The Queen’s Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology

Left to Right: Rt. Rev. Dr. George Dorey, Queen’s University Principal W.A. Mackintosh, Rev. S. Smalley Lansdowne, Queen’s Vice-Principal Dr. J.A. Corry, and Dr. A.D. Tushingham at Museum Opening 1954 (image from Queen’s Journal 82, no. 11, page 1).

On October 26th, 1954, a Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology opened in the Old Arts Building (modern Theological Hall), the home of Queen’s Theological College. The Museum had been conceived of and executed by Dr. A. Douglas Tushingham, a Biblical Archaeologist and scholar of Old Testament criticism, who came to work at the College as a professor. The Museum only remained open for a little over one year, until Dr. Tushingham, who had left Queen’s to accept a job with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), requested the items. Both Theological College and Queen’s University subsequently agreed to dismantle the museum and transfer the materials to the ROM, where the items remain today. This project reveals how the Museum came into being, a gallery of select items once included in the museum, and the context surrounding the sudden and tragic loss of such a culturally and educationally significant collection. The research presented has been drawn from a variety of news sources, online and print publications, and archival material provided by Queen’s Archives and the ROM Registration Department. This display also has benefited from photographs provided by the ROM, Margot Tushingham, and the NPAPH Project.

Excavations >