People have been collecting things for thousands of years. Sir Hans Sloan was a great collector, and when he died in the eighteenth century his collections were put together in the British Museum.
It is from special collections in museums that people can learn about their own countryside, about other areas of the country and other countries of the world.
If it were not for some people’s love of exploring and collecting, there would be no museums. We would not be able to learn about life in other countries. Many of the collections are of ancient things. Not everyone can afford the time or money to explore and collect for themselves.
Some people think that ancient relics from other countries should be left in the countries in which they have been found. They think it’s wrong that people from other country should “steal” valuable articles and take them away. In the nineteenth century rich people visited the Pharaohs’ tombs in Egypt. They took valuable things from the tombs and brought them back for their collections. Some people think that these treasures should be returned.