Through hands-on interaction in a simulation home and marketplace, students will learn about daily life in 1st century CE Jerusalem, including food, clothing, language, commerce and trades.



As a result of the program, students will:
  • Develop an understanding of life in Jerusalem in the 1st century CE through the eyes of two children, Miriam and Simon.
  • Interact with objects representative of the ancient world.
  • View actual artifacts from the ancient world.
  • Experience various ancient environments, including a home, a marketplace, and elements of the marketplace (crafts stall, spice/perfume stall, weaver stall, scribe stall).
  • Learn about ancient trade routes and the merchants who traveled them.
  • See and practice the alphabets most commonly used in ancient Jerusalem, including Latin, Greek, Aramaic and ancient Hebrew.



1. Introduce the gallery to the students by telling them that they have just traveled back in time two thousand years to the first century CE. Ask them to think of the current year (2001, 2002 or 2003). If they subtract 2000 years, what year would they be in? (1, 2 or 3)




2.

They are now sitting in the home, specifically the dining area, of Miriam and Simon, a sister and brother who lived in Jerusalem at that time. Ask the students to take a look around the room and share with the group what they notice to be the same or different from the homes they live in or other houses they know. After they share some of these things, begin to point out some of the main elements of the room.
3.
  • In the center of the room is a triclinium, a three-benched eating area. People would eat by laying on the benches while they were served by someone standing on the fourth side. The different vessels around the room are all types that would have been used for cooking and serving. Explain to the students the difference between the objects in the cases and the objects that they can touch. The objects in the cases are real things that are two thousand years old, while the others are new things that look like they are that old. You can also point out the different kinds of food, all of which were eaten in Jerusalem at that time. Some of these are bread, cheese, asparagus, mushroom, cucumber, artichoke, and the seven species: grapes, pomegranates, figs, dates, olives, wheat and barley.
    • 4. On the wall behind the triclinium are magnets with mosaic designs on them. These are representative of the floor mosaics that were in many homes in Jerusalem at this time. Students probably do not realize that Jerusalem at this time was a fairly wealthy city and that people lived in luxurious homes made of marble and stone, not mud huts or other “crude” dwellings.
    5.
  • In the case on the wall next to the magnets are eight oil lamps that represent lamps that would have been used for the celebration of Hanukkah. At this time, Hanukkah was a new holiday and the shamash (servitor) hadn’t come into use yet. The story of Hanukkah happened in 165 BCE. The audio box between the two doorways features Miriam and Simon telling the story of Hanukkah and at the end, they say that their grandparents love to tell them the story of Hanukkah, and their grandparents’ grandparents were alive when it happened.
    • 6.
  • Bring the students through the back archway to the market area. The market (or shuk) was the center of community life in ancient Jerusalem. People bought and sold food, clothing and other necessities there. Seat the students on the floor facing the stalls. Explain what the different stalls are and what goods they sold.
    • 7.
  • The first stall on the right is the weaver’s stall. Jerusalemites in the first century might have made their own clothes or purchased them ready-made at a weaver’s stall. The different things to see here are the sample costumes (togas, tunics, cloaks and sandals), the baskets showing the stages of wool production, from raw wool to yarn to woven cloth, and the loom. In the case above the loom is a spindle whorl, which was used to help spin the raw wool into yarn.
    • 8. The next stall is the spice and perfume stall. There are several different spices to smell on the counter in the front of the stall. (Note: It is not necessary to open the bags to smell the different spices.) Behind the counter is a case which contains different vials and bottles that might have been used to store cosmetics and perfumes. Explain that small containers held precious substances such as eye makeup or scented oils, while much larger vessels were used to store substances that were used in greater quantity, like water, wine or grain. There is also a vessel in this stall with a conical bottom; explain to the students how these types of vessels were stored in below ground to keep the contents cool. The small bottle on the left end of the case has an applicator stick in it. This would probably have been used to store eye makeup.
    9. The third stall is the crafts and imports stall. In this stall’s case is an oil lamp imported from Rome, a camel figurine imported from Jordan and two etched limestone boxes that may have been used for decorative purposes. The large map between this stall and the spice/perfume stall shows a few of the different trade routes of the Roman Empire. Use the samples in the basket next to the map to show some of the goods that came from around the ancient world to Jerusalem. Goods came from as far as modern-day Vietnam and Great Britain.
    10. The last area to point out is the scribe desk. Scribes spoke several languages and people brought documents to them to be translated or had them write up letters or other documents. On the wall is a chart of several of the alphabets that were most commonly spoken in Jerusalem at this time: Greek, Latin, (Ancient) Hebrew and Aramaic. Greek was the lingua franca, or common language, of the period, and was spoken in many Jewish homes. Latin was the language of the ruling Romans, Hebrew was used for important documents and religious purposes, and Aramaic was used for prayer. The coins on the wall next to the chart show three of the languages, Greek, Latin and Hebrew.
    11. Give the students some time after you go through everything to explore the gallery and “play” with the different interactives. If time permits, the students can gather together to show each other what they’ve found.
    1. Create artifacts out of clay.
    2. Make mosaic pictures or patterns like the magnets in the gallery. Have students sketch a design on plain paper and then use tile-shaped stamps and ink pads to fill in the designs with “ink tiles.” With younger students who may just be learning about patterns, have them try using different shapes and colors to create patterns.


    The Jewish Museum's Collection Digitization Project was funded in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs 2001 Cultural Challenge Program. Matching funds provided by the Evelyn Schimmel Trust.