AUB Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut (AUB Archaeological Museum) was formed in 1868, after Luigi Palma di Cesnola gifted a collection of Cypriot pottery to the newly formed American University of Beirut. Georges Post was the first curator of this collection and Morris Jesup donated the funds for construction of Post Hall (pictured) which opened in 1902. There was much archaeological plundering in Lebanon due to weak governmental control, and people arrived daily at the museum with suggested artefacts plundered from clandestine excavations. Between 1902 and 1938 the museum acquired collections from all around the Middle East. The museum remained closed during World War II and re-opened in 1948. It expanded in the 1950s and doubled its floor space with a refurbishment under curator Dimitri Baramki, which opened to the public in 1964. The museum remained open during the years of crisis in Lebanon between 1975 and 1990 and underwent another complete renovation in 2006 under past director, Leila Badre. A mezzanine level was added that increased the space by one fifth using funds secured from the Joukowsky Family Foundation. Under current Curator Nadine Panayot, since September 1, 2020, the museum is entering a new digital era and undertaking major restoration work following the August 4th blast of Beirut. The AUB Archaeological Museum is the third oldest museum in the Near East, after Cairo and Constantinople