And the tomb of Tutankhamun was excavated while Egypt struggled to establish its independence from British military control. The Rosetta Stone that proved key to decipherment was originally found by the invading French army and then seized by the British army. The most iconic ancient Egyptian objects both have un-taught histories. Many schools in the UK now teach pupils about ancient Egypt, but almost none address Britain’s history of colonial rule in Egypt. However, few are fully aware of the complex histories of these collections. As a result, we often take the presence of Egyptian material for granted. Principal Curator Margaret Maitland does just that and explores some of the recent work we’ve been doing in this area.Īncient Egyptian objects are so ubiquitous in the UK that they’ve become almost synonymous with the very idea of museums themselves. Many have celebrated these milestones, but it is also an apt moment to reflect on the history of Egyptology and its colonial origins. It’s been 200 years since the decipherment of hieroglyphs, which unlocked access to written sources from ancient Egypt, and 100 years since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, whose splendour further fuelled global Egyptomania.
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