Human world

About the antiquities collection

The Ancient World galleries only display a selection of the thousands of collection items from our antiquities department. This is a collection made up of 80,000 objects that cover a vast chronological range and wide geographical expanse. Objects range in size and shape from tiny Egyptian scarabs to large sculptures of Roman gods.

A blue faience bowl from Abydos, decorated as a pool with fish swimming in it, surrounded by lotus flowers. Dynasty 18 (1550-1292 BC) - Dynasty 19 (1292-1185 BC)

The five main areas represented are:

• British and European: a strong collection of Anglo-Saxon objects with other exceptional pieces.
• Egypt and Sudan: one of the largest and most representative collections in the country.
• Numismatics: nearly 18,000 items, including Greek, Roman and European coins.
• Near East and Cyprus: a varied collection of objects from Garstang’s and the museum’s fieldwork.
• Classical Archaeology: the largest collection of classical sculpture outside of the British Museum and a world-class collection of late antique ivories.

The foundations of the collection were laid by Joseph Mayer who had a particular interest in antiquities, and had a museum in the city before he gave his collection to this museum in 1867. It was based on important collections made by diplomatic officials and travellers in Egypt and elsewhere in the early 1800s. The collection has grown gradually as the result of excavations, gifts, bequests and purchases between 1851 and the present day.

Liverpool is a key centre for research into the archaeology of Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. The museum collection ranks among the most important in the UK for ancient Egypt, Rome and Britain. Many objects are loaned out to museums in the UK and abroad for exhibitions.

Objects that are not on display are kept in storage, where they are accessible to researchers upon a written request. Owing to the current refurbishment of the Egyptian gallery, we have to restrict access to parts of the collection and researchers are requested to wait until after February 2009.