996; ''International Who’s Who of Professionals'', 1999; ''Strathmore’s Who’s Who'', 2002–2003 and ''2000 Outstanding Academics of the 21st Century''. Wood's research on the Hittites of the Bible has been incorporated into a major Bible translation, the Christian Standard Bible (formerly named the Holman Christian Standard Bible).<ref>http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2017/03/27/Dr-Bryant-Woods-Research-on-the-Hittites-Incorporated-Into-New-Bible-Translation.aspx</ref><ref>CONUNDRUM, SOLUTION TO AN ETYMOLOGICAL. "Hittites and Hethites: A Proposed Solution to an Etymological Conundrum." JETS 54 (2011): 239-50.</ref> He is a member of the Near East Archaeological Society and a Fellow of the Institute for Biblical Research.  Bryant Wood and his wife Faith reside in Manheim PA.  They have four children and nine grandchildren.

== Khirbet el-Maqatir ==

== Khirbet el-Maqatir ==

Wood disagreed with Albright's identification of et-Tell as the Biblical Ai that was burned by Joshua, favoring instead the site with the modern name Khirbet el-Maqatir one km to the west. The et-Tell site was not occupied during the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages, whereas Khirbet el-Maqatir yielded pottery from the Middle Bronze, Late Bronze I, and Iron Age I periods. A significant find here was the ruins of a Late Bronze fortress. Wood's publication of results came to the preliminary conclusion "that the LB I fortress meets the Biblical requirements to be tentatively identified as the fortress 'Ai, referred to in Josh. 7-8."<ref>Bryant G. Wood, Khirbet el-Maqatir, 1995 – 1998," ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 50 (2000), 129.</ref> Wood has received preliminary authorizations to resume excavations at the site in the summer of 2009. Wood's colleague David Livingston has suggested nearby Khirbet Nisya as another possibility for Ai.  

Wood disagreed with Albright's identification of Et-Tell as the biblical Ai that was burned by Joshua, favoring instead the site with the modern name Khirbet el-Maqatir, located one km to the west of Et-Tell.<ref>Wood, Bryant G. "The search for Joshua’s Ai." Critical Issues in Early Israelite History 3 (2008): 205.</ref> The Et-Tell site was not occupied during the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages, whereas Khirbet el-Maqatir yielded pottery from the Middle Bronze, Late Bronze I, and Iron Age I periods. A significant find here was the ruins of a Late Bronze fortress. Wood's publication of results came to the preliminary conclusion "that the LB I fortress meets the biblical requirements to be tentatively identified as the fortress 'Ai, referred to in Josh. 7-8."<ref>Bryant G. Wood, Khirbet el-Maqatir, 1995 – 1998," ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 50 (2000), 129.</ref> Wood completed his excavations in Khirbet el-Maqatir in 2016.

== Debate over date of the fall of [[Jericho]] ==

== Debate over date of the fall of [[Jericho]] ==

Wood is known internationally for his study of the archaeological results for [[Jericho]], particularly his investigation dealing with City IV, the level associated with the destruction by earthquake and fire in the time of Joshua. Although [[John Garstang]] dated this destruction to about 1400 BC or shortly before, the later excavations and publications by Kathleen Kenyon redated this level to 1550 BC, a date that is not compatible with any reasonable Biblical chronology. Wood's [http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/05/Did-the-Israelites-Conquer-Jericho-A-New-Look-at-the-Archaeological-Evidence.aspx 1990 article] in ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' presented evidence that Garstang's date was correct and Kenyon's was wrong. This contention caused quite a stir, because Kenyon's results had been used, often uncritically, as evidence that the Biblical account of the battle of Jericho in Joshua chapter 6 was unhistorical. For a discussion of the debate that includes more recent radiocarbon considerations that support Wood's research, see the [[Jericho chronology dispute]] article. If the resolution of the Jericho dating dispute is resolved in favor of the Garstang/Wood date (late 15th century BC), as both old and new evidence indicate, then Dr. Wood's 1990 reexamination of the Jericho data should be recognized as a major contribution to the understanding of the history and archaeology of Palestine.  

Wood is known internationally for his study of the archaeological results for [[Jericho]], particularly his investigation dealing with City IV, the level associated with the destruction by earthquake and fire in the time of Joshua.<ref></ref> Although [[John Garstang]] dated this destruction to about 1400 BC or shortly before, the later excavations and publications by Kathleen Kenyon redated this level to 1550 BC, a date that is not compatible with any reasonable biblical chronology. In 1990, Wood published a paper to the [[Biblical Archaeology Review]], arguing that the date of the destruction of the residential area of Jericho should be returned to about 1400 BC, in agreement with Garstang's initial conclusions.<ref>Wood, Bryant G. "Did the Israelites conquer Jericho? A new look at the archaeological evidence." The Biblical archaeology review 16.2 (1990): 44-59.</ref> This contention caused quite a stir, because Kenyon's results had been used, often uncritically, as evidence that the biblical account of the battle of Jericho in Joshua chapter 6 was unhistorical. For a discussion of the debate that includes more recent radiocarbon considerations that support Wood's research, see the [[Jericho chronology dispute]] article. If the resolution of the Jericho dating dispute is resolved in favor of the Garstang/Wood date (late 15th century BC), as both old and new evidence indicate, then Dr. Wood's 1990 reexamination of the Jericho data should be recognized as a major contribution to the understanding of the history and archaeology of Palestine.  

== Publications ==

== Publications ==