Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology in Jerusalem

Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology in Jerusalem was earlier known by the name Palestine Archaeological Museum. You will find this archaeological museum in East Jerusalem. The site lies in the north-east of the Old City, which is regarded as the goldmine of archaeological findings.

The establishment of the Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology in Jerusalem is an interesting story. When James Henry Breasted, founder director of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute came to Jerusalem he saw that the important excavated items do not have a proper place for their storage. Therefore he approached John D Rockefeller Junior, with the request of a donation for the construction of an archaeological museum.

With the donation of two million dollars from Rockefeller the work began for the building of the Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology in Jerusalem, at Kemel-el-Sheik, a hill top outside the northeastern side of the Old City.

Austen St. Barbe Harrison was given the task of designing the museum and a majestic white limestone building, blending with both eastern and western architectural elements was founded. Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology in Jerusalem was opened to the public on January 13, 1938 after the foundation stone was laid on June 19, 1930.

King Hussein of Jordan nationalized the museum in 1966 and in 1967 it came under the control of the Israelis after the Six-Day War. The management of the museum and its artifacts were bestowed on The Israel Museum and the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums.

Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology in Jerusalem has collections ranging from two million years ago to 1700 CE. The most important items of the museum are 8th-century wooden panels of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the marble made horizontal beams from the, 12th century Church of Holy Sepulchre. The other collections that you can find here are relics excavated from Jerusalem, Megiddo, Ashkelon, Lachish, Samaria, and Jericho.