Rockefeller Archeological Museum

The Rockefeller Archeological Museum,^[1] formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum ("PAM"; 1938–1967),^[2][3] is an archaeologymuseum located in Jerusalem, next to Herod's Gate,^[4] that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in the British-ruled Mandatory Palestine, mainly in the 1920s and 1930s.^[5]

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.^[6] Initially managed by an international body, it was nationalized by the Jordanians in 1966.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9] Before the First World War, there had been an Ottoman Imperial Museum of Antiquities in Jerusalem (Müze-i Hümayun; 1901–1917),^[10] 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.^[9]

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.^[9] 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.

El museo fue diseñado por Austen Harrison , arquitecto jefe del Departamento Mandatario de Obras Públicas, quien elaboró ​​los planos para un edificio de piedra caliza blanca que integraba elementos arquitectónicos orientales y occidentales. ^{[ 2 ]} La primera piedra del nuevo museo se colocó el 19 de junio de 1930, pero la construcción se retrasó debido al descubrimiento de tumbas que datan del siglo V a. C. en el sitio del edificio. ^{[ 11 ]} El museo cuenta con un bajorrelieve de piedra que representa el encuentro de Asia y África sobre la entrada principal, junto con diez relieves de piedra que ilustran diferentes culturas y una fuente con gárgola en el patio interior, esculpida en 1934 por el escultor británico Eric Gill (1882-1940). ^{[ 12 ]} Gill también realizó letreros tallados en piedra en todo el museo en inglés , hebreo y árabe ; la tipografía hebrea se inspiró en fuentes de artefactos de la época del Segundo Templo recientemente descubiertos , principalmente la tablilla de Uzías , pero también osarios del período. ^{[ 13 ]}

El Museo Arqueológico de Palestina abrió sus puertas al público el 13 de enero de 1938. ^{[ 2 ]} La inauguración del museo se vio ensombrecida por el asesinato del arqueólogo británico James Leslie Starkey a manos de árabes locales. ^{[ 14 ]}

Hasta los últimos días del período del Mandato, el museo fue administrado por el Gobierno Británico de Palestina. ^{[ 15 ]} El 1 de abril de 1948, cerró sus puertas al público. ^{[ 16 ]}

El 20 de abril de 1948, el Alto Comisionado nombró un consejo de fideicomisarios internacionales para administrar el museo. El consejo estaba compuesto por doce miembros: dos en representación del Alto Comisionado, uno de la Academia Británica, uno del Museo Británico, uno de la Academia Nacional Francesa, uno del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores francés, dos de los Departamentos de Antigüedades de los gobiernos egipcio, sirio, libanés, iraquí o transjordano; uno de la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalén , uno de la Real Academia Sueca, uno del Instituto Americano de Arqueología y uno de la Escuela Americana de Investigación Oriental en Jerusalén. ^{[ 15 ] [ 9 ]} El consejo administró el museo hasta 1966. En la década de 1950, surgieron controversias sobre objetos trasladados tanto a Amán como al lado israelí. ^{[ 17 ]}

Después de la guerra árabe-israelí de 1948 , el museo también se convirtió en una sede secundaria del Departamento de Antigüedades de Jordania, dirigido por Gerald Lankester Harding hasta 1956. ^{[ 18 ]} En 1966, el museo fue nacionalizado por el rey Hussein durante la anexión jordana de Cisjordania . ^{[ 11 ]}

Siete meses después, al estallar la Guerra de los Seis Días de 1967, el museo fue capturado por una brigada de paracaidistas israelíes. ^{[ 11 ]} Su torre hexagonal se utilizó como puesto de observación. Allí se libraron intensos combates entre las fuerzas israelíes y jordanas, que culminaron con una victoria israelí. El museo fue entonces oficialmente renombrado como Museo Rockefeller. ^{[ 19 ]}

La colección más valiosa del Museo, los antiguos Rollos del Mar Muerto , fue trasladada por Israel del Museo al Museo de Israel , en Jerusalén Oeste , y desde entonces la propiedad de los rollos ha sido objeto de intensas disputas. Parte de los rollos, incluido el Rollo de Cobre , fue llevada al Museo de Jordania en Amán. ^{[ 8 ]}

Desde 1967, el museo ha sido gestionado conjuntamente por el Museo de Israel y el Departamento de Antigüedades y Museos de Israel (posteriormente reorganizado como la Autoridad de Antigüedades de Israel ).

The museum's first curator was John H. Iliffe,^[20] 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.^[21] 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,^[22] as are the statuary and stucco decorations from the UmayyadHisham'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.^[8]

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")^[23] 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.^[24]

• 
  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
• 
  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
• 
  Seven-branched menorah, from the Eshtemoa synagogue, 4th–5th century CE
• 
  Torah Ark lintel from the Nabratein Synagogue, 3rd century CE
• 
  Wood panels from the Jami Al-Aqsa, 8th-century CE
• 
  Sem-nude female statue from Hisham's Palace, 8th-century CE

The museum regularly hosts special exhibitions, such as the 2019/2021 exhibition of Armenian ceramics in Jerusalem.^[25] 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.^[26]

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.^[27] The stump may still be seen behind the museum.

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

• Rockefeller Archaeological Museum Homepage

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