Rockefeller Archeological Museum

File:Founding of the Rockefeller Museum.jpg

Laying of the cornerstone, 19 June 1930.

The Rockefeller Archeological Museum,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum ("PAM"; 1938–1967),<ref name=kletter>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is an archaeology museum located in Jerusalem, next to Herod's Gate,<ref name=rm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in the British-ruled Mandatory Palestine, mainly in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The museum was established through a donation by John D. Rockefeller Jr. for the creation of a museum and research center in Cairo. Designed by British architect Austen Harrison, it blends Western architectural achievements with Eastern influences, using materials such as Turkish nut doors and Armenian ceramics. The foundation stone was laid in June 1930, and the museum opened in January 1938.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Initially managed by an international body, it was nationalized by the Jordanians in 1966.<ref name=":1" /> During the Six-Day War in 1967, battles occurred in the area, and the museum came under Israeli control. Renamed the "Rockefeller Museum," it is now managed by the Israel Museum and houses the head office of the Israel Antiquities Authority.<ref>The Rockefeller Museum, Haaretz</ref>

The Museum's most prized collection, the Dead Sea Scrolls, were housed in the Museum from their discovery, in 1947, until 1967, when, following the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem, Israel relocated the scrolls to the Israel Museum, in West Jerusalem, with the ownership of these scrolls having been heavily contested ever since. A small part of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll, had been taken to Amman, and is now part of the collection of The Jordan Museum.<ref name=":0" />

History

Background

Prior to the establishment of the Museum, the British Mandate's Department of Antiquities and British School of Archaeology were housed in an old building in Jerusalem with a small exhibition hall. The only other archaeological museum in Jerusalem at the time was the Franciscan Biblical Museum, built in 1902.<ref name=IAA>Rachel Kudish-Vashdi and Yuval Baruch, Rockefeller Museum: Historic Background. Re-accessed 14 August 2021.</ref> Before the First World War, there had been an Ottoman Imperial Museum of Antiquities in Jerusalem (Müze-i Hümayun; 1901–1917),<ref>Beatrice St. Laurent, The Imperial Museum of Antiquities in Jerusalem, 1890–1930 – An Alternate Narrative, Jewish Quarterly, 55</ref> later known as the Palestine Archaeological Museum.

In 1919, British town planner Patrick Geddes proposed the establishment of an antiquities museum in Jerusalem. To further the project, the Mandate authorities proposed a special tourism tax in 1924.<ref name=IAA />

Visiting Mandatory Palestine in 1925, James Henry Breasted, founder and director of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, recognized the need for an archaeological museum in Jerusalem to house important regional finds.<ref name=IAA /> Encouraged by Lord Plumer, the British High Commissioner, Breasted approached American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., who agreed to donate two million dollars toward the project.

File:East Jerusalem, the Rockefeller Museum Rockefeller Museum P1190104.JPG

Relief representing Israelite culture, one of ten bas-reliefs by Eric Gill in the inner courtyard at the museum.

Construction, Mandate-time museum (1930–1948)

The museum was designed by Austen Harrison, chief architect of the Mandatory Department of Public Works, who drew up blueprints for a white limestone building integrating eastern and western architectural elements.<ref name=kletter /> The cornerstone of the new museum was laid on June 19, 1930, but construction was delayed due to the discovery of tombs dating to the fifth century B.C. at the building site.<ref name=NYT>Template:Cite news</ref> The museum features a stone bas-relief of the meeting of Asia and Africa above the main entrance together with ten stone reliefs illustrating different cultures and a gargoyle fountain in the inner courtyard carved in 1934 by the British sculptor Eric Gill (1882–1940).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gill also produced stone carved signage throughout the museum in English, Hebrew, and Arabic; the Hebrew lettering was inspired by fonts from recently discovered Second Temple-era artifacts, most prominently the Uzziah tablet, but also ossuaries from the period.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Rockefeller Museum.jpg

Rockefeller Museum inner courtyard.

File:Rockefeller Museum Courtyard.jpg

Inner courtyard with a view to the tower.

The Palestine Archaeological Museum opened to the public on January 13, 1938.<ref name=kletter /> The museum's opening was overshadowed by the murder of British archaeologist James Leslie Starkey by local Arabs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Until the final days of the Mandate period, the museum was administered by the British Palestine Government.<ref name="PP">Template:Cite news</ref> On 1 April 1948, it was closed to the public.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Jordanian period (1948–1967)

On 20 April 1948, the High Commissioner appointed a council of international trustees to administer the museum. The council consisted of twelve members: two representing the High Commissioner, one from the British Academy, one from the British Museum, one from the French National Academy, one from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two from the Antiquities Departments of the Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi or Transjordanian governments; one from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one from the Royal Swedish Academy, one from the American Institute of Archaeology, and one from the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem.<ref name=PP /><ref name=IAA /> The board ran the museum until 1966. In the 1950s, controversies arose about objects removed both to Amman and to the IsraeliTemplate:Clarify side.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the museum also became a secondary headquarters of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, headed by Gerald Lankester Harding until 1956.<ref name=Silberman>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1966, the museum was nationalized by King Hussein during the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank.<ref name=NYT />

Israeli period (since 1967)

Seven months later, when the 1967 Six-Day War broke out, the museum was captured by an Israeli paratroop brigade.<ref name=NYT /> Its hexagonal tower was used as a lookout. Fierce fighting took place here between Israeli and Jordanian forces, culminating in an Israeli victory.Template:Citation needed The Museum was then officially renamed as the Rockefeller Museum.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Museum's most prized collection, the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, were moved by Israel from the Museum to the Israel Museum, in West Jerusalem, with the ownership of the scrolls having been heavily contested ever since. Part of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll, had been taken to the Jordan Museum in Amman.<ref name=":0" />

Since 1967, the museum has been jointly managed by the Israel Museum and the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (later reorganized as the Israel Antiquities Authority).

Collections

The museum's first curator was John H. Iliffe,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who arranged the artifacts in chronological order, from two million years ago to 1700 AD. Among the museum's prized possessions are 8th-century wooden panels from the Jami Al-Aqsa and 12th-century (Crusader-period) marble lintels from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Most of the collection consists of finds from the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>In Jerusalem, a Museum's Treasures Go Unseen</ref> On display are artifacts unearthed in Jerusalem, Megiddo, Ashkelon, Lachish, Sebastia, and Jericho. One of the Lachish letters is on permanent display at the museum,<ref>Lakhish Ostraca, c. 587 BCE Template:Webarchive</ref> as are the statuary and stucco decorations from the Umayyad Hisham's Palace.

Upon their discovery at Qumran between 1947 and 1956, the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls were housed in the Rockefeller Museum. In 1967, following the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem, Israel relocated the scrolls to the Shrine of the Book, a specially designed building on the grounds of the Israel Museum, in West Jerusalem, with the ownership of these scrolls having been heavily contested ever since. Part of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll, had been taken to the Jordan Museum in Amman.<ref name=":0">On the Curious Protests of the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition in Toronto</ref>

Currently, the Rockefeller Museum holds thousands of artifacts ranging from prehistoric times to the Ottoman period. It includes the largest of the Beisan steles (considered "the most impressive find from Egypt's rule over Canaan")<ref name="ArmstrongInstitute.org 2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a 9,000-year-old statue from Jericho (one of the oldest representations of a human figure ever found), as well as gold jewelry from the Bronze Age.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

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• Head of a statue found in Jericho, among the earliest human representations ever found, dating back to 9,000 years ago
  Head of a statue found in Jericho, among the earliest human representations ever found, dating back to 9,000 years ago
• Statue of Ramesses III from Beth Shean, 1185–1153 BCE
  Statue of Ramesses III from Beth Shean, 1185–1153 BCE
• Sarcophagus from Tel Turmus, 3nd century CE, with Dionysos between the seasons of the year. The lid bears the images of the deceased and his wife.
  Sarcophagus from Tel Turmus, 3nd century CE, with Dionysos between the seasons of the year. The lid bears the images of the deceased and his wife.
• Amazon sarcophagus, Tel Mevorah, Roman period, early 3rd century CE; depicts battle between Amazons and Greeks
  Amazon sarcophagus, Tel Mevorah, Roman period, early 3rd century CE; depicts battle between Amazons and Greeks
• Seven-branched menorah, from the Eshtemoa synagogue, 4th–5th century CE
  Seven-branched menorah, from the Eshtemoa synagogue, 4th–5th century CE
• Torah Ark lintel from the Nabratein Synagogue, 3rd century CE
  Torah Ark lintel from the Nabratein Synagogue, 3rd century CE
• Wood panels from the Jami Al-Aqsa, 8th-century CE
  Wood panels from the Jami Al-Aqsa, 8th-century CE
• Sem-nude female statue from Hisham's Palace, 8th-century CE
  Sem-nude female statue from Hisham's Palace, 8th-century CE

Exhibitions

The museum regularly hosts special exhibitions, such as the 2019/2021 exhibition of Armenian ceramics in Jerusalem.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This year-long exhibition, titled “A Glimpse of Paradise,” was organized in collaboration with Yad Ben Zvi, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the East Jerusalem Development Company, and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ancient pine tree

Inside what was to have been the rear courtyard of the museum stood (until it died after nearly 300 years in 1998) one of the oldest pine trees in the country. According to Arab legend, on the site of this pine tree, Ezra the Scribe sat and wrote the Torah for Israel.<ref name=Vilnay>Template:Cite book</ref> The stump may still be seen behind the museum.

Further reading

• Memoirs, David Rockefeller, New York: Random House, 2002.

External links

• Rockefeller Archaeological Museum Homepage