Pergamon Museum

Pergamon Museum
Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Pergamon Museum
Established	1930
Location	Museum Island, Berlin, Germany
Type	Archaeological museum
Collection	Antiquities of the Ancient Near East, Classical antiquity
Key holdings	Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Altar, Market Gate of Miletus
Director	Barbara Helwing (as of 2023, for the Museum of the Ancient Near East)
Website	www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/pergamonmuseum/home/

Pergamon Museum. The Pergamon Museum is one of the most significant archaeological museums in the world, located on Museum Island in Berlin. It is renowned for its monumental reconstructions of ancient architectural masterpieces, most notably the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way from Babylon, which provide an unparalleled window into the grandeur of Ancient Babylon. The museum's extensive collections, formed during the era of German archaeology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, are central to the global understanding of Mesopotamian and Hellenistic civilizations.

History and Construction

The museum's origins are tied to the ambitious excavations conducted by the German Empire in the Ottoman Empire during the late 19th century. Major finds from sites like Pergamon, Babylon, and Miletus were transported to Berlin under agreements known as partage treaties. The first building, the smaller Pergamon Museum, opened in 1901 but was soon deemed inadequate. The current, much larger structure was designed by Alfred Messel and completed by Ludwig Hoffmann after Messel's death. Construction occurred between 1910 and 1930, with the museum officially opening in 1930. Its design was specifically conceived to house monumental reconstructions, such as the Pergamon Altar, which required an entire wing. The institution became a flagship of German museums and a symbol of national cultural achievement, surviving the devastation of World War II with its major artifacts protected, though the building sustained damage.

The Ishtar Gate and Processional Way

The museum's centerpiece for the study of Ancient Babylon is the spectacular reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate and a section of the city's grand Processional Way. These structures were built under King Nebuchadnezzar II around 575 BCE. The gate is famed for its vibrant blue glazed bricks, adorned with alternating rows of mušḫuššu (dragons) and bulls, symbols of the gods Marduk and Adad. The Processional Way features reliefs of lions, the symbol of the goddess Ishtar. The artifacts were excavated between 1899 and 1917 by a team from the German Oriental Society led by Robert Koldewey. The museum's presentation allows visitors to walk through the gate and along the street, offering a direct, immersive experience of Babylonian royal and religious ceremony. This installation is part of the museum's Museum of the Ancient Near East.

The Market Gate of Miletus

While not Babylonian, the Market Gate of Miletus represents another pinnacle of the museum's architectural reconstructions and illustrates the broader chronological and geographical scope of its collections. This monumental Roman gate, dating from around 120 CE, was excavated in the ancient Greek city of Miletus in Asia Minor by a team led by Theodor Wiegand between 1903 and 1905. Its three-story façade, standing over 16 meters tall, is a prime example of Roman imperial architecture with Greek influences. Its presence in the same museum complex as the Ishtar Gate demonstrates the institution's commitment to presenting the interconnected histories of the Ancient Near East and the Classical world, showing the flow of artistic and architectural ideas across empires.

The Pergamon Altar

The museum's namesake is the Pergamon Altar, a massive Hellenistic structure from the 2nd century BCE, excavated at the acropolis of Pergamon (modern Bergama in Turkey). The altar's famous Gigantomachy frieze, depicting the battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants, is a masterpiece of Hellenistic art. Like the Babylonian finds, it was brought to Berlin under a division-of-finds agreement with the Ottoman authorities. The altar's installation, completed in 1930, required the construction of a dedicated hall. It has long been a symbol of the museum and a focal point for discussions on the presentation and provenance of monumental archaeology.

Significance for Babylonian Archaeology

The Pergamon Museum holds one of the world's most important collections of Babylonian art and cuneiform inscriptions outside of Iraq. Its holdings were crucial for the development of Assyriology as a scholarly discipline in Germany. The meticulous reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate provided scholars and the public with a tangible understanding of Babylonian architectural techniques, artistic sophistication, and religious ideology that texts alone could not convey. The museum's collections have supported generations of research at institutions like the University of Berlin and the German Archaeological Institute. They serve as a primary resource for understanding the Neo-Babylonian Empire and its cultural legacy.

Conservation and Modern Debates

The museum and its monumental exhibits face ongoing challenges of conservation. The structural stability of the large reconstructions and the preservation of the fragile glazed bricks are constant concerns. Furthermore, the Pergamon Museum is at the center of modern ethical debates concerning cultural heritage and colonialism. The acquisition of its core collections during the era of European imperial archaeology has led to persistent calls for the restitution of artifacts, particularly from nations like Iraq and Turkey. Projects like the Pergamon Museum Masterplan, a comprehensive renovation and reorganization of Museum Island, must navigate these complex historical and political dimensions while ensuring the long-term preservation of its irreplaceable collections for future generations.