The University of Chicago was founded in 1890. The oil magnate, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., played a large financial role in its creation. Two years later, the university began a Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Today, this department ranks among the top Ancient Near Eastern programs in the United States, primarily focusing on…
Tag: Archaeology
The Israel Museum
The most famous museum in Israel is the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Founded in 1965, it was primarily built to display the numerous archaeological finds from throughout the country. It is located across the street from the Knesset, Israel’s government building, and houses approximately 500,000 items. Perhaps the most popular display at the Israel Museum…
The Many Homes of the Dead Sea Scrolls
During the mid-20th century, over 900 Jewish texts were discovered at Qumran, which is located in present-day Israel’s Judean Desert. These scrolls are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, because of Qumran’s close proximity to the Dead Sea. They date to the last few centuries B.C. and first few centuries A.D., and are primarily written…
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, also known as “The Met,” in New York City is arguably the best art museum in the United States. Founded in 1870, the Museum continues to expand as it collects more and more artwork. This past April, 2020, The Met turned 150 years old. Published in 1967, the children’s novel,…
Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Founded in 1902, the Egyptian Museum, or Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, is Egypt’s largest museum that houses ancient Egyptian antiquities. It also currently houses Egypt’s most famous archaeological objects. Located in Tahrir Square, a central square in downtown Cairo, it experienced some looting and damage during Egypt’s 2011 revolution. I had the opportunity to visit…
The British Museum
The British Museum in London is undoubtedly ranked as one the best museums in the world, containing approximately 8 million artifacts. It was founded in 1753 as the first free, national museum. Its enormous collection contains items from every continent in the world except for Antarctica. This is largely in part to the fact that…
Samaritan Museum
Many people know about Samaritans from the New Testament parable of the “Good Samaritan,” which Jesus told in Luke 10:25-37. According to that parable, Samaritans and Jews in the 1st Century A.D. hated each other. In case you’re wondering if Samaritans still exist, I can assure you that they do, because I had the privilege…
Jamestown
Because it was recently Thanksgiving, I want to write about Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the United States. Although not directly part of the Thanksgiving story, the establishment of Jamestown in 1607 paved the way for the English settlers, known as the Pilgrims, to established Plymouth Colony in 1620. (Thanksgiving originated from the…
Ancient Near Eastern Motifs
Del el-Bahari in Luxor, Egypt has an extensive mortuary temple complex. In Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, some of the artwork was not exposed to the elements, so it is amazingly well-preserved and vivid in color. In one section of the temple, you can see a winged sun disk, which is a common Ancient Egyptian motif….
Bet Arkeh 