Neil Asher Silberman

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Neil Asher Silberman (born June 19, 1950, Boston, Massachusetts) is an archaeologist and historian with a special interest in history, archaeology, public interpretation and heritage policy. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and was trained in Near Eastern archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Awarded a 1991 Guggenheim Fellowship, he is a contributing editor for Archaeology Magazine and is a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Cultural Property and Near Eastern Archaeology.

With Israel Finkelstein, he is the author of The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. His other books on the themes of history, heritage, and contemporary society include "Archaeology and Society in the 21st Century" (2001); "Heavenly Powers" (1998); "The Message and the Kingdom" (1997); "The Archaeology of Israel" (1995); "Invisible America" (1995); "The Hidden Scrolls" (1994); "A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin" (1993); "Between Past and Present" (1989); and "Digging for God and Country" (1982).

Since 1998, he has been involved in the field of public heritage interpretation and presentation, working on various projects in Europe and the Middle East. From 2004 to 2007, he served as director of the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation in Belgium. After returning to the United States in the autumn of 2007, he continued to serve as the Ename Center's coordinator of international programs and to lead the planning for the Annual International Ename Colloquium on Heritage and Society.

He also serves as the president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation (ICIP) and is a member of the ICOMOS International Advisory Committee and Scientific Council.