The earliest finds exhibited here are flint tools from the Neolithic period (8500-4500 B.C.E.). A typical tel, or ancient mound, gives visible form to the archaeological concept of stratigraphy, or superimposed levels of settlement. The museum is located near Tel Kitan, on the Jordan River.
There is a small Bronze Age Canaanite temple reconstruction. The Roman Period exhibit includes a copy of a bronze head of the emperor Hadrian, discovered near Beth Shean. In the museum and courtyard there are architectural elements dated to the Roman and Byzantine periods: columns, pillars, capitals, sarcophagi, mosaic floors from synagogues and churches and a basalt relief with a menorah and shofar.
Israelite Village
Another interesting exhibit demonstrates ancient weaving techniques, utilizing implements for spinning and weaving discovered in the remains of an Israelite village excavated at the museum site. Vessels from burial caves, dating from about 2000 BCE, are also on display.
The Greek Art
One gallery is devoted to the art of the classical Greek world. Among them are geometric, black-figured and red-figured vases, as well as figurines from Greece and Italy. The museum also has a collection of rare Etruscan artifacts.
The Persian and Egyptian Room
Another gallery houses Persian Art from the 3rd to the 1st millennium B.C.E. including decorated pottery from Samarkand, glass vessels, and a fragment of relief from the royal palace at Persepolis. Egyptian style scarabs, faience and alabaster vessels, and coptic textiles are among the exhibits.
Temporary Exhibit Wing
We currently have an exhibit containing artifacts from the early Islamic period in the Beth Shean site. Items included were found in the merchant and industrial areas.