Human world
Detail of a set of canopic jars belonging to a man named Wahhor, the son of Ptahhotep. Dynasty 26 (about 664-332 BC)
There are more than 16,000 objects in the Egyptian collection, and you can see a selection of highlights from the collection here, which are on display in our new Ancient Egypt gallery.
The range of the collection spans from the Prehistoric to the Islamic period with the largest archaeological site collections being Abydos, Amarna, Beni Hasan, Esna and Meroe.
Almost 5,000 objects were donated to the museum by local antiquarian Joseph Mayer in 1867. Over the next century the collection grew as a result of donations, purchases and subscription to controlled excavations in Egypt and Sudan.
The leading Liverpool merchant families of the19th century funded the digs of pioneering Egyptologist Professor John Garstang of the University of Liverpool. The museum contains extensive material excavated by him.
For a closer look at one of the mummies from our collection, you can study CT scans of a mummy in the Reveal gallery at our National Conservation Centre.