The museum started in 1892 to help with the teaching of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology. The collection began with objects given to the museum by the writer Amelia Edwards. William Flinders Petrie led many important archaeological digs. In 1913 he sold his collection to University College. He had found objects at major sites, such as the Roman Period cemeteries at Hawara. These were famous for the beautiful mummy portraits in classical Roman style. He found objects at Amarna, the city of king Akhenaten, the first king to believe in one God. At Meydum, the site of the first true pyramid Petrie found some of the earliest examples of mummification.