- Harvard Semitic Museum
The Semitic Museum at
Harvard University was founded in1889 , and moved into its present location at 6 Divinity Avenue inCambridge, Massachusetts in 1903.From the beginning, it was the home of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, a departmental library, a repository for research collections, a public educational institute, and a center for archaeological exploration. Among the Museum's early achievements were the first scientific excavations in
the Holy Land (atSamaria in 1907-1912) and excavations atNuzi andTell el-Khaleifeh in theSinai , where the earliest alphabet was found.The Museum's artifacts include
potter y,cylinder seal s,sculptur e,coin s and cuneiform tablets. Many are from museum-sponsored excavations inIsrael ,Jordan ,Iraq ,Egypt ,Cyprus , andTunisia . The Museum is dedicated to the use of these collections for the teaching, research, and publication of Near Eastern archaeology, history, and culture.
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