UCL President and Provost Michael Spence meets Catriona Wilson, Head of the Petrie Collection of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology and Dr Anna Garnett, the Curator of the Petrie Collection. The museum’s extraordinary collection has more than 80,000 objects.

Unlike other museums focused on grand monuments, the Petrie celebrates everyday life through "ordinary objects that tell extraordinary stories": 5,000-year-old knitted socks, loaves of bread, love letters, and the world's oldest complete woven garment, The Tarkhan Dress.

The conversation addresses Flinders Petrie's complex legacy – he transformed archaeology into a science but was also involved in UCL's eugenics movement. The museum tackles this head-on, asking visitors from the moment they enter: "Should this collection be here?". The team maintains vibrant connections with Egyptian and Sudanese communities. The Sudan's Living Cultures project has partnered with Sudanese artists to create hopeful digital artworks during Sudan's current crisis. At the launch event, a Sudanese visitor shared how smelling familiar perfume immediately made her feel at home in the museum – a powerful moment of connection.

With 20,000 annual visitors, 300 visiting researchers, and pioneering online digitisation leading to 50,000+ hits yearly (many from Egypt), the collection serves as both a world-class research resource and a bridge between cultures.

As Catriona and Anna acknowledge, as "two white British women managing formerly colonially removed objects," they're committed to constantly trying, sometimes failing, and trying again to address power imbalances while making these collections meaningful to diverse audiences.

Credits:

Presenter: Dr Michael Spence, UCL President & Provost

Guests: Catriona Wilson, Head of the Petrie Collection of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology and Dr Anna Garnett, the Curator of the Petrie Collection of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology.

Produced by UCL Communications and UCL Educational Media