Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

#95

A scholar’s treasure room: 80,000+ objects in narrow cases that reward slow looking. This is Egyptology without blockbuster theatrics—beads, tools, fabrics, and faces that show daily life across 5,000 years. Go for intimacy over spectacle and you’ll spot items you’ll never see elsewhere in London.

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Opening Hours

Tuesday: 13:00 – 17:00

Wednesday: 13:00 – 17:00

Thursday: 13:00 – 17:00

Friday: 13:00 – 17:00

Saturday: 11:00 – 17:00

What's not to miss inside?

Tarkhan Dress

Oldest surviving woven garment

A linen shirt from c. 3000 BC—creases and hems from a life once lived, not a pharaoh’s tomb.

Look for the tiny, even weave: technology and fashion already sophisticated at Egypt’s dawn.

📍 Early Egypt cases, textiles section

Fayum Portraits

Ancient naturalism that stares back

Lifelike encaustic faces that once wrapped mummies—individuals, not icons.

Step to a 45° angle; the wax technique pops with raking light.

📍 Roman Egypt gallery

Tools & Everyday Tech

How civilisation is built: one tool at a time

From flint blades to copper chisels—micro-innovations that made pyramids possible.

Trace one material (flint → copper → bronze) and note how tool shapes evolve, not just metals.

📍 Predynastic to New Kingdom cases

Amulets & Faience

Belief made portable

Hippos, scarabs, and protective deities mass-produced in glittering blue-green faience.

Compare mould-made duplicates—ancient ‘batch production’ aimed at ordinary buyers.

📍 Small finds cases

🤓 Fun Facts

The museum’s linen ‘Tarkhan Dress’ is over 5,000 years old—the world’s oldest tailored garment with seams and a fitted neck.

Sir Flinders Petrie pioneered ‘sequence dating’—using pottery styles to date sites—foundations of modern archaeological method.

Only around 10% of the Petrie collection is on display at any time, yet it still feels densely packed.

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