THE ORIGINS

The Museum of the Near East was founded by two very authoritative masters of Sapienza, Sabatino Moscati and Sergio Donadoni, within the Institute of the Near East, the structure that starting from the early 1960s would have gathered an increasing number of specialists from the Near East ancient and Mediterranean in the study of disciplines ranging from Semitic Philology to Semitic Languages ​​and Epigraphies, to the History of the Near East, Egyptology, Assyriology, Hittitology, Oriental Archeology, Phoenician and Punic, conducting innovative research and in many ways extraordinary in numerous countries of the Near East and the Mediterranean and counting in the following decades scholars of the caliber of Mario Liverani, Paolo Matthiae, Antonia Ciasca, Giovanni Garbini, Piero Bartoloni, Maria Giulia Amadasi1. The Institute of the Near East, under the effective direction of Moscati was, in fact, very active in undertaking archaeological missions in many countries: Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Malta, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and - obviously - in the two great Italian islands, Sicily and Sardinia. This intense activity in the field, accompanied by an equally intense activity of study and publication in the series (Semitic Studies) and in the journals (Near East) of the Institute, as well as in the series founded ad hoc for the publication of research results, for example in Malta, Syria or Sicily, in addition to producing extraordinary scientific results, led to the collection of a considerable amount of finds which, for various reasons, were brought to Rome.

At the end of the 1950s, the first missions carried out respectively by Donadoni in Egypt (Tamit) and by Moscati in Israel (Ramat Rahel) had already grouped together a considerable number of works and finds that formed the first significant nucleus of the Museum. A decisive turning point took place, however, in the 1960s, when numerous new companies joined the previous ones in Sicily (Mozia, Pantelleria), Sardinia (Monte Sirai), Malta (Tas Silġ), Syria (Ebla), Tunisia (Capo Bon, Ras ed-Drek), the first becoming stable excavation sites for the following decades. The policy of these missions, also because of their young directors, was highly innovative and free from any colonial imprint. 

The eminently scientific interest and the extraordinary diplomatic relations woven by Moscati and his students did not provide for the systematic collection of finds, however the excellent relations established with the countries in which the research was carried out and circumstances deriving from the strong commitment in the field of restoration and of the enhancement of the archaeological heritage by the missions themselves led to the collection of materials, granted for archaeometric studies, for the realization of replicas and, at times, also as a sign of gratitude by the host countries themselves. In some cases, the exhibits were freely granted for study purposes.

The history of the formation of the Egyptian Collection is partly different. It was largely built by Donadoni during the rescue excavations conducted following the construction of the Aswan Dam during the 1960s. The exceptional recovery of the Church of Sonqi Tino, with its wall paintings, the excavations at Antinoe, and, subsequently, the exploration and restoration work in the Tomb of Sheshonq in Thebes led to the collection of a considerable body of materials, dating from the period Proto-dynastic to the Islamic age, which were granted by the Arab Republic of Egypt by virtue of the extraordinary commitment made by Wisdom.

Similar reasons, i.e. deriving from the extraordinary results achieved by the Mission in Syria in Ebla and in the nearby sites of Tell Tuqan and Tell Afis, led by Paolo Matthiae, led to the creation of a room entirely dedicated to Ebla, with a large collection of ceramic fragments, the scale models of the Archives Palace and the Temple of Ishtar on the Acropolis, and, after the great exhibition at Palazzo Venezia in 1995, of the large model of the Paleosirian city of the first half of the second millennium BC. Among the most extraordinary pieces of the Eblaite collection are the copies of several cuneiform documents (including the treaty between Ebla and an unidentified city, the first example of a treaty in history). Thus composed, in its second configuration, the Museum of the Near East, masterfully set up by Arch. Carlo Cataldi Tassoni in the headquarters in Via Palestro, was divided into two main sections, the Syrian-Palestinian and the Egyptian, to which were added the Ebla room and a showcase with Punic materials from Mozia and Monte Sirai.


THE NEW SET-UP

When in July 2014 it was necessary to leave the headquarters in Via Palestro, where for thirty years a considerable part of the Department of Ancient Sciences (then Department of Historical, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences of Antiquity), including the Museo del Vicino East and several historical archaeological missions, had been allocated, the Magnificent Rector Luigi Frati and the Board of Directors of Sapienza have identified in the Palazzo del Rettorato a new location for the Museum in the Sala a Crescente by Marcello Piacentini. At the same time, the creation of the Sapienza Museum Complex had provided a renewed institutional framework in which to insert the activities of the reborn museum. The new display of the Museum of the Near East, Egypt and the Mediterranean The occasion of the new display not only allowed the collections to be rearticulated in part in the light of new fundamental acquisitions (finds from Sicily, Palestine, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq), but also allowed to rethink the exhibition itinerary overall, adapting it to the new venue, but also giving it a more in step with the times, in an attempt to create a structure capable of addressing both the general public, with particular attention aimed at children and university students. The move was also a unique opportunity to review the collections in detail, monitor the state of conservation of the works, verify their inventory (origin and legal status) and note their innumerable scientific potential. While the works were being packed and re-inventoried, a group of young scholars were able to re-examine and photograph them. On the basis of this precious work, a new exhibition itinerary has been built, divided into thirty independent units, divided into twelve major themes, but also readable in a single sequence that coherently leads from the Near East to Egypt, passing through the whole Mediterranean through the millennia. With the excellent collaboration of the Sapienza technical office and a large number of students and young scholars, the new layout was created. The new conceptualization of the exhibition, which intends to enhance all the diversity of cultural contributions witnessed in the Museum and their mutual relationships, has brought with it the new name: Museum of the Near East, Egypt and the Mediterranean.