Sebastia Archaeological Museum

Description of the site: The museum is in the old center of the village within the remains of the Church of John the Baptist building. It consists of two rooms separated by an open iwan overlooking the church's nave and connected to it through stone steps. The inscription on one of the building stones above the facade of the iwan shows that one of the local rulers of the Al-Mashaqi family, whose headquarters was in the village of Yasid, east of Sebastia, constructed this building at the end of the Ottoman period. The building was a school to teach the people of the village, and in the middle of the last century, the building was used as classrooms, then it was reused as a public library for the village, then it was abandoned for many years and was neglected.The museum aims to introduce visitors to the historical sequence of the different eras in Sebastia. Also, it sheds light on the utensils and tools that people used in their daily life, and their development according to their other characteristics and specifications according to different eras and civilizations. The museum also aims to preserve these archaeological finds from loss and damage, and to protect them from theft and smuggling, which the occupation authorities encourage. It was opened in 2018 AD after being equipped by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in cooperation with the Municipality of Sebastia.The museum adopted the historical sequence of eras style. One or more display cabinets were allocated for each city's eras, starting from the Bronze Age, then the Iron Age, the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and finally, the Islamic periods. The exhibits vary between tools, glassware, and pottery of different styles and uses, such as lighting lamps, storage jars, and cooking utensils. In addition to the coins representing different eras. The museum also includes a collection of glass and metal ornaments, stone decorations, and other artifacts. The exhibits are introduced through display cards in both Arabic and English, which provide a detailed explanation of each piece, including the definition of its use and its manufacture date.