THOMSEN, PETER°

THOMSEN, PETER° (1875–1954), German Orientalist. From 1894 to 1898 he studied theology at Leipzig University. In 1903 he obtained his doctorate there for a dissertation on the Onomasticon of Eusebius. He remained on the university staff until his death. He visited Palestine in 1909 and 1912 as a member of the German Evangelical Institute. His works include Loca Sancta (1907), an alphabetical list of sources; Palestina und seine Kultur in fuenf Jahrtausenden (1909); Kompendium der palaestinischen Altertumskunde (1913); a list of Roman milestones in Palestine (1917); and two works on the Greek and Latin inscriptions of Jerusalem (1920, 1941). His main work was the Systematische Bibliographie der Palaestina-Literatur, covering the years 1878–1938 (7 vols., 1916–60). (Michael Avi-Yonah)