author
British Museum. Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities
Best known for bringing ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to a wide general audience, this British Museum scholar published lively, influential books on hieroglyphs, mummies, myths, and the Book of the Dead. His work helped shape popular interest in the ancient Near East for decades.
1 Audiobook
A guide to the Egyptian collections in the British Museum
by British Museum. Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities
About the author
Born in 1857, E. A. Wallis Budge was a British Egyptologist and Orientalist who joined the British Museum in 1883. He worked in its Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities and later became Keeper, building a reputation as a prolific scholar and public-facing writer.
Over the course of his career, he wrote and edited many books on ancient Egyptian religion, language, and literature, as well as Assyrian and Babylonian subjects. His translations and guides introduced generations of readers to texts such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead and helped make museum collections feel more accessible to non-specialists.
Although some of his ideas and methods have been debated by later scholars, he remains an important figure in the history of Egyptology and museum scholarship. For many readers, his books still offer a vivid glimpse into the excitement surrounding the discovery and interpretation of the ancient world.