The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands, located in Leiden.

It grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology. The museum calls itself “the national centre for archaeology” and focuses on ancient Egypt, the ancient Near East, the classical world of Greece, Etruria and Rome and the early (prehistoric, Roman and Medieval) Netherlands.

Current collection

A hoard of silver Viking treasure now located in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.The original curved iron sword; the oldest iron object ever found in the Netherlands from the Vorstengraf (Oss)

The current collection of the museum is divided in the following categories:

• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient Near East
• Etruscan civilization
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
• Prehistoric Netherlands
• Roman Netherlands
• Medieval Netherlands

In the central hall of the museum stands an original Egyptian temple, the Temple of Taffeh, which was taken apart in Egypt and reconstructed in the museum.