In the rooms of the SBF Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem, part of the Terra Sancta Museum of Jerusalem, work has resumed for new displays. From the second half of June, until 6 July, architects, restorers and curators were busy in the first mission since the outbreak of the war last October.
New pieces have been added in some rooms, including the mosaics of the Byzantine synagogue of Cana and some mosaics in the rooms dedicated to “Dominus Flevit”. In the room of the Holy Sepulchre, refined elements in marble from the tombs of the Crusader kings have been mounted to produce an image of how they could have been originally decorated.
Above all, the rooms dedicated to Tabor and to Gethsemane, of which this year the centenary of the dedication of the shrines is celebrated, have been set up. On the upper floor of the Museum, part of the gallery dedicated to the collections, which represents the final part of the route, has been completed. On one of the walls, numerous epigraphs tell visitors the story of the ancient languages of the Holy Land.
The history of Tabor
A piece in “written Greek” marble from medieval times, which shows the upper part of a church, stands out in the centre of the room dedicated to Tabor. Daniela Massara, Executive Director of the Museum, explains that “it is probably the lid of reliquary.” The architect Antonio Barluzzi, who designed the present-day shrine, “could have been inspired buy it, but effectively we do not know what the Crusader church was like.” In the showcase on the right, the finds show that people were in the area around the 1st century. They are objects of daily use (amphora, pot and a kettle) which were found in loco during the excavations to build the new shrine. The showcase on the left, on the other hand, contains finds from the Middle Ages, including some “Greek firebombs” from the 13th century, which are almost intact, used in the Saracen conquest of Mount Tabor.
“The basilicas” of Gethsemane
A frescoed corner welcomes visitors to the room dedicated to Gethsemane. It belonged to the decorations of the Crusader basilica of St Saviour, built in the 12th century on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. There are also some crosses from the Crusader church, both for liturgical use (processional crosses) and decorative (pendants…). However, the series of rings and the large capital are from the earlier Byzantine basilica (4th century). The showcase on the right exhibits some objects found during the more recent excavations in the Kidron Valley, facing the Basilica of the Nations, They include some pottery fragments from a ritual bath of the 1st century, and a tile used to cover a tomb in the Byzantine chapel “of St Leontius” (7th – 8th century).
By Marinella Bandini | custodia
