William Mathew Flinders (Flinders Petrie)

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"Flinders Petrie's output was extraordinary, his energy unflagging" a quote by M.S. Drower (1995,xxi) illustrating the adventurous and hardworking life of one of the greatest British archaeologist and Egyptologists. His story begins on the evening of the 3rd June 1853, born William Mathew Flinders more commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie (Drower,1995,p13). He became one of the most significant figures in Archaeology, beginning his research in Egypt in 1880 until "a year or two before his death"(Drower,1995,p.xxi). Digging over fifty different sites, Flinders Petrie "revolutionised excavation methods" revealing the importance of meticulously recording every detail found. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie laid down the "basic principles of excavation" in archaeology, which have been followed by Archaeologists all over the world. (Drower,1995,pxxii). Throughout this essay the life and work of Sir Petrie, W.M. Flinders will be critically analysed examining how his background, personal experiences as well as other events in his life influenced his approach to archaeology and the discoveries he made, resulting in the writing of "over a hundred books, and more than a thousand articles and reviews" (Drowner,1995,p.xxi). Consequently making him one of the most influential British Egyptologist and archaeologist to date as evidenced by E.P. Uphill (1972,p,356) "no other Egyptologist or archaeologist ever covered such a wide range, or showed an interest in so many diverse subjects".
It was clear from a young age that Flinders Petrie had a thirst for knowledge and discovering the world around him as cited by Drower (1995,p14) with a reference from his mother Anne Flinders expressing his inquisitive nature "understanding maps and his f...

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...ian treasures (Petrie,1931,p256-257). Flinders Petrie continued his passion for Archaeology and Egyptology continuing to work in the Palestine until his death during the second world war in 1942 "in his ninetieth year " (Drower,1995,pxxi).

Bibliography
Brown,H. (1917) 'The Exodus Recorded on the Stele of Menephtah', The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology , 4(1), pp. 16-20.
Drower,M.S. (1995) Flinders Petrie : a life in archaeology , 2nd edn., Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
France,P. (1991) The Rape of Egypt: How the Europeans Stripped Egypt of Its Heritage, Michigan: Barrie & Jenkins.
Petrie,F, (1931) Seventy Years in Archaeology, London: Marston & co.
Petrie,F. (1939) The Making of Egypt, London: The Sheldon Press.
Uphill,E.P. (1972) 'A Bibliography of Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942)', Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 31(4), pp. 356-357.

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