Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology - fourth in the world after Cairo, the British and the Berlin Museum of Egyptology on the volume and quality of the exposure. In it, more than 80 thousand exhibits, and his life is a huge collection of duty to two people. One-contemporary Egyptologists have long considered just an amateur, the second was a journalist and traveler.

William Flinders Petrie got Matthew merely educated at home, but in the age of eight, already knew French, Latin and Greek. At 24, he developed a method of dating historical events and determined the age of Stonehenge. In the early 80-ies of the XIX century he went to Egypt to study the pyramids and was shocked by the speed with which they are destroyed. Petrie lived in Egypt, forty-six years, and has become the largest specialist in this ancient civilization. He discovered and described in detail previously unknown treasures: the Colossus of Ramses II, Fayum portraits, artifacts of the Mycenaean civilization, Merneptah stele - the first historical document that mentions Israel. Egyptologist amateur became the founder of the British School of Archaeology, Professor, University of London. In 1923, the Queen bestowed him a knight.

The journalist and writer Amelia Edwards in 1873, traveled to Egypt and passionately in love with this country. His collection of Egyptian antiquities she bequeathed College, University of London. As patron of the Egyptian Research Fund it has appointed Petrie Professor of the Department of Egyptology college, and he was able to continue his studies. In 1913, Petrie also gave his collection to college - so create a unique collection of the museum.

The local exhibits illustrate life in the Nile valley from prehistoric times to the Islamic period. Silicic saw Badarian period of more than five thousand years, pommel king's scepter gerzeyskogo period under fifteen centuries. Copper adze worked as a carpenter times pharaoh Snefru, the father of the famous Cheops. Priceless alabaster stele depicting the pharaoh reformer Akhenaton, his wife Nefertiti and daughters Meritaten (XIV century BC. E.). There are also the earliest Egyptian iron objects, the world's oldest papyri on which medical texts written on gynecology, dancers dress sewn four and a half thousand years ago.

Rooms are spacious museum exhibits can be inspected from all sides. Part of the collection is located in the premises of half black - for better safety items for which the bright light can be harmful. Formed for several decades the collection is not updated: today the export of artifacts from Egypt is prohibited.