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London Museum gifted thousands of Roman artefacts

Sameena Misbahuddin
BBC News
London Museum Small Roman pottery vessel with foliage and face. The vessel is a light terracotta colour and the vine leaves and face design is around the top curved section of the vase and there's a crack just by the face.London Museum
Items were uncovered by archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA)

London Museum has received £20m and more than 14,000 Roman artefacts from a US charitable organisation.

The gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies is the largest private donation and largest archive of archaeological material given to the museum to date.

The artefacts were discovered during construction of Bloomberg's European headquarters in the City of London between 2012 and 2014.

The museum plans to put them on public display when it opens its new premises in Smithfield next year.

Asif Khan Studio Mir Concept image of what the new London Museum will look like at nightAsif Khan Studio Mir
The re-homed London Museum is due to open in 2026

Sharon Ament, director of the London Museum, described the artefacts collection as "a momentous gift that ties the past to the future and which will be a lasting legacy for London".

Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses the charitable donations of global financial news organisation Bloomberg and its founder former New York mayor and business leader, Michael R. Bloomberg.

On this donation Mr Bloomberg said: "These remarkable artefacts offer a unique window into the past, connecting us directly to the voices of its ancient inhabitants.

"As someone who considers London my second home, I'm honoured that our company will be able to help bring these stories to life while strengthening the City's future."

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said: "Bloomberg has been a huge cultural champion for London, and this is a great example of public and private sectors working together to help realise bold plans for our capital's future."

In September, Sir Sadiq and the City of London Corporation announced they would commit £25m to the museum on top of their previous contributions.

London Museum Roman leather shoes belonging to an adult and a child. The top image shows the adult leather shoe - which looks like the sole of a modern day shoe - with what looks like several round white studs all over it and the child's shoe is dark brown leather with no similar markings like the adult shoe.London Museum
Hundreds of Roman leather shoes were also uncovered at the site

Known as home to a temple to the Roman god Mithras, discoveries on the Bloomberg site include Britain's largest, earliest and most significant collection of Roman writing tablets.

They reveal the earliest surviving voices of Roman Londoners, including the first written reference to London.

The temple and around 600 of the artefacts have been on public display at the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE since 2017.

Following closure of its London Wall site, London Museum is scheduled to re-open at its new home in Smithfield in 2026.

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