The legacy gifts that shaped Egyptology

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology at UCL sits in an unassuming brown brick building in the heart of our Bloomsbury campus. Yet within this building is one of the world’s largest collections of ancient Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology, housing more than 80,000 objects.

Telling the vibrant story of human existence in the Nile Valley, the collection spans millennia, ranging from the Tarkhan Dress – the world’s oldest-known woven garment (between 3482-3102 BCE), to a twentieth-century tapestry made at the Wissa Wassef Art Centre in Saqqara, Egypt.

A photograph of Amelia Edwards, 1888

A portrait of Amelia Edwards

Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie

The last will of Mery, recorded on papyrus, c.1818 BCE

Amelia Edwards (1831-1892)

The museum’s doors were first opened to the public in 1915, but the fascinating story behind it starts in the 19th century with a charismatic and visionary Victorian novelist.

Amelia Edwards visited Cairo for the first time in 1873. Her excursion, which she said had only been for ‘some sunshine and dry weather’, became a turning point in her life, shifting her interests from general literary pursuits to a dedicated focus on Egyptology. She returned to England as a campaigner for the preservation of Egypt’s heritage and devoted the rest of her life to this cause.

Edwards’ travels inspired her to write A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877), a self-illustrated description of her Nile voyage that garnered great interest. She co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1882, which continues today as the Egypt Exploration Society, and spent years assembling her own personal collection of antiquities. As a result, people used to call her ‘the Godmother of Egyptology’.

Upon her passing in 1892 she bequeathed her collection to UCL, along with £2,415 (equivalent to approximately £250,000 in 2025) to establish England’s first Chair in Egyptian Archaeology and Philology. She chose UCL as the home for her beloved collection because it was the only university in the UK which, at that time, awarded degrees to women on an equal basis to men.

The gift is remarkable because of Edwards’ timing and foresight. Europe was undergoing a surge of interest in ancient Egypt, spurred by archaeological discoveries. But almost all early Egyptology work was carried out by private collectors through sporadic expeditions.

Edwards’ bequest helped formalise Egyptology as an academic discipline. It gave UCL both the intellectual and material foundation to become the leading academic force in creating a robust research environment for the study of Egypt’s ancient heritage.

Her endowment led to the creation of the Petrie Museum and UCL’s Department of Egyptology – a prime example of how philanthropy can catalyse the development of new academic disciplines and enable life-changing discoveries.

Sir Flinders Petrie (1853-1942)

The museum was named in honour of the inaugural Edwards Professor, William Matthew Flinders Petrie, whom Edwards had essentially handpicked for the role.

Petrie was a leading archaeologist who made countless discoveries in Egypt and Palestine, as well as revolutionising archaeological practice through his excavation techniques and record-keeping. He also trained many people who went on to become influential in the field, including Howard Carter, an archaeologist integral to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, and T.E. Lawrence (known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ following the 1962 film based on his life).

In the early 20th century, Petrie added his own significant collection to the museum. One of the notable items was the world’s oldest will on paper. The papyrus document was created circa 1818 BCE and refers to a man called Mery, as well as a list of witnesses. Mery asks for his son, Intef, to be appointed to his official position in the temple of the dead king Senusret II. He also grants his estate to the children born to him by a woman called Nebetnennisut – presumed to be his second wife. This was a significant discovery at the time as it shone a light on ancient last will and testament mechanisms.

The early museum

When the museum opened, the cases displaying the collection occupied the upper level of a whole wing in the Wilkins Building. Even with this space and with thousands of artefacts packed away in cupboards, the area was still cluttered with objects.

Petrie himself extolled the virtues of cataloguing and systematic object registration but unfortunately did not wholly put this into practice in his own museum. His successors inherited the mammoth task of documenting the highlights of the collection, a process which lasted more than 70 years.

However, it would take another several lifetimes to further research and develop the 80,000 object records that make up the Petrie Museum’s collection today.

During the Second World War the collection was boxed up and stored in vaults below UCL to protect it from bomb damage. This was just as well, because the Bloomsbury campus suffered a direct hit that gutted the Egyptology Department.

Bomb damage at UCL, 1940

The museum today

Today, the museum persists as a world-leading source of knowledge and education, accessed by hundreds of researchers and scholars, and school groups every year.

It is connected to more than 250 ancient Egyptian and Sudanese collections worldwide and is widely thought to have been the first museum in the world to have pictures and information on nearly every object accessible online.

This is largely thanks to the hard work of many talented staff. However, it would not have been possible without the Friends of the Petrie Museum, a group of more than 850 people from around the world that regularly offer philanthropic support, as well as the many who have left gifts to the museum in their wills.

The support of this community ensures the longevity of the Petrie Museum, preserving its collections for the future and allowing all museum visitors to collaborate and develop our collective understanding of ancient civilisations.

Come and visit us

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology is open to the public on:

Tuesday to Friday, 1pm–5pm and on Saturday from 11am–5pm

Entry to the main collection is free.

Find us at: University College London, Malet Place, London WC1E 6BT