Atlit-Yam, a Submerged Pre-Pottery Neolithic C Site off the Carmel Coast, Israel

Prof. Ehud (Udi) Galili is a marine archaeologist, currently a research associate at the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures of the University of Haifa. He was introduced to underwater archaeology as a volunteer member in the Underwater Exploration Society of Israel (1965–1983). Over the years 1983–1988, he directed underwater archaeological rescue surveys and excavations along the Israeli coast, on behalf of the University of Haifa and in 1990, he established the Marine Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority which he directed until 2004. Since 1984, Galili has directed the Atlit-Yam Excavation Project and investigation of the submerged Neolithic settlements off the Carmel coast on behalf of Haifa University (1983–1989) and the Israel Antiquities Authority (1990–2004), work which continues (since 2024) under the auspices of the University of Haifa. Liora Kolska Horwitz is a prehistorian affiliated with the National Natural History Collections of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, having completed her Ph.D. at Tel Aviv University. Her research focuses on the cultural and biological interface between humans and their environment, with an expertise in archaeozoology. Aside from a brief period (1990–1996) working as the archaeozoologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority, she has worked as a freelance researcher and external lecturer at Tel Aviv University, The Hebrew University and Ben Gurion University. She has engaged in field work and research projects at numerous archaeological sites in both South Africa and Israel—from early hominins to contemporary periods—and since 2003 has co-directed the Wonderwerk Cave project (South Africa).