PhD - Current

Supervisor:  Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat

Abstract:  I’m an archaeologist; specializing in classical periods at the levant, in architectural decoration and in the application of computational methods and 3D modeling on the study of stone decoration. In my PhD I am studying the development of the urban layout at the south-western hill of Jerusalem from the Hellenistic period to the destruction of the city in AD70.
I am a graduate of the Mandel School M.A. Research Track Honors Program and the “Late Antiquity” interdisciplinary M.A. Research Honors Program. In my masters I have studied the architectural decoration found at the fortress-palace in Herodium, its cultural influence and stone-carving methods.
I am the head of the New Hebrew University Expedition for the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, together with Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat and Dr. Oren Gutfeld; member of the Ehud Netzer Expedition for Herodium; member of the Hebrew University Expedition for Horvat Midras.

Publications:  Peleg-Barkat, O. and Ben-Haim, A. (2017). ‘Monumental Ionic columns from areas Q and H’, in:Geva, H., Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem Conducted by Nahman Avigad, 1969–1982, volume VI: Areas J, N, Z and Other Studies, The Israel Exploration Society and the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, pp. 68–95.

בן־חיים, א׳ וכלף, א׳ (2018). ״עדויות למבנה מונומנטלי ממערב להר־הבית בשלהי ימי הבית השני״. חידושים בארכיאולוגיה של ירושלים וסביבותיה, י״ב, 56–77.

Ben-Haim, A. (forthcoming), ‘The Architectural Decoration of Lower Herodium’, in: Porat, R., Kalman, Y., and Chachy, R., Herodium II: Lower Herodium and other studies, The Israel Exploration Society and the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

בן־חיים, א׳ (בדפוס). ״עיטורי האבן בארמון־מבצר ההר בהרודיון: אומנים וסגנונות בחצרו של הורדוס״, ארץ ישראל ל״ה: ספר הלל גבע. החברה לחקירת ארץ־ישראל ועתיקותיה, ירושלים.

Year: 2021/2022 President Stipend

MA Honors Program 2015/16

Subject: Philosophia Naturalis in 14-16th century and the Representation of Nature in the Art of North Italy

Supervisor: Dr. Lola Kantor-Kazovsky

Abstract: In my research I intend to trace the Medieval taxonomy of plants, Wild Men, landscapes and texts of Philosophia Naturalis, in the visual iconography of goddess Natura: starting with theological writings and ending with the private canvases commissioned by North Italian aristocrats in the Quattrocento and the Cinquecento. The Iconongraphical interpretations of canonical canvases such as the (so called) “Venus” of Giorgione, and other mysterious females, is still vague and unidentified, in spite of the vast amount of textual and visual precedents. I will claim that the detailed geology as well as the figurative characters, are allegorical representations of Natura, and a result of a synthesis between the Medieval tradition of Philosophia Naturalis and the Humanistic culture. For each of the cosmographical components of the Medieval Philosophia Naturalis there is an essential origin in Pliny’s encyclopedic Historia Naturalis which received a new kind of attention in the Trecento. I believe it would be justified to explore the misconstrued compositions of these private canvases through that encyclopedic perspective, which seem to have been dominant in patronage culture during the Quattrocento and Cinquecento. I will use them as both the objects of research and as its focus. In addition to previous interpretations of these motifs, I believe that a further understanding of the philosophical contemplation over the relations between the creations of Man versus those of Nature would suffice a more objective understanding of these compositions. As a result, I hope it will deepen our general view of North Italian artists and their patrons.

Bio: A Phd student in the Art History department in the Hebrew University; Studying North Italian allegories and their visual representation in the Quattrocento and the Cinquecento; Teaching ancient Art and Though in the Israeli Arts and Science Academy; An avid lecturer and organizer of various courses and conferences in the scholarly arena.

Rotenstreich Scholarship 2021/22

President Stipend 2018/19

Subject: Movement and trends in Halachic ruling in 16th century Ashkenaz‏ and Poland

Supervisor: Prof. Simcha Emanuel

Abstract: The history of Halakhah in early modern Europe with cultural and social emphasis‏‏

President Stipend 2018/19