Eilat Mazar (Hebrew: אילת מזר‎; born September 10, 1956) is a third-generation Israeli archaeologist, specializing in Jerusalem and Phoenician archeology. A senior fellow at the Shalem Center, she has worked on the Temple Mount excavations, as well as excavations at Achzib. In addition to heading the Shalem Center's Institute of Archeology, she is affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Mazar obtained her Ph.D. from Hebrew University in 1997. She is the granddaughter of pioneering Israeli archaeologist Benjamin Mazar. She is a mother of four and resides in Jerusalem.

On August 4, 2005, Mazar announced she had discovered in Jerusalem what may have been the palace of the biblical King David, the second king of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from 1048 to 1007 BCE by the biblical dating (or from around 1005 to 965 BCE by the consensus dating). Now referred to as the Large Stone structure, Mazar's discovery consists of a public building she dated from the 10th century BCE, a copper scroll, pottery from the same period, and a clay bulla, or inscribed seal, of Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi, an official mentioned at least twice in the Book of Jeremiah. In July 2008, she also found a second bulla, belonging to Gedaliah Ben Pashchur, who is mentioned together with Jehucal in Jeremiah 38:1. The dig was sponsored by the Shalem Center and financed by an American investment banker. The land is owned by the Ir David Foundation.

Eilat (Hebrew: אֵילַת‎‎, Arabic: إيلات‎  (audio) (help·info)) is Israel's southernmost city, a busy port as well as a popular resort, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aqaba. Home to 46,600 people, the city is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arava. The city is adjacent to the Egyptian village of Taba to the south, the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to the east, and within sight of Saudi Arabia to the south-east, across the gulf. Eilat's arid desert climate and low humidity is moderated by proximity to a warm sea. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in summer, and 21 °C (70 °F) in winter, while water temperatures range between 20 and 26 °C (68 and 79 °F). Eilat averages up to 360 sunny days a year. The city's beaches, nightlife and desert landscapes make it a popular destination for domestic and international tourism.

The geology and landscape are varied: igneous and metamorphic rocks, sandstone and limestone; mountains up to 892 metres (2,927 ft) above sea level; broad valleys such as the Arava, and seashore on the Gulf of Aqaba. With an annual average rainfall of 28 millimetres (1.1 in) and summer temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) and higher, water resources and vegetation are limited. "The main elements that influenced the region's history were the copper resources and other minerals, the ancient international roads that crossed the area, and its geopolitical and strategic position. These resulted in a settlement density that defies the environmental conditions."