Hershel Shanks, whose magazine uncovered ancient Israel, dies at 90
The magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review, which Shanks commanded for over 40 years until his retirement in 2017, popularized what was a rather arcane, technical and exclusive subject and made it digestible for tens of thousands of readers.
by Joseph Berger
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- Hershel Shanks was neither an archaeologist nor a biblical scholar when the notion of creating a popular magazine devoted to biblical archaeology began to germinate in his mind; he was a real estate lawyer in Washington. But in 1972 he took a yearlong hiatus and traveled with his wife and two daughters to Israel, where he became captivated by the wealth of archaeological digs.