A Department of Archaeology was first founded in 1951 at University College of the Gold Coast. It encompassed Achimota College’s teaching collection, an eclectic assemblage developed principally by colonial administrators. It was this collection that was eventually incorporated into a newly founded National Museum in 1953. A separate building for the National Museum opened in 1957.
Notes on distribution:
In 1952 Reading Museum and Art Gallery disposed of parts of its collection to the University of Ghana's Department of Archaeology, whose collection went on to become part of the founding collection of the National Museum of Ghana. Amongst the material sent were a few items excavated by the Egypt Exploration Fund (1902-03 Abydos) and the British School of Archaeology in Egypt (1924 Hemamieh, headrests from the 1921 Sedment excavation).
The Pitt Rivers Museum sent a few flint objects as part of a wider exchange of material in 1951 (Garstang's Egyptian Research Account 1901 work at el-Mahasna and a flint scraper from the tomb of Den), while further mateiral was procured from Tunbridge Wells Museum (including items excavated by FW Green at El Kab) and the Ashmolean Museum forwarded a handful of objects, amongst which was a black-topped Predynastic pottery vessel which unfortunately was broken in transit.
Relevant publications:
Morfini, I. 2016. An Egyptian collection held in the National Museum in Accra. Göttinger Miszellen 249: 125–29