Rightly or wrongly, Great Britain is intrinsically tied to ancient Egypt due to the nation’s successful efforts to excavate and preserve ancient sites.
Archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie was the man to introduce the proper techniques to achieve what were incredible feats in the field at the time.
From that point (the mid-1880s onwards), British experts travelled down to the African nation to uncover the secrets of the ancient world.
Such a fascination at the time led to the creation of the Egypt Exploration Fund, the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, and many integral artefacts being preserved and kept safe.
The intrigue in the grandiose architecture, intricate treasures, and theriocephalic deities holds firm to this day, and luckily for London residents, Egyptian hotspots aren’t that far away at all.
Museums are your first port of call
For ancient Egyptian artefacts, most will, naturally, turn to the British Museum as a London resident or a tourist to the British capital, but there’s plenty of other options to be explored.
Top of the list has to be the Victoria and Albert Museum, which specialises in the arts.
Across the incredible building’s many, many galleries, you’ll spot a whole bunch of Egyptian artwork and art inspired by the country.
In the gallery of Georgian Britain, you’ll find art in Egyptian styles drawn from between the early 1700s and mid-1800s, while in the glass and ceramics wing, you’ll spot that the oldest examples on show hail from ancient Egypt.
Amidst the furniture displays, an Egyptian chair leg from around 200 to 395AD also clocks in as the oldest artefact on display, and you can find several examples of ancient Egyptian jewellery on display.
The Horniman Museum & Gardens also plays host to several ancient Egyptian artefacts as a part of its collection.
On the museum’s website, they even provide learning resources to help you tailor your visit to the collection and even create your own activities around discovering it all.
You could also turn to the Viktor Wynd Museum, which regularly hosts ancient Egyptian-centric events, talks, and showcases, such as the Spell Books in the Ancient World series recorded in May.
Finding Egypt outside of the museums
The fascination with ancient Egypt is so strong across Britain, not just in the capital, that even entertainment creatives looking to appeal to us Brits need often find help through ancient Egyptian creations.
This is the most overtly seen when you play online casino games.
Forever among the top picks are the likes of Eye of Horus, Legacy of Dead, and even Lara Croft: Tomb of the Sun.
So, one way Londoners may sink into ancient Egypt outside of a museum could be to spin some slots.
Alternatively, to get a literal taste of the nation, seek out Alexandrie on Church Street in Kensington.
The restaurant is chic, relaxed, and specialises in the food that you wouldn’t find on a run-of-the-mill holiday to Egypt.
Instead, the dishes are drawn from old recipes that families in the country have loved since before the country declared itself a republic in 1952.
Their centrepiece is the Molokheya, a traditional Egyptian herb soup with rice, and the slow-roasted lamb shank.
After the meal, if you fancy travelling a bit, head towards Brixton, and over to Reliance Arcade.
The little market boasts an Egyptian-style faience façade, which is one of the oldest lasting examples of a trend of Egyptian architecture which swept London in the early 1900s.
If you love Egyptian history, mythology, or just want to experience a snippet of the culture, those are the places to visit in London.
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