The
museum of the
Israel Antiquities Authority, located in
Jerusalem, just across the street from the
Old City. It houses a few
statues, and many
ancient trinkets, most of which were
unearthed during the
British Mandate period between 1920 and 1948. It is also involved with
preserving and
decoding the
dead sea scrolls, but the scrolls themselves are stored
elsewhere.
The museum is built more like a fortress than a house of knowledge. Chain-link fences topped with barbed wire surround the facility, and the only way in is a narrow drive that is guarded by a large retractable barrier that could stop a runaway semi. I suspect that the building had some sort of significance in the Six Day War, because one side of the building is covered with small pockmarks that look like they were created by bullets. I noticed that across the street, structures atop the wall of the Old City (held by Jordan in '67) bore similar markings on their sides. However, I was able to find no information to prove me right or wrong.
The meager web page for the museum is at www.imj.org.il/rockefeller.html