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Collections & Research
There are around 1 million items in the Museum’s core collections, plus 6 million ‘finds’, discovered during archaeological excavations. All human life is represented in these objects: from a Roman ‘bikini’ worn by a female athlete, to a suitcase carried by a Turkish-Cypriot refugee when he arrived in London in the 1970s.
The collections are constantly growing as archaeological digs yield new discoveries, and contemporary objects are acquired to ensure we have a record of life in 21st century London.
The collections include:
- 25,000 items of fashion and textiles
- 150,000 paintings, prints and photographs of London
- Europe’s largest archaeological archive including 17,000 skeletons
- 50,000 objects from prehistoric and Roman London
- 15,000 objects from Saxon and medieval London
- 55,000 objects from Tudor and Stuart London
- 110,000 objects from modern London (the 18th century to today)
- 1800 life stories from individual Londoners
- Half a million historic documents, including the archives of the Port of London Authority and Sainsbury’s supermarket.
The collections are a fantastic resource for exploring London and Londoners, past and present.
Read about the collections to find out more. If you are looking for something in particular, search the collections.
Not everything is online, but we are working hard to improve digital access. The research button tells you about our research activities, and how our collections might help your studies.
