American University of Beirut

​The Museum collections are organized according to two  parallel concepts: c​hronological and thematic.

The chronological displays are set along the peripheral walls of the gallery showing the evolution mostly of pottery from the Chalcolithic Age (4,000 BC) to the Islamic Period (19th century AD).

Special themes include:​

​The Cesnola Collection; the first collection of the Museum, donated by General Cesnola in 1868, includes Cypriot Pottery from the Early Bronze Age in the III millennium BC up to the Roman Period.

​​​​​The Pre-Historic Section includes the Paleolithic and the Neolithic periods.

​​​​The Ksar ‘Akil stratigraphic sounding is an introduction to the archaeological fieldwork. It was undertaken by a team of the University of Boston in 1948. The stratigraphic sounding is represented by 23m deep​ trench, consisting of thirty seven layers belonging to several cultures which are identified by the flint tools discovered in each layer. The dates range from 50,000 to 18,000 BP, dates obtained by C14 analysis. Also the oldest man in Lebanon is known by the discovery of his jaw dated to 40,000 BP. A complete skull also discovered in the excavation dates from 35,000 BP.

​The Neolithic Revolution or the New Stone Age (12,000 BP-6,000 BP) marks a major revolution, a landmark in the Prehistoric Period due to several innovations, such as: 

1-  Birth of agriculture

2-  Domestication of animals

3-  Introduction of clay material to produce hand made vessels

4-  Beginning of villages

5-  Introduction of religious cults

The BRONZE AGE starts a new era with the development of urban civilization and commercial trade routes. 

This period is divided into 3 phases:​

​​During the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC) the international trade of the earlier period flourished in the 2nd millennium. This period is marked by an increase in cultural and trading contacts; imported vessels found in Byblos reflect connections also with Minoan Crete, like the Kamares pot (1700 BC) found in the double tomb in Byblos. This piece is important because it is the earliest imported item from Crete to Byblos. The beautiful decorative pattern represents sea weeds.

Kamares vase

The Terracotta Figurines; the showcase represents the evolution of terracotta figurines from the​      II​I^rd millennium BC to the Roman Period.​

​​According to the Sumerian creation myth, the practice of fashioning terracotta figurines goes back to the creation of the world. Enki asks his mother, the goddess Nammu, to form a creature of clay. In the Biblical account of man’s creation, the Creator also molds Adam out of clay. The use of clay as opposed to metal became more popular for it was a common material easy to produce. In the middle of the second millennium BC, the molded technique is introduced in order to produce larger quantities. With the Greco-Roman period, features of the figurines become more naturalistic. The terracotta figurines are ex-votos or offerings to the fertility goddesses.

​The Metal Figurines; Female figurines were rarely made of metal which was an expensive commodity used for weapons. The majority of the collection of metal figurines represents males. They were also ex-votos to the gods or representations of the gods themselves. Some were found in the Temple of Obelisks in Byblos such as Reshef, god of thunder and storm. Statuettes of animals were also offered to the gods, as symbols of power.

Figurine in a shrine from Byblos

The invasion of the Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC marked the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (1200 BC-5th century BC).

Some cities on the Eastern Mediterranean were completely destroyed, while others continued their existence as autonomous city-states.

Frieze showing Sea peoples

​​​ ​​3. ​ ​Phoenician glass

The Phoenicians were also famous for their glass making. Glass started first in Mesopotamia in the 3rd Millennium B.C., followed later in Egypt and the Levant in the 2nd Millennium B.C. In the 1st c. B.C., the Phoenicians invented the blowing technique which transformed glass into a fine and more transparent product and allowed a large variety of shapes and colors. Glass vessels were used for table ware, also as containers for medical ointments, and for ornaments and cosmetics.

​The Ford mandible, dates from the 5th c. BC. It was discovered in a sarcophagus in Sidon. The 6th​ front teeth were about to fall due to a gum disease “purea”. The Phoenician dentist bound them together with a gold wire in a perfect technique. It is the earliest known example of dentistry and the highlight of the AUB Museum collection.

​​​​​The CLASSICAL PERIOD

Among other special collections of the AUB Museum are those which belong to the Classical Period.

The Museum collection includes funerary reliefs from Palmyra, an oasis in the Syrian desert and became an important commercial center in the Roman period. The loculi in the Palmyrenean tomb were closed by sculptured reliefs which represent the portrait of the buried persons, dating from the I^st to the III^rd century AD. Inscriptions in Palmyrene writing indicate the name and the date of the deceased. These loculi have been reproduced in this alcove to recreate the atmosphere inside a tomb.

Palmyra alcove​

​​​​​​The Islamic Period stretches from the Omayyad Period (656 AD) until the Ottoman Empire (19^th c. AD). The Islamic culture was famous, among many features, for its architectural achievements. The glazed tiles and pottery highlight their characteristics in the AUB Museum collection.
In 2015, the Islamic collection was reorganized and a new display was inaugurated in this year.
Architectural elements consisting of five tiles taken from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem were displayed in the Islamic gallery. 
A photograph of the south porch of the Dome of the Rock, shows the similarity of the decorative motifs of these tiles that it is useful to relate them to the porch and hence correlate their architectural position in the building.​

 The Islamic tiles
of the Museum collection