University of Haifa

On Sunday July 12, both Britain’s current HM Ambassador to Israel, Tom Phillips, and former British HM Ambassador Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles joined University of Haifa Archaeology Professor Mina Weinstein-Evron and a small group of invited guests in a brief but significant ceremony at the graveside of Charles Lambert, pioneer of the Mt. Carmel caves and the prehistoric Natufian culture they preserve, who died on 19 July 1935 and lies buried in the historical Mt. Zion cemetery of the Anglican Diocese in Jerusalem.

Lambert's tombstone at Mt. Zion

Sir Sherard recounted how he had become intrigued early on by the Mount Carmel excavations and by the enigmatic figure of Charles Lambert, rescued from historical oblivion by Professor Weinstein-Evron in her newly published book, Archaeology in the Archives: Unveiling the Natufian Culture of Mount Carmel (Brill, Leiden & Boston, 2009). Keenly aware of the significance of Charles Lambert for the history of British archaeology, Sir Sherard gained the interest of His Royal Highness Prince Charles, who contributed a foreword to the book as “someone with a deep interest in the history of the Near East and its contribution to modern civilization.”
Ambassador Tom Phillips added he was delighted to find such a strong connection between the work of past British archaeologists and that of their Israeli successors.
The ceremony celebrating Lambert’s legacy was led by the Reverend Canon Robert Edmunds of St. Georges Cathedral, Jerusalem, and enjoyed the hospitality of Dr. Paul Wright, Executive Director of the Jerusalem University College (the Institute of Holy Land Studies).

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