Palestine Exploration Fund

The Palestine Exploration Fund, commonly abbreviated as the PEF, is a British learned society based in London and dedicated to research concerning Palestine and the wider Levant. Established in 1865, it is among the oldest organizations created specifically to study the region. Its work has covered archaeology, historical geography, topography, geology, natural history, anthropology, ethnography, architecture, photography and the preservation of documentary evidence. The society emerged in a Victorian environment in which Palestine attracted scholarly, religious, imperial and military interest. Its creation followed the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem carried out by Royal Engineers, and its supporters sought to apply the period's developing scientific methods to the study of the Holy Land. The PEF's original prospectus emphasized investigation rather than religious controversy, presenting the organization as a research body that would examine the archaeology, geography, manners, customs, culture, geology and natural history of the region. William Thomson, Archbishop of York, was its first president, while founders and early supporters included Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Dean of Westminster, and George Grove. The Fund's early work was closely connected with British surveying and military engineering. Charles Warren's Jerusalem expedition of 1867–1870 investigated the city's ancient structures, subterranean water systems and the lower courses of the Temple Mount walls. The work contributed to the identification and documentation of features later associated with Warren's Shaft and Robinson's Arch, and helped establish the PEF as a major sponsor of field research. The Survey of Western Palestine, conducted principally by Royal Engineers between 1872 and 1877, produced detailed maps and descriptive records that became important sources for historical geography. Other early projects included the Ordnance Survey of Sinai and investigations of the region's geology, natural environment and cultural remains. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Fund sponsored or supported excavations at sites including Tell el-Hesi, Tell Zakariya, Gezer, Beth-Shemesh, Jerusalem, Mount Carmel and Ashkelon. Archaeologists associated with these projects included William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Frederick J. Bliss, R. A. Stewart Macalister, Duncan Mackenzie, Dorothy Garrod and John W. Crowfoot. The organization also supported surveys in the Wilderness of Zin, where Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence worked during the First World War era, and excavations at sites such as Beth Pelet, Samaria and Tel el-Duweir. The PEF's historical legacy is complex. Its work generated valuable maps, photographs, excavation records, artefacts and observations, but it also developed within the unequal political conditions of the Ottoman and British imperial periods. Early descriptions of Palestine could combine scientific investigation with biblical interpretation, colonial administration and strategic intelligence. The Fund's archives therefore have value not only for archaeology and historical geography but also for studying the history of knowledge, imperial institutions, local communities and the representation of the Levant. Today, the PEF operates as a research, collections and public-education organization. Its London headquarters houses a specialist library and substantial collections of artefacts, photographs, maps, manuscripts, paintings, specimens and excavation documentation. The holdings include more than 6,000 artefacts dating from prehistory to the nineteenth century and tens of thousands of photographs relating to Palestine, Jordan and Syria. The society organizes lectures and other events, collaborates with institutions such as the British Museum and the Council for British Research in the Levant, and provides annual grants for research and travel connected with its founding aims. It remains a membership-based learned society rather than a commercial product brand.

The Palestine Exploration Fund was established in London on 22 June 1865. Its formation followed growing British scholarly interest in Palestine and came shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers. The society's supporters included clergymen, biblical scholars, engineers and public figures who wanted to investigate the region using contemporary scientific and documentary methods. The organization received early support from prominent British institutions and patrons, including Queen Victoria and the University of Oxford, according to historical accounts cited in discussions of its foundation. The PEF's stated remit was deliberately broad. It sought to study the archaeology, geography, manners, customs, culture, geology and natural history of what was then often called the Holy Land. Its founders presented the Fund as an investigative society rather than a religious organization, although Christian biblical interest strongly influenced its origins and vocabulary. The institution also had a close and sometimes ambiguous relationship with the British military establishment. Surveying techniques and personnel overlapped with the Royal Engineers, and some of the resulting geographic knowledge could serve both scholarly and strategic purposes. Charles Warren led the Fund's major Jerusalem expedition from 1867 to 1870. His team investigated the city's ancient remains, the Temple Mount perimeter and underground water infrastructure. The expedition produced detailed plans, sections and drawings and contributed to the documentation of structures later associated with Warren's Shaft. The PEF subsequently published a substantial portfolio of Warren's plans and excavation records. The society's surveying program expanded in the 1870s. The Survey of Western Palestine, carried out principally by Royal Engineers between 1872 and 1877, mapped large parts of the region and recorded place names, terrain, archaeological remains and other features. Edward Henry Palmer worked on the Ordnance Survey of Sinai in 1872, while further surveys examined eastern Palestine, the Wadi Arabah and the Wilderness of Zin. Archaeological work became a central part of the PEF's identity. Excavations and field projects were undertaken at Tell el-Hesi, Jerusalem, Tell Zakariya, Gezer, Beth-Shemesh, Mount Carmel, Ashkelon, Beth Pelet, Samaria and Tel el-Duweir, among other locations. Researchers associated with these projects included Flinders Petrie, Frederick J. Bliss, R. A. Stewart Macalister, Duncan Mackenzie, Dorothy Garrod, John W. Crowfoot and John Garstang. Some projects produced important architectural, ceramic and epigraphic evidence, including early Hebrew inscriptions found during work at Tel el-Duweir. The Fund also supported research into natural history, geology, anthropology and the material culture of local communities. The labor structure of these excavations reflected the social inequalities of the period. Local men, women and children often performed demanding tasks such as carrying soil, clearing vegetation and digging under the direction of European-trained archaeologists. Frederick J. Bliss's records provide unusually detailed references to some female workers at Tell el-Hesi, but most local laborers remained unnamed in the official archaeological record. This aspect of the Fund's history is relevant to modern scholarship on archaeological practice, labor, gender and colonial knowledge production. The PEF maintained a broad network of supporters. By the late 1870s it had more than 130 local associations in the United Kingdom and branches or affiliated groups in places including Canada, Australia, Gaza and Jerusalem. The society's work also intersected with the development of British archaeological institutions in Jerusalem. It was involved in the foundation of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem in 1919 and later collaborated with that institution on excavations around the Ophel. John Winter Crowfoot, who directed related archaeological work, served as PEF chairman from 1945 to 1950. Over time, the organization shifted from primarily expeditionary surveying and excavation toward the preservation, interpretation and dissemination of historical collections. Its holdings now include artefacts, photographs, maps, letters, plans, reports, manuscripts, paintings, specimens and casts. The collections document projects undertaken from the 1860s through the 1930s and contain material relating to Jerusalem, Tell el-Hesi, Gezer, Samaria and other sites across the southern Levant. The PEF remains active as a British charitable or learned-society-style research organization. It relocated its offices from central London to Greenwich in early 2019, gaining additional space for collections and a specialist library. Its present activities include lectures, an annual general meeting, collaborative programs with archaeological and research institutions, and annual grants for projects related to the archaeology, history, culture, topography, geology and natural sciences of Palestine and the Levant. Its continuing role combines stewardship of a historically important archive with support for new interdisciplinary research.

• 2019

  Headquarters move to Greenwich

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  The Fund moved its office and collections from the Marylebone area of London to larger premises at Dreadnought Walk in Greenwich.

• 1919

  Involvement in the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  The PEF was involved in the establishment of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and later worked with it on excavations.

• 1902

  Excavations at Gezer commence

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  R. A. Stewart Macalister led a long-running PEF excavation at Gezer, producing extensive archaeological documentation.

• 1890

  Excavations at Tell el-Hesi and Jerusalem resume

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  The Fund supported renewed excavation work at Jerusalem and a major campaign at Tell el-Hesi directed initially by Flinders Petrie and later by Frederick J. Bliss.

• 1877

  Survey of Western Palestine completed

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  The principal fieldwork for the Survey of Western Palestine was completed, producing a major cartographic and descriptive record of the region.

• 1872

  Major regional surveys begin

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  The PEF supported the Ordnance Survey of Sinai and began the period of work that led to the Survey of Western Palestine.

• 1867

  Charles Warren begins Jerusalem expedition

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  Charles Warren led a major PEF-sponsored investigation of Jerusalem, documenting ancient structures, underground features and the lower courses of the Temple Mount walls.

• 1865

  Palestine Exploration Fund founded

  [1]Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org

  The society was established in London on 22 June to promote systematic investigation of the archaeology, geography, culture, geology and natural history of Palestine and the wider Levant.

A non-commercial learned society and research institution focused on the archaeology, history, geography, culture and natural heritage of Palestine and the Levant.

• Survey and cartography · 1872

  PEF Survey of Palestine

  A large-scale survey program carried out principally between 1872 and 1877 by Royal Engineers and associated researchers. It assembled maps and written observations on terrain, settlements, archaeological remains, roads, water features and place names across much of western Palestine. The survey became one of the most influential documentary records produced by the Fund and remains important to historians of geography, archaeology and the modern history of the region.

• Archaeological research · 1867

  Archaeological excavation programs

  The PEF sponsored and supported excavations at sites including Jerusalem, Tell el-Hesi, Gezer, Tell Zakariya, Beth-Shemesh, Mount Carmel, Ashkelon, Beth Pelet, Samaria and Tel el-Duweir. These projects investigated settlements and material remains from prehistoric, biblical, classical and later periods and generated artefacts, field notes, plans, photographs and published reports.

• Research funding

  Research grants

  Annual grants support travel and research connected with the Fund's historical objectives, including archaeology, history, culture, topography, geology, natural sciences and work on PEF archival collections. Applications are open to members and to researchers who become members.

• Cultural collections

  Collections and specialist library

  The Fund preserves artefacts, photographs, maps, manuscripts, plans, reports, paintings, specimens and casts relating especially to Palestine, Jordan and Syria. The holdings include more than 6,000 artefacts and an archive of more than 40,000 photographs, together with documentary material from nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surveys and excavations.

1. 1Palestine Exploration Funden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Palestine Exploration Fund official websitepef.org.uk