Study room
There are approximately 330,000 objects in the collection of the
Department of the Middle East. A representative selection of around
4,500 objects, including the most important pieces, is on display.
The rest forms the study collection which ranges in size from beads
to large sculptures.
All the material in the collection, whether on display or
in storage, is made freely available for use by students and
scholars in the departmental study room.
The study collection includes a large number of cuneiform
tablets from Mesopotamia and surrounding regions, large collections
of pottery from all parts of the Middle East (both complete and
fragmentary), Neolithic and later chipped stone assemblages, seals
of all periods, beads, jewellery, glass vessels, magical bowls,
figurines, metalwork, small stone objects, pieces of sculpture and
even modern plaster casts of ancient sculptures not in the Museum
(particularly from Iran). There are also excavated plant remains,
wood, shell, animal-bone and human remains.
If you wish to look at objects in the study collection or on
display, please contact the department for an appointment.
Space is limited, so please make an appointment as far in
advance as possible, giving details of the objects you wish to
study, and giving some indication of the timing and length of your
stay.
There is a particularly strong demand for tablets, as scholars
from around the world come to use this facility.
Your application for admission must be supported either by a
member of the academic staff of the Museum or by proof of
identification (e.g. passport, driving licence) and by a letter of
recommendation from an academic institution or a person of
recognised authority.
The Study room is located in the historic Arched room. Access is
via the large double doors at the north end of the Egyptian
Sculpture Gallery (Room 4), at the bottom of the West stairs.
Members of the public can be directed by information staff or find
the Arched Room through the Visit Guide, which is available
throughout the Museum.
The rich resources of the study collection are also made more
widely accessible through handling-classes, behind-the-scenes
tours, temporary displays and loans to temporary exhibitions at
other institutions.