Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv

The Eretz Israel Museum is a museum in the neighborhood of Ramat Aviv, which presents archeological finds from the Land of Israel from different times and depicts its multiculturalism, past, and present. The museum was established with the aim of combining archeology, culture, and folklore of the Land of Israel at all times, with the model for its design being the Landesmuseum in Europe, which displays history combining the unique folklore of each district and country.

MUZA – Which is the new official name of the Eretz Israel Museum – is one of the three largest and most known museums in Israel. It is a multidisciplinary museum dealing with local culture, past and present. The museum displays the connection between matter and spirit and presents Israel’s many and varied voices.

There are hundreds of thousands of items in the museum’s collection, including many rare and unique treasures. The museum also has a collection of photographs from the history of Israel, interactive displays, working reconstructions, and a planetarium. This means there is something at the museum for just about everyone.

At the heart of the museum, on a tall hill overlooking the urban landscape, stands Tell Qasile, one of the most fascinating and important archaeological sites to be excavated in the Tel Aviv area, including the remains of an ancient Philistine city. In the archaeological park remains of other cultures and communities have been discovered from 3000 years ago up to the present. Throughout the museum’s garden and between the paths that invite the visitor to a pleasant and exhilarating urban stroll, can be found mosaics brought from different sites, ancient wine-presses, and a restored olive oil plant and flour mill.

Tel Qasile in Eretz Israel Museum — Tel Qasile is an archeological site located within the museum. In the location, which has been excavated in1948, remains of a Philistine port city from the 12th century BC and a dense and bustling Philistine city from the 11th century BC were found. It includes a restored residential district and the remains of three temples built on top of each other over the years, including the remains of an altar.

Visiting the Eretz Israel Museum

It makes sense to visit the Eretz Israel Museum at the same time as ANU Jewish Museum in Tel Aviv (the Museum of the Diaspora), which is located a few minutes away also in Ramat Aviv.