Eretz Israel Museum (MUZA)

The Eretz Israel Museum, known as MUZA, is a campus of themed pavilions at 2 Haim Levanon Street in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, founded in the 1950s to present the archaeology, ethnography and folk culture of the land of Israel. The museum is built around the mound of Tel Qasile, a Philistine port town excavated from 1949, and combines the open-air archaeological site with a set of pavilions and outdoor displays. Its collections cover the period from prehistory through the Bronze and Iron Ages and the Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods up to the early twentieth century. Among the best-known pavilions are the Kadman Numismatic Museum with ancient coins, the Glass Pavilion with ancient glassware, the Ceramics Pavilion, the Nechushtan Pavilion devoted to ancient copper mining and metallurgy, and the Man and His Work pavilion with traditional crafts. The outdoor area includes a reconstructed ancient olive press, a flour mill, a Roman-period burial area and other installations, and a planetarium and exhibits for children. The museum is curated thematically, by material and craft, with some chronological elements in the archaeological sections. Architecturally the campus mixes modern pavilions with historic and reconstructed structures set among gardens, creating a village-like complex. The museum has been expanded and renovated over the years, with newer galleries added, and the state of conservation of the collections and the open-air installations is good. Signs are in Hebrew and English, and temporary exhibitions complement the permanent displays. A visit to the full campus takes around three hours, and the Tel Qasile site is accessed through the museum. It is a good choice for families and for visitors who want a broad introduction to the material history of the region.