2012 he was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, Class I. In addition to his two major fields of interest (ritual baths and the archaeology of Jerusalem), he studied various aspects of daily life in Judaea in the late Second Temple period. These included studies on spindle whorls, stone vessels, ossuaries, inscriptions, etc. Of particular importance is his study on the stone scale weights, which were in use particularly in Jerusalem. Reich has faced scrutiny for his connection to the right-wing Elad association. Community service Reich sees great importance in bringing his discoveries to the knowledge of the general public. From writing articles of popular nature, to writing articles for Hebrew Wikipedia, and particularly taking part in developing excavated sites for the public. He took part in the development of the Archaeological Park near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the Davidson Center for virtual imaging (including the construction of the on-line, real-time model of the Herodian Temple Mount, in collaboration with Dr. Lisa Snyder from UCLA, the first of its kind in Israel). More recently, he is involved in the planning of a visitors' center near the Gihon spring in the City of David. Other activities Reich's main hobby is translating and publishing treatises on ancient architecture and art, plays and poetry into Hebrew. His translation of Vitruvius' De architectura (1997) was considerably successful. He also published these translations: Andrea Palladio / I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura (2000); Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola / The Rules for the Five Orders of Architecture (2002); Ross King / Brunelleschi's Dome (2003); Louis-Hugues Vincent / Underground Jerusalem (2008); Pliny the Elder / Natural History (Books 33–37)(2009). Bertolt Brecht / Refugees' Talks (1996); Christian Morgenstern / Gallows Songs (2004); Herta Reich / Within Two Days, the flight of a young Austrian Jewish woman 1938-1944 (2009), directly related to his personal history. Decorations and awards 2000 Jerusalem Prize for Archaeology 2012 Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class References 1947 births Living people 20th-century archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists People from Rehovot Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli archaeologists Academic staff of the University of Haifa Israeli Jews Israeli people of Austrian-Jewish descent Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class