In 7th April 1893, a group of Alexandrian gentlemen gathered in the house of Sir Charles Cookson, the then British Consul General. The reason for the gathering was to discuss the founding of an archaeological society to keep an eye on the scattered monuments of the city and to raise public awareness as to Alexandria's glorious history and heritage.
Some sixty years earlier, the Oriental Society had been created to promote the study of archaeology. This project rapidly led to the foundation of the Egyptian Society, whose greatest success had been the opening of a library for voyagers visiting Alexandria.
The Egyptian Institute, founded twenty years later, was transferred to Cairo in 1880.
It took several decades before a new society was born: the Athenaeum. Its aims were to found a museum that would protect the treasures of the city. The Graeco-Roman Museum would open its doors to the public one year later.The Archaeological Society of Alexandria was founded on the 7th April 1893, as a replacement for the Athenaeum.

WCEAlex 13’ MA16EN