The British Museum,
London
Petrie
Fitzwilliam
Náprstek
Ashmolean
The department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan holds objects from every stage of the long history of the
area, ranging from about 4500 BC to the later 14th century AD. The collection forms one of the
most comprehensive and magnificent collections in the world, surpassed only by the Egyptian museum in
Cairo.
The majority of the objects in the collection were purchased. The earliest collection representing
Egypt consisted of the objects acquired by the British nation following the defeat of the French fleet
at Abukir in 1802.The most important purchased collection containing objects from Deir el-Medina is
the first collection of the British Consul-General Henry Salt (1780-1827), purchased in 1823. These
antiquities, collected by Salt during his stay in the Theban area in January and February 1818,
included a large number of stelae from Deir el-Medina made by the royal workmen for their own use.
Among the pieces in the Salt collection was the petition against the foreman Paneb. Salt's second
collection was sold directly to the French government, but his third collection, which included Deir
el-Medina pieces, was completed just prior to Salt's death and was eventually sold in London in 1835,
when the British Museum acquired more material. Salt's agent Giovanni d'Athanasi (1799-c. 1850)
continued to excavate on his own initiative and sold two collections in London in 1837 and 1845 from
which more Deir el-Medina objects entered the British Museum. The Museum's holdings were further
enriched by the purchase of the second Earl of Belmore's (1774-1841) collection in 1843 and the
donation of some objects from the Viscount Valentia's (1770-1844) collection in 1854.
A substantial part of the collection arises from scientific excavation, which began in Egypt shortly
after 1881. Many objects come from a variety of donations.
The collections of the British Museum contain many objects from Deir el-Medina, comprising mainly of
inscribed objects.
Go to the public galleries
Go to the depositories
and store rooms
The page was last modified on September 28th 2008.
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Sources:
1. Bierbrier, Morris : The tomb-builders of the pharaohs
Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 1982.