ICOM International Council of Museums - Museo Estancia Jesuitica ...

464
Fascinating Historical Events
of the National Museum of Beirut
Lina Gebrail Tahan 1 – Lebanon
This is more than an accident, or a piece of forgetfulness on the part of my predecessors. The museum
cannot allow itself to document its own frequently changing display arrangements, since then it will have a
history, and if it becomes a historical object in its own right then it can [be] (sic) investigated, challenged,
opposed or contradicted
(Clunas, 1998: 44)
A museum is what you make of it, but each museum has a history and a personality that engages you in
ways that some other museums may not.
(Hassan, 2002: 19)
Why is history important and why shouldn’t it be neglected?
Writing a museum history is an enormous and compelling task since we have to look for
the record either through the archives left behind by the archaeologists or anthropologists
after their fieldwork is finished or through the way material culture was collected and
exhibited through the years. As such, museologists do not only create histories, but also
the meanings and philosophical backgrounds behind the creation of a museum.
This paper will examine the history of the National Museum of Beirut (NMB) in
Lebanon. To help contextualise the discussion, it is important to realise how difficult it is
to separate the complex history of archaeology in Lebanon from the history of
archaeological museums there. It is a history linked heavily to the French, who played
an important political role in the country beginning in 1860 when Lebanon was under
Ottoman rule, and later on, an administrative role when it became a French mandate
from 1918 to 1943. Even after the conclusion of the Mandate, the French continued to
control the archaeological enterprise and administer the Directorate General of
Antiquities (DGA) for another three years. So, for almost a century, archaeology and
the concept of heritage and museums developed and changed.
The dense history of the National Museum of Beirut
A confidential report dated March 8, 1919, is the first evidence we have of the French
preoccupation with the idea of having a museum in Beirut. In the report, Captain
Engelbach and Lieutenant Mackay of the British Army and Captain Weill of the French
Army recorded their observations on the status of ancient monuments, the
conservation measures to be taken and other matters of consideration that were of
interest to archaeology. They suggested decrees for the provisional protection of
Antiquities in the Occupied Enemy Territories (O.E.T.). Among those decrees three
were of interest to us because they discuss museums.
Decree 16 stated that particular collections and museums could be enriched by
purchasing, or from authorised excavations, or from private collections. The private
collections could be donated or sold after the Antiquities Service approval. In case a
private collection was willed to a new heir, he/she should send to the Antiquities
1
Lina Gebrail Tahan: University of Cambridge, Department of Archaeology, Downing Street, Cambridge
CB2 3DZ, United Kingdom.