BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

New Archaeology Library Planned in Jerusalem

Bible and archaeology news

The new IAA campus will include the largest archaeological library in the middle east. Image: Safdie Architects, via the IAA.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the planned construction of the Mandel National Archaeological Archives and the Mandel National Library for the Archaeology of Israel, which will serve as the largest archaeological library in the Middle East. The research center is part of the IAA’s new Schottenstein National Campus for the Archeology of Israel, which is already under construction.

According to the IAA press release:

The Campus, designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, will serve as the new education, research, conservation and illumination center and as headquarters of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The complex, located on Museum Hill adjacent to the Israel Museum and overlooking the Hebrew University Givat Ram Campus, will house nearly 2 million archaeological objects, among them 15,000 Dead Sea scrolls, viewable conservation and restoration laboratories, an auditorium, special study galleries, an archaeological education center, roof top exhibition gardens, a café and more. The 35,000-square-meter Campus is scheduled to be inaugurated in April 2016.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel National Library for the Archaeology of Israel, located within the complex, will house nearly 150,000 volumes, including 500 rare books, and over 1,000 periodicals. The adjacent Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel National Archaeological Archives will contain the Israel Antiquities Authority Archive, the British Mandatory Archive as well as maps, permits, plans and publications of excavations from the Mandatory Period through today, serving researchers and the public.

The Mandel National Library for the Archaeology of Israel and Mandel Archives will be the largest of their kind in the Middle East and serve as a premiere research center for the archaeology and history of the Land of Israel.

Read the full IAA press release

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