Petrie, William Matthew Flinders

(1853–1942)

   British archaeologist. He was born in Charlton, England, on 3 June 1853. He was educated at home, his interest in archaeology being encouraged by his father. Petrie was first sent to Egypt to survey the pyramid of Khufufrom 1880–1882. He later excavated for the Egypt Exploration Fund from 1884–1986 and again from 1896–1905, but disagreements led to his founding of the Egyptian Research Account and later the British School of Archaeology in Egypt to finance his independent excavations by donations from subscribers. Petrie carried out work in many sites in Egypt, notably Tanis, Abydos, Hawara, Lahun, Amarna, and Thebes. He was the first archaeologist to stress the importance of such small, uninscribed objects as amulets and pottery, which could be used to date the consecutive archaeological levels of a site, and he strongly criticized those like his rival Edouard Naville, who sought only monumental, inscribed antiquities. He believed in prompt publication but then often omitted much detailed evidence. He also laid down the basic framework for the study of Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt through the through study of pottery. Petrie’s rather austere lifestyle in the field owed much to his desire to expend his resources on the excavations. He was appointed as the first professor of Egyptology at University College London in 1892, retiring in 1933. During the 1920s, he turned his attention to excavation in Palestine. He died in Jerusalem on 28 July 1942. His personal collection of antiquities, notebooks, and papers is preserved in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at University College in London.

   See also Carter, Howard; Mariette, Auguste Ferdinand; Montet, Pierre Marie; Reisner, George Andrew; Winlock, Herbert Eustis.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier