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William Matthew Flinders Petrie, born June 3rd 1853 in Charlton, Kent, was the grandson of Captain Matthew Flinders, the first man to chart Australia. Petrie was named after his father William, who was a civil engineer and professional surveyor and his maternal grandfather Matthew, a famous navigator and explorer. Petrie's mother Anne had a love for science, namely fossils and natural minerals. When he was 4, Petrie became so ill that his mother became convinced he was …

…were the cemeteries of the earliest settlers in Egypt. Petrie left Egypt in 1923, returning to Palestine and Tel-Hasi in 1927. He spent the next 10 years uncovering the ruins of ten cities there, where he traced Egyptian trade and cultural links, and added even more information to the field of Egyptology and expanded the growing knowledge of our ancient past. Petrie remained in Palestine until his death at the age of 89. He died in Jerusalem on July 28 1942.