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William Foxwell Albright (1891–1971), the late doyen of American biblical archaeology. Albright described archaeology, in contrast to the biblical account as a source of “external data” free from the biases of ancient authors and editors. But even such unalloyed data, warns William Dever, can become tainted as soon as archaeologists begin to introduce their own interpretations of them. Albright himself is a good case in point, says Dever. While his reputation remains unsurpassed, Albright’s defense of the conquest model for Israel’s emergence in Israel is now largely discredited.