Archaeologists Unravel an 88-Year-Old Murder Mystery
The killing of James Leslie Starkey The post Archaeologists Unravel an 88-Year-Old Murder Mystery appeared first on Nautilus .
On January 10, 1938, esteemed British archaeologist James Leslie Starkey was en route to Jerusalem from Lasich, an ancient Canaanite and Israelite settlement, when he was ambushed by five masked gunmen outside Hebron. The driver managed to escape, leaving Starkey to be shot dead. British authorities initially attributed the murder to banditry, but a new study reveals it was likely a calculated assassination with a motive rooted in vengeance.
The researchers, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, examined British colonial records, Palestinian historical accounts, intelligence documents, and oral testimonies to uncover the true story. Starkey's excavations of Lasich, the site of an Assyrian victory in 701 B.C., led to conflicts with the villagers of al-Qubayba, who needed their farmland to survive.
After receiving half of the promised compensation, the villagers attempted to back out of the deal, leading British forces to confiscate their land forcibly. This prompted an intense feud that the researchers found in newly discovered oral and written testimonies.
The researchers argue that the long-standing grievance over land rights provided a motive for the murder. The site of the shooting was strategically chosen miles away from the village to avoid suspicion. British authorities were aware of the land dispute but failed to implicate the villagers. The study sheds light on the intersection of archaeological activity with land disputes, social tensions, and anti-colonial sentiment in rural Palestine during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt.
Written by urgent.news from Nautilus's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
