R. A. S. Macalister: Villain or Visionary?

‘Incompetent buffoon’ is how the American archaeologist and director of the 1960–1970s excavations at Gezer, William G. Dever has described R. A. S. Macalister. ¹ Although it is often the case that later excavators at a previously examined site are critical of their predecessors, ‘incompetent buffoon’ seems a little excessive. In this short paper, I look at the man and his work again in order to redress the balance and to correct some commonly held misconceptions.