Introductory Guide to the Egyptian Collections

In the thirty years which have elapsed since the last edition of this Guide was published much has been learnt about the ancient Egyptians and many important additions have been made to the Egyptian collection of this Museum. For both these reasons it has seemed desirable to re-write the text entirely rather than to adapt the former version, which was itself a revision by Dr. H. R. Hall of the first edition prepared by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge in 1909. Considerations of cost and the intention to issue specialized handbooks giving fuller descriptions of certain branches of the collection have led to a reduction in size and in the number of illustrations of this edition in comparison with its predecessors.

It will be evident to the reader that the aim of this Guide is to provide an outline of the physical, historical, and cultural background of the collection; it is not intended as a comprehensive catalogue of the sixty-five thousand objects in the Department. In accordance with current practice royal names have been given in the form in which they are preserved in the classical histories. Spellings of place-names, with very few exceptions, follow the style found in the Geographical Survey Map of Egypt. For the historical period beginning with the First Dynasty and ending with the Twenty-first Dynasty, during which precise dating is not yet attainable, the chronological table published in the revised Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes I and II, has been adopted.

The preparation of this edition has been carried out by the two Assistant Keepers in the Department, Mr. T. G. H. James and Mr. A. F. Shore, and by the Keeper. Chapters 1, 2, 5, and 6 have been written by Mr. James, who has also drawn the hieroglyphic list of royal names; Mr. Shore is responsible for Chapters 7 and 8.