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Yuval Goren
Professor of Archaeology

Yuval Goren is an expert in microarhaeology (application of microscopical methods in archeology) and especially the study of composition and origin of archaeological ceramic techniques using optical mineralogy (petrography). Goren served as Chairman of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. In 2015 Goren was invited to join the Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, where he has been working since 2016.
Goren began his studies in archaeology in 1981 at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In 1991 he received a doctorate from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. According to petrographic analyses of pottery from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages, the dissertation topic was the beginning of pottery production in Israel. Dissertation instructors were Prof. Paul Goldberg and Professor Yitzhak Gilad. Under Prof. Goldberg, Goren studied the field of micromorphology (the study of archaeological site features in thin sections under the microscope).

Goren specialized in technology research and locating the origin of pottery and other archaeological finds using mineralogical analyzes (mostly microscopic methods) and chemical methods. Currently, he holds nearly 200 scientific publications on these topics.

Between 1989 and 1996 he worked as a petrography researcher at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), and between 1991 and 1996 has also served as Chairman of the IAA workers' union.

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From 1996 he served as a senior lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University, and in 2000 he was promoted to associate professor. In 2005 he was promoted to full professor. From 2000 to 2005, he served as head of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, and served in a variety of academic positions, including Chairman of the Faculty Research Committee, member of the appointments and doctoral committees at the Faculty of Humanities, member of the "small" Senate and member of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University.

Goren founded the Laboratory for Comparative Microarchaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and was the originator and chair of the MA Program in Archaeology and Archaeomaterials. This program was based on the advanced training of archeology students' research methods from the natural sciences and material engineering and their application in the study of archaeological finds. Since 2014 he is an Honorary Professor of Archaeology at the University College London.

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Courses in the Track in Archaeomaterial Sciences and Conservation

  • Scientific Methods in Archaeology (undergrad. level, 2 credits)

  • Technology and Material Culture (undergrad. level,2 credits)

  • Microarchaeology (graduates, 4 credits)

  • Analytical Methods in Archaeology and Art (graduates, 2 credits)

  • ESHMOR Workshop (graduates, 4 credits)

  • Materials and Humanities, Past Technologies in Light of Modern Research (graduates, 4 credits)

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