Abstract

The Predynastic collection of the Museo Egizio (Turin) was mainly acquired by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli (1856-1928), leader of the M.A.I. (Missione Archeologica Italiana) through archaeological investigations and purchases on the antiquarian market. Schiaparelli never published extensively the results of his excavation in Predynastic sites as Gebelein, Heliopolis and Hammamiya, and great part of the excavation records are still unedited. This study aims at tracing back the history of the formation of the Predynastic collection stored in the Museo Egizio and at defining its quantitative and qualitative nature by means of an integrated study of artefacts and archives.