Rockefeller Museum

The Rockefeller Museum, originally established as the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeology museum located in East Jerusalem, just northeast of the Old City walls near Herod's Gate. Founded to house the significant artifacts unearthed during the excavations of Mandatory Palestine in the early twentieth century, it stands as one of the oldest and largest archaeological museums in Israel. The institution opened in 1938, funded by a two million dollar donation from American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. Today, it functions as a branch of the Israel Museum and serves as the headquarters for the Israel Antiquities Authority, maintaining a prominent role in the preservation and study of regional antiquities.

The push for a national antiquities museum in Jerusalem began in 1919 when British town planner Patrick Geddes proposed the idea, a cause furthered by the Mandate authorities who considered a tourism tax in 1924. In 1925, James Henry Breasted of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, encouraged by British High Commissioner Lord Plumer, successfully solicited the crucial two million dollar donation from John D. Rockefeller Jr. The cornerstone was laid on June 19, 1930, though construction was delayed by the discovery of fifth century B.C. tombs at the site. The Palestine Archaeological Museum opened to the public on January 13, 1938, though the event was overshadowed by the murder of archaeologist James Leslie Starkey en route to the ceremony. Initially administered by the British Palestine Government, the museum closed on April 1, 1948. Subsequently, an international board of trustees managed the institution until 1966, when King Hussein nationalized it during the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank. During the 1967 Six Day War, fierce fighting occurred around the building, and its tower was used as an Israeli lookout. Following Israel's capture of East Jerusalem, the museum was renamed the Rockefeller Museum and placed under joint Israeli management.

The museum's holdings primarily consist of artifacts unearthed in excavations conducted across Mandatory Palestine, mainly during the 1920s and 1930s, though it also integrated collections from the earlier Ottoman Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Defined at its inception as a national museum rather than a biblical one, it systematically gathered finds from the Holy Land. The collection spans from the Stone Age to the eighteenth century, featuring prehistoric vestiges, First Temple period seals, and antiquities from regions including Beisan, Lachish, Tell Beit Mirsim, Ashkelon, Gaza, Megiddo, and Tell el-Ajjul. The museum also housed a library with extensive documentation on regional archaeological discoveries.

Among the museum's most historically significant holdings were the Dead Sea Scrolls, housed there from their discovery in 1947 until 1967, when Israel relocated them to the Israel Museum, a move that remains heavily contested. A portion of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll, had previously been taken to Amman and is now in the Jordan Museum. Other notable artifacts include a stele of Pharaoh Seti I from Beit She'an, eighth century wooden panels from the Al Aqsa Mosque, and marble keystones from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The galleries also feature a reconstructed 3600 year old Hyksos tomb from Jericho, gold jewelry from Tell el-Ajjul and Bet Shemesh, ivory utensils from Megiddo, Lachish manuscripts, and a mosaic from the synagogue of En Gedi.

Situated on a hill facing the northeast sector of the Old City walls at 27 Sultan Suleiman Street, the museum was designed by Austen Harrison, chief architect of the Mandatory Department of Public Works. Harrison toured European museums and studied Jerusalem's Old City to create a white limestone building that integrates Western and Eastern architectural elements. From the Western tradition, he adopted the concept of unified wings, cathedral like exhibition halls with high windows for natural light, and Renaissance style roofs, while drawing on local traditions for the carved stone, domes, vaulted ceilings, and entrances. The building incorporates contemporary trends emphasizing functionality and geometric forms, utilizing concrete as a base material and innovative cork floors to reduce noise. Decorative elements include Armenian ceramics, Turkish nut doors, a stone bas relief of the meeting of Asia and Africa above the main entrance, and ten culturally illustrative stone reliefs. British sculptor Eric Gill carved a gargoyle fountain in the inner courtyard in 1934 and produced trilingual signage in English, Hebrew, and Arabic, with the Hebrew lettering inspired by Second Temple era artifacts like the Uzziah tablet. The site also incorporates an eighteenth century summer residence known as Qasr el Sheikh, built by Sheikh Muhammad al Halili, which still stands in the western sector.

Located in the Bab az Zahira neighborhood of East Jerusalem, the museum is currently managed as a branch of the Israel Museum. It also serves as the headquarters for the Jerusalem section of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The facility houses specialized workshops for ceramics and coin cleaning, continuing its original mandate as an active center for archaeological research and preservation alongside its public exhibition functions.