“Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus”
Presented by Dr. Jodi Magness
Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 7 p.m.
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts 1102 and Online
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies (CJHPS) invites the public to a free lecture by Dr. Jodi Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 7 p.m. in Turchin Center for the Visual Arts 1102, located on Appalachian State's Boone campus.
The lecture will also be offered online via Zoom. To join via Zoom, register at bit.ly/JMagness.
Dr. Magness is a Classical and Biblical archaeologist specializing in ancient Palestine from the time of Jesus up to the tenth century. Her research interests include Jerusalem, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient synagogues, Masada, the Roman army in the East, ancient pottery, the Byzantine-early Islamic transition, and Diaspora Judaism in the Roman world.
Magness has participated in over 20 excavations in Israel and Greece, including co-directing the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Since 2011, she has directed excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee, which are bringing to light a monumental Late Roman synagogue paved with stunning mosaics.
Magness is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Past President of the Archaeological Institute of America.
In this slide-illustrated lecture, Magness will survey the history and archaeology of Jerusalem in the Late Second Temple period (late first century BCE – first century CE), ending with the city’s destruction by the Romans in 70 CE. The presentation will focus mainly on Herod the Great’s reconstruction of the Second Temple and Temple Mount, and Jesus’s final days in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the subject of Magness’s most recent book, Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024).
Sponsored by CJHPS and the departments of Anthropology, History, and Philosophy and Religion, “Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus” is free and open to the public. For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu.
For more information, visit holocaust.appstate.edu/events/dr-jodi-magness. Questions can be directed to CJHPS Director Dr. Davis Hankins by email at hankinscd@appstate.edu or by phone at (828) 262-6610.
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About the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies
Appalachian State University’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies was established in 2002 to develop new educational opportunities for students, teachers and the community. Located administratively within the College of Arts and Sciences, the center’s vision promotes tolerance, understanding and respect for all human life. To accomplish this vision, the center works to strengthen tolerance, understanding and remembrance by increasing the knowledge of Jewish culture and history, teaching the history and meaning of the Holocaust and utilizing these experiences to explore peaceful avenues for human improvement and the prevention of further genocides. Learn more at holocaust.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at appstate.edu.
Dr. Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Photo courtesy of Magness
Dr. Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Photo courtesy of Magness