William Matthew Flinders Petrie

Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (3 June 1853 – 28 July 1942) was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology.

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The grandson of Captain Matthew Flinders, explorer of the coasts of Australia, Petrie was born in Charlton, England. He was educated at home by his parents. Petrie's father, a surveyor, taught his son how to survey accurately, so laying the foundation for his career.

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After surveying British prehistoric monuments, including Stonehenge, Petrie travelled to Egypt in 1880 to survey the Great Pyramid at Giza. His interest in Egypt piqued, Petrie went on to excavate at many of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt such as Abydos and Amarna.

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Having accomplished such impressive work at Giza, Petrie was recommended to the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the Egypt Exploration Society), who needed an archaeologist in Egypt to succeed Edouard Naville. Petrie accepted the position and was given the sum of ?250 per month to cover the excavation’s expenses. In November 1884, Petrie arrived in Egypt to begin his excavations.

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Petrie's painstaking recording and study of artefacts set new standards in archaeology. By linking styles of pottery with periods, he developed seriation, a revolutionary method for establishing the chronology of a site.

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From 1892 to 1933 Petrie was the first Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology at University College, London. This chair had been funded by Amelia Edwards, who was a strong supporter of Petrie. He continued to excavate in Egypt after taking up the professorship, training many of the best archaeologists of the day. In 1913 Petrie sold his large collection of Egyptian antiquities to University College, London, where it is now housed in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.

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1923 saw Petrie knighted for services to British archaeology and Egyptology.

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Petrie left Egypt for Palestine in 1926. Here he excavated a series of frontier sites between Egypt and Canaan, including Tell el-Hesi which he considered (mistakenly, as it turned out) to be site of ancient Lachish. Sir Flinders Petrie died in Jerusalem in 1939 and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion.

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