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Free

Groundbreakers

The Groundbreakers exhibition and talks series highlights the work of British women archaeologists across the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

5 – 14 November 2026 + Add to calendar London, UK Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, UCL, Malet Place, London WC1E 6BT
Being Human 2026.jpg

This exhibition hosted by the Petrie Museum in collaboration with the British International Research Institutes (BIRIs), highlights the pathbreaking work of British women archaeologists across the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

From Rome to Ankara, from Cairo to the Levant, 'Groundbreakers' charts a global history that spans geographies and generations. Audiences can delve into the rich archaeological archives of the BIRIs and the Petrie Museum.

The exhibition will run throughout the festival; hours are Tuesday-Saturday 1pm-5pm. A specially commissioned film featuring nine women archaeologists, 'Nine Lives', will be displayed alongside the exhibition. 

Related talks will be held on 9 and 11 November (booking required: https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/groundbreakers) 

Groundbreakers: The Joy of Lists, Letters & Wills - Women in the archive (9 November)

Groundbreakers: A reading of A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (11 November) This talk will be preceded by a guided tour of the Petrie Museum exhibition.

For all those interested in women's history, archaeology, museums and archives.

Groundbreakers is based on Women Transcending Boundaries: over a century of scholarship, fieldwork and friendship across the British International Research Institutes, an online research project created by the BIRI Digital Coordination and Strategy Project (2022-2026) and supported by the British Academy.

This event is part of the Groundbreakers series.

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