Collections

The Collections of the Institute of Archaeology were established in the early days of the Hebrew University, with the founding of the Museum for Jewish Antiquities by the late Prof. E. L. Sukenik. They include pottery vessels from various periods and places, stone tools, glassware, ancient weapons, dozens of inscribed cuneiform clay tablets, Egyptian vessels, Hebrew seals from the period of the Judean Monarchy, jewelry, ancient coins, with an emphasis on Jewish numismatics (the largest such collection in Israel), and an extensive ethnographic collection.

The core of the Collections, which comprises about 30,000 objects, consists of private collections bequeathed to the Hebrew University through the efforts of the late Profs. E. L. Sukenik and B. Mazar. In addition, thousands of artifacts have been acquired as a result of the Institute’s excavations throughout the country, after which a proportion of the artifacts is allocated to the Institute by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The Collections are thereby enriched with a continuous flow of material from excavations.

The Collections fulfill both research and teaching functions. Researchers from Israel and abroad are welcome to examine the objects, which have consequently achieved worldwide renown in academic publications. Many of the artifacts are available to the Institute’s students, enabling them to achieve “hands-on” familiarity with flint tools, pottery vessels, glassware, ancient oil lamps, and coins. 

The Collections staff:

Hurvitz Gila (Chief curator for special projects): gila.hurvitz@gmail.com
Daphna Tsoran (Curator): daphnat@savion.huji.ac.il
Anat Mendel (Assistant curator): anat.mendel@gmail.com