There are an infnite number of ways to know a collection and no one person can ever exhaust all of the possibilities. The frst aim of this book is, therefore, to bring together only a very small series of vantage points chosen by several individuals in order to introduce the range and scope of University College London’s Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Together, we can but scratch the surface of the array of objects held here and much more remains to be explored. And anyone is welcome to do so. The entire collection is available to view online and each object is identifed with a unique number, prefaced with the letters ‘UC’ (which stand for University College), as are the objects in this publication.

The second aim of this book is to introduce just a few of the characters whose lives became caught up in the discovery, care and rediscovery of the collection. These are stories not just of famous archaeologists, but also of the unsung multitudes upon whose labour this Museum is built. It is therefore to the Egyptian workforce and all the staff and volunteers of the Petrie Museum (past and present) that this small volume is dedicated.