Palermo Stone - Archaeological History

Archaeological History

This largest fragment of the stela has been in Palermo since 1866, although its importance was not recognized immediately. It was noticed there by a visiting French archaeologist during 1895. Its contents were published first during 1902 by Heinrich Schäfer. It is currently in the collection of the Palermo Archaeological Museum in Sicily. There are other sizeable pieces in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, one discovered during 1910 and another purchased on the antiquities market during 1963, and in the museum of University College London, given by Sir Flinders Petrie.

The original engraved stela must have been about 2.2 m long, 0.61 m wide and 6.5 cm thick, but most of it now is missing. There is no surviving information about its provenance, although another fragment of the stela was excavated at Memphis.