The Rockefeller Archeological Museum is located in Jerusalem. The museum was named in honor of John D. Rockefeller, the American philanthropist, who donated $2 million dollars to build the museum. When Rockefeller (who by the way, was not Jewish) agreed to subsidize the museum, he stipulated the money had to be used to create a museum to exhibit archeological collections. It was Rockefeller's intention that the museum would display the part "people" played in the history of Israel.Construction of the museum began on June 19, 1930. Eight years later the museum opened its door to the general public. The museum's collection is quite extensive and includes artifacts from archeological digs throughout Israel. The museum also contains the remains of a 10,000 year old man discovered on Mount Carmel.
A couple on bits I've read on the downside of visiting the museum are:
- Visitors should dress warmly in the winter - as they don't heat the building.
- There is no parking - so it's best to walk to the museum or travel by public transport.
- There are no lights in the hallways, because when the museum was built in the 30's - they thought the high windows would provide enough light.
- The collections are displayed in a somewhat disorderly fashion - this is definitely not a modern museum.
