Room 66
Ethiopia and Coptic Egypt
Visiting the gallery
Opening times
Daily: 10.00–17.00 (Fridays: 20.30)
See full opening hours
Advance booking advised
Gallery audio guides
Listen on the Audio app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
Over the past two thousand years, Egypt and Ethiopia have been home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities.
The objects in this gallery reflect Egypt and Ethiopia's place within a wider Christian historical context, and highlight exchange with other cultures and traditions.
The churches of Egypt and Ethiopia trace their lineage back to Saint Mark the Evangelist, author of one of the Gospels. Egypt and Ethiopia were closely connected through diplomatic and economic activity along Red Sea trade routes. By about AD 350, the archbishop of Alexandria in Egypt had appointed a Syrian called Frumentius as bishop of Aksum in Ethiopia.
Take a virtual tour
Explore the theme of religion through the objects on display in Room 66, using Google Street View.
Accessibility
- Some objects in this collection feature on the British Sign Language multimedia guide. This resource is temporarily unavailable. You can access a selection of BSL films on your own device.
- Step-free access available.
- View sensory map.
Visit Accessibility at the Museum for more information.
