Artefacts of Excavation

The Classics and Archaeology Collection at the University of Melbourne (held in the Ian Potter Museum of Art) received Egyptian objects from British led excavations through other sources. In 1901 the Egypt Exploration Society donated five papyri fragments, four from Oxyrhynchus and one from Fayum. In 1921, another five papyri fragments from Oxyrhynchus were donated by the Egypt Exploration Society via the University of Sydney, although one fragment was stolen from the collection in 1975. In 1957 a collection of 32 objects were donated via the Classical Association of Victoria from two Melbourne brothers, Edward Eustace and Everard Studley Miller. Edward Eustace Miller participated on and acquired objects from two excavations led by Flinders Petrie: Lahun 1919-20 and Sedment 1920-21. In 1957 the Rev Professor John Bowman purchased several objects from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York on behalf of the University. These included two objects that were originally obtained through the Egypt Exploration Society: a Ptolemaic stela from Oxyrhynchus (1897) and a wall frieze fragment from Deir el-Bahari (1906). In 1968 the Rev Professor John Bowman made a further purchase of Egyptian objects from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. This purchase included four fragments of blue glaze bowls from Deir el-Bahari that were originally from Charles Trick Currelly's collection. Currelly participated on Edouard Naville's excavations at Deir el-Bahari in 1905-6 and 1906-7.