Tag: Mesopotamian

Harvard Semitic Museum, Cambridge

Sandwich board sign outside the Harvard Semitic Museum showing an Egyptian sculpture and advertising Free Admission and open hours Sunday-Friday 11am-4pm. My son leans against the sign with a smile on his face.
Welcome Sign at the Semitic Museum. Source: BBHS

A few days ago, we spent some time visiting collections at Harvard University, including The Semitic Museum which is tucked behind the Museum of Natural History at 6 Divinity Avenue. Admission is free and open to the public.

When I first heard about this museum I wasn’t sure what it was about, maybe you’re scratching your head too. Here’s a lovely text from the museum to explain:

An informational text from the Harvard Semitic Museum which is titled "A Museum for All People." Text reads "David Gordon Lyon envisioned an institution that highlighted the tremendous cultural contributions of the Semitic peoples of the Ancient Near East: Israelites, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Arameans, Babylonians, Arabs, and many others. For students in Lyon's time, the achievements of ancient Greece and Rome were common knowledge. But long before those great civilizations arose, the kingdoms of the 'Fertile Crescent' had already developed fundamental concepts that would shape all of Western civilization. Three great religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - emerged from the Semitic world, as did the modern alphabet and elements of complex mathematics."
Text from the Semitic Museum. Source: BBHS

My favorite object on display here is a painted, plaster cast of the Stele of Hammurabi that is in the Louvre! Our first time to the museum, we were totally surprised to see it. We had come to see Egyptian artifacts and I had no idea Greater Boston had a life size replica that we could visit. I remember learning about the Code of Hammurabi as a kid. We covered it in our ancient history homeschool curriculum. The pictures didn’t prepare us for how massive it is in person. We were also surprised to see the text covers the entire surface, front to back, and that it’s roughly cylindrical. The long story short is that seeing an object in person is powerful!

Laws of Hammurabi. Source: BBHS

The Semitic Museum is very small, and is nestled among academic offices on three floors. You can visit objects that are at least 5 thousand years old, see Egyptian sarcophagi, cuneiform tablets, pottery and more. And, you can see everything in under an hour.

On our visit this week, the first floor gallery with a life-size reproduction of an Israelite home was closed. I can’t say if it’s a long-term closure for renovations or temporary for minor repairs. Call before you go if that’s what you want to see most! The third floor has a newer exhibit on reproductions of ancient Mesopotamian palace carvings, which I personally think is really great! We can’t all have original objects available to see in person all around the world. Well made reproductions give people a wonderful opportunity to have first hand experience with important art and artifacts.

“From Stone to Silicone” exhibit at Harvard Semitic Museum. Source: BBHS

There are two really cool technological features available from the museum. One is an augmented reality app you can use with the reproduction of the Dream Stela on the second floor. You can either borrow a tablet from the information desk downstairs or download an app to your own device. Click here for more on experiencing the Sphinx and Dream Stela in augmented reality.

The second are digital models of artifacts that you can download and recreate on a 3D printer. The cuneiform tablet image above is actually a 3D printed model. When you visit the digital models page, click on the little blue box on each model image to go to sketchfab.com where the downloads are available.

Have you been surprised to find an important artifact in one of Greater Boston’s museums? Tell us about it in the comments!