Negev has excavated
Nabataean sites in the Negev, at
Caesarea Maritima (1961–62), and
Susiya (1984–85), which he associated with biblical
Carmel. Researching the Nabataean culture was difficult, not least because major sites lay outside his reach due to the
Arab–Israeli conflict, such as
Petra in
Jordan,
Hegra (Mada'in Salih) in
Saudi Arabia, and Seeia in Syria (Sî' near
Kanatha in
Jebel Druze). His excavations in the Negev desert included the Nabataean caravan stops of Oboda (
Avdat, 1958–61 and 1975–77),
Mampsis (1965–67), and
Elusa (1973 and 1979–80). This work allowed Avraham Negev to gain in-depth knowledge of the Nabataean civilisation and particularly of its trade network in the Negev region. Negev worked as a professor of archaeology at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) between 1964 and 1990. ==Published work==