Hilda Petrie

Hilda Petrie
Hilda and Flinders Petrie, 1903.
Born	1871 Dublin, Ireland
Died	1957 London, England
Spouse(s)	Flinders Petrie

Hilda Mary Isabel Petrie (1871–1957, née Urlin), commonly known as Hilda Petrie, was an IrishEgyptologist and wife of Flinders Petrie, the father of scientific archaeology. Having studied geology, she was hired by Flinders Petrie at age 25 as an artist, which led to their marriage and a working partnership that endured for their lifetimes. Hilda travelled and worked with Flinders Petrie to excavate and record numerous sites in Egypt, and later in Palestine. This included directing some excavations herself, and working in often difficult and dangerous conditions to produce copies of tomb hieroglyphs and plans, and to record the work for reports to the Egypt Exploration Fund. When the British School of Archaeology in Egypt was founded in 1905 in London by Flinders Petrie, she worked as its secretary and fundraiser to secure support for the school and their continued excavations. Hilda took part in archaeological excavations and surveys throughout her married life, except for a period while their two children were young. Her work was published, and she also gave public lectures in London and elsewhere.

Hilda Mary Isabel Urlin was the youngest of five daughters of (Richard) Denny Urlin and Mary Elizabeth (née Addis) Urlin, born in Dublin in 1871. When Petrie was four years old her family moved back to London and she was educated by a governess along with other children of similar age. As she grew older she often went on bicycling expeditions with her friend Beatrice Orme. Together, they explored the countryside, visiting and sketching ancient churches, and making brass rubbings. Another of her childhood friends was Philippa Fawcett whose mother, Dame Millicent Fawcett, was a leader in the women's suffrage movement. Philippa later went to Cambridge to read mathematics and was to become the first woman Senior Wrangler.

Petrie preferred the country life and initially disliked London, but as she grew older she enjoyed visiting its museums and art galleries. During her teens she was regarded as an attractive red-headed girl and she sat for the painter Henry Holiday at his studio in Hampstead, modelling for the figure of a young girl in two of his much-exhibited paintings. She studied at King's College for Women, where she took Professor Seeley's geology course, and would go on field trips equipped with a notebook and hammer. She also took courses in facsimile drawing, for which she displayed a considerable talent.