Lorenzo Nigro

Lorenzo Nigro (born 1967) is an Italian archaeologist.

He is Associated Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology (since 2002), is the Coordinator of the Oriental Section of the Department of Sciences of Antiquities of Sapienza University of Rome (Faculty of Letters and Philosophy). He has participated in several archaeological expeditions in the Near East and the Mediterranean (among which the most renowned are Tell Mardikh/Ebla, in Syria, in years 1989-1997, and Tell es-Sultan/Jericho in Palestine as co-director, in years 1997-2000). He is the Director of Rome "La Sapienza" Expedition to Motya, a Phoenician city in Western Sicily, and the Director of Rome "La Sapienza" Expedition to Palestine & Jordan, which is carrying on systematic excavations at Tell es-Sultan/ancient Jericho in Palestine, where archaeological works were resumed in 2009, and at the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) fortified city, previously unknown, of Khirbet al-Batrawy (2005-2011), in the north-central district of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Since 2015 he started the archaeological exploration, in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, of the site of Tell es-Sheikh Abu Zarad, ancient Tappuah.

Lorenzo Nigro is a skilled field archaeologist with a wide experience of Levantine and Mediterranean archaeology. He has written 13 monographs on the archaeology of Palestine (palatial architecture, rise of urbanization in southern Levant, archaeology of Jericho and Jerusalem), Syria, and the reports of excavations at Motya, Khirbet al-Batrawy and Jericho; and more than 150 articles on Levantine, Phoenician, Mesopotamian and Egyptian archaeology and history of art, ranging from palatial and temple architecture, pottery chronology, Levantine and Iranian metallurgy, Sumerian and Akkadian art, Phoenician ceramics, settlement studies, history of excavations, etc.

He has edited the series Quaderni di Gerico (two volumes), and he has founded and is the Editor of two monograph series: Rome "La Sapienza" Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan (= ROSAPAT; 7 volumes appeared) and Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio Punica (= QAFP, 6 volumes appeared, including the excavations reports Mozia X, Mozia XI, Mozia XII, Mozia XIII). He has taught in the Pontifical Lateran University (Rome, 1996-2000), and he has been Invited Professor of Biblical Archaeology at the Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome, 2000-2006). He has been also the Curator of the Near Eastern Department (Reparto Antichità Orientali – Museo Gregoriano Egizio/Egyptian Museum) of the Vatican Museums (1998-2005), gaining deep experience in restoration, management and development of archaeological heritage.

He took part in and organized numerous International Congresses, Conferences and Workshops, and he is also member of the Counsel for the International Relationships of Rome "La Sapienza" University; and he is Councillor of the G. Whitaker Foundation (Palermo, Sicily), for the administration and enhancement of the island of Motya. He has got the "St. Damasus Scholar" Award by the Carsten Niebhur Institute of Archaeology of Copenhagen University as "Young Archaeologist" in 1999 for the excavations at Jericho. In 2010, due to the discovery of the Palace of the Copper Axes at Khirbet al-Batrawy, he has got the Awards "Premio Provincia Capitale 2010" and the "Premio Colosseo 2010", for an Italian/Roman who distinguished himself abroad of Italy, and the Award "Sapienza Ricerca 2010", as outstanding researcher of Sapienza University.

In 2011 he also got the National Funds for Relevant Researches (PRIN) with maximum scores with the topic "The Seven Plagues: Catastrophes, Earthquakes, Inundations, Famine, Epidemies, and War in Palestine and Egypt during Pre-Classical periods: an overview of historical and archaeological sources". He is experimenting new tracks on the Archaeology of Mediterranean in the island of Motya, where he coordinates an interdisciplinary Laboratory of emerging sciences applied to innovate archaeology with the use of drones, sensor nodes, 3D simulators, etc.