Wikipedia's first sentence called it “israeli archaeologist”. Today it says “israeli archaeologist whose research and fieldwork focused on the archaeology of jerusalem”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Gabriel Barkay is an Israeli archaeologist. Born in 1944 in Hungary , he immigrated to Israel in 1950. He received his PhD in Archaeology from Tel Aviv University in 1985. His dissertation was about LMLK seal impressions on jar handles. He participated in the Lachish excavations with David Ussishkin . His academic areas of interest include the archaeology of Jerusalem , biblical archaeology, burials and burial customs, art, epigraphy, and glyptics in the Iron Age . Barkay's most famous discoveries are small silver scroll amulets containing the priestly benediction from the Book of Numbers , which he discovered in 1979 at Ketef Hinnom . These amulets contain the oldest surviving biblically related inscription discovered to date, dating back to 600 BC. He also excavated the Iron Age tombs on the grounds of the École Biblique in the early 1970s. Barkay frequently appears on the History Channel show The Naked Archaeologist , which is hosted by Simcha Jacobovici . In 1996, Barkay received the Jerusalem Prize for his life's work as an archaeologist of Jerusalem. In 2014 he received the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism . Barkay is currently an external lecturer at Bar Ilan University . In 2005, together with archaeologist Zachi Zweig , Barkay established the Temple Mount Sifting Project , a project funded by the Ir David Foundation and dedicated to recovering archaeological artifacts from 400 truckloads of earth removed from the Temple Mount by the Waqf and Israeli Islamic movement during 1996–2001. The construction included the establishment of an underground mosque (el-Marwani) at an ancient structure known as "Solomon's Stables", excavating a huge pit as an entrance to the structure, and reducing the platform level at the area north to the entrance. One of the findings of this project is a bulla (round clay seal affixed to documents) containing three lines of writing in Hebrew. The project detected artifacts from various periods, but Barkay pointed out the ones from Byzantine times (mainly ceramics and coins, including rare coins) as indicating that the Temple Mount was inhabited in those times.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 663934010.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Gabriel Barkay is an Israeli archaeologist. Born in 1944 in Hungary , he immigrated to Israel in 1950. He received his PhD in Archaeology from Tel Aviv University in 1985. He participated in the Lachish excavations with David Ussishkin . His academic areas of interest include the archaeology of Jerusalem , burials and burial customs, art, epigraphy, and glyptics in the Iron Age . Barkay's most famous discoveries are small silver plaques containing the priestly benediction from the Book of Numbers , which he discovered in 1979 at Ketef Hinnom . These plaques contain the oldest surviving biblically-related inscription discovered to date, dating back to 600 BC. He also excavated the Iron Age tombs on the grounds of the École Biblique in the early 1970s. Barkay frequently appears on the History Channel show The Naked Archaeologist , which is hosted by Simcha Jacobovici . Barkay is currently an external lecturer at Bar Ilan University . In 2005 together with archaeologist Zachi Zweig , Barkay established the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation , a project funded by the Ir David Foundation and dedicated to recovering archaeological artifacts from 400 truckloads of earth illegally removed from the Temple Mount by the Waqf and Israeli Islamic movement during 1996–2001. The illegal construction included the establishment of an underground mosque (el-Marwani) at an ancient structure known as 'Solomon's Stables', excavating a huge pit as an entrance to the structure, and reducing the platform level at the area north to the entrance. One of the findings of this project is a bulla (round clay seal affixed to documents) containing three lines of writing in Hebrew. The project detected artifacts from various periods, but Barkay pointed out the ones from Byzantine times (mainly ceramics and coins, including rare coins) as indicating that the Temple Mount was inhabited in those times. . Temple Mount relics saved from garbage, Etgar Lefkovits, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 14, 2005 Gems in the dirt First Temple artifacts found in dirt removed from Temple Mount
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 365003614.
The opening as it stood in 2020 17 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Gabriel Barkay ( Hebrew : גבריאל ברקאי; sometimes transcribed from the Hebrew Gavriel Barkai ) is an Israeli archaeologist.The University of the Holy Land, Faculty & Staff: Dr.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 930096078.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay (born 1944) ( Hebrew : גבריאל ברקאי; sometimes transcribed from the Hebrew Gavriel Barkai ) is an Israeli archaeologist. The University of the Holy Land, Faculty & Staff: Dr.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1174168186.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Israeli archaeologist (born 1944) Gabriel Barkay (born 1944) ( Hebrew : גבריאל ברקאי ; sometimes transcribed from the Hebrew Gavriel Barkai ) is an Israeli archaeologist. The University of the Holy Land, Faculty & Staff: Dr.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1277179049. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “israeli archaeologist”. Today it says “israeli archaeologist whose research and fieldwork focused on the archaeology of jerusalem”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
israeli archaeologist
Now
israeli archaeologist whose research and fieldwork focused on the archaeology of jerusalem
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
