$26 million gift from Mike Bloomberg helps museum display its largest ever Roman archaeology archive

The London Museum has received a $26 million donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the single largest archive of archaeological material ever received by the museum.

The collection of mostly Roman artefacts was discovered when Bloomberg’s new office building was being constructed, and the site provided one of the best-preserved collections of often lost fabric and wooden remains in London.

The archaeological project, also funded by Bloomberg, was one of the most significant excavations in London’s history. Known internationally as home to a 3rd-century AD temple to the Roman god Mithras, discoveries on the Bloomberg site include Britain’s largest, earliest and most significant collection of Roman writing tablets, which reveal the earliest surviving voices of Roman Londoners, including the first written reference to London.

The temple and around 600 of the artefacts have been on permanent, free public display at the London Mithraeum since its opening on the Bloomberg site in 2017 – and will remain there – but many stories remain untold.

The rest of the collection will now become part of the London Museum collection, making it available for research opportunities into early Roman London.

Much of the collection has never been seen before and the museum plans to make new objects from the collection available to the public for the first time when it opens in 2026.

To be housed in the museum’s new subterranean galleries, they will also happen to be situated at roughly the original Roman street level.

Sharon Ament, Director, London Museum, said:

“The collection together with this generous donation represents a momentous gift that ties the past to the future and which will be a lasting legacy for London. Working together with organizations like Bloomberg, we have the power to make a big difference: not just in preserving the city’s heritage but in creating amazing spaces and new opportunities for the Londoners of today.”

The new London Museum has revised its opening date and will now open in 2026.