 The basement was finally reopened on October 7, 2016 with an official ceremony presided by Tammam Salam, the Lebanese prime minister and the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni.The basement collection showcases funerary art and practices beginning with articles dating back from prehistory until the Ottoman era.Collection highlights include 31 Phoenician anthropomorphic sarcophagi from the Ford collection, a fresco depicting Mary the mother of Jesus dated to CE, and which is believed to be one of the oldest discovered representations of Mary in the world.