Geraldine Kendall Adams, London Museum receives Roman artefacts and £20m gift from Bloomberg, Museums Association,
The company’s charitable arm, Bloomberg Philanthropies, is also gifting the museum £20m towards its ongoing redevelopment, the largest private donation it has received to date.
The Bloomberg Collection was uncovered by a Museum of London Archaeology team on the company’s City of London site between 2012 and 2014.
Comprising more than 14,000 artefacts, it is the single largest archive of archaeological material ever received by the museum.
The Bloomberg site was once home to a 3rd-century CE temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras.
Finds include Britain’s earliest and most significant collection of Roman writing tablets, which feature the earliest surviving voices of Roman Londoners, including the first written reference to London.
The London Mithraeum Bloomberg Space, a permanent display of the temple and around 600 finds, opened at the site in 2017. While this space will remain open, Bloomberg says the gift to the London Museum will enable new stories to be told, “enhancing public accessibility, preserving it for future generations and offering unparalleled research opportunities into early Roman London”.
The objects will be displayed in the subterranean galleries of the museum’s new Smithfield Market home, due to open in 2026.
“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,” said the company.
“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,” said London Museum director Sharon Ament.
“Working together with organisations 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.”
Michael Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, said: “London has an extraordinary history with so much to teach and discover. These remarkable artefacts offer a unique window into the past, connecting us directly to the voices of its ancient inhabitants. As someone who considers London my second home, I’m honoured that our company will be able to help bring these stories to life while strengthening the city’s future.”
One of the most ambitious cultural redevelopments of the coming decade, the London Museum is aiming to become one of the city’s top visitor attractions, creating a new cultural quarter in Smithfield.
The museum hopes to welcome more than two million visitors each year, of whom half will be tourists. It is estimated that it will contribute up to £565m in GVA (Gross Value Added) towards economic growth, local businesses, and employment within 10 years of opening.
The announcement is part of broader, long-term collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the museum. In 2023, the museum received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator Programme for Arts and Culture to support the transformation of its digital infrastructure and improve access to its collection online.
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