The Economic Times

An ancient Egyptian pot sat unnoticed in a Cornwall garage for years; when researchers examined it, its label helped solve a century-old archaeological mystery

An ancient Egyptian pot discovered in a Cornwall garage has helped researchers connect a forgotten family possession with the archaeological work of Flinders Petrie. Guy Funnell and Amanda Hawkins found the battered black and red vessel while clearing family belongings and contacted Alice Stevenson, curator of the Petrie Museum. Its surviving cardboard label identified it as Libyan Pottery from 3,000 B.C. and carried a number that linked it to Petries excavation records. Researchers later established that the pottery was Egyptian and pre-Dynastic, making it 600 years older than Petrie originally believed.