This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2019)
The keepers are heads of the various departments of the British Museum. They are professional curators and related academics. There are currently nine departments plus the Portable Antiquities Scheme that have keepers.
The Keeper of Egypt and Sudan is head of the Department of Egypt and Sudan (formerly Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities, Department of Egyptian Antiquities, and Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan).
The Keeper of Japanese Antiquities was head of the Department of Japanese Antiquities. That department merged with the Department of Oriental Antiquities to form the Department of Asia.
The Keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities was the head of the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities (Department of British and Medieval Antiquities and Ethnography until 1921).
Keepers of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquitiesedit
The Keeper of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities was head of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities. The department was created from the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities in 1969.[12]
The Keeper of Medieval and Later Antiquities was head of the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities. The department was created from the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities in 1969.[12]
The Keeper of the Middle East is head of the Department of the Middle East (formerly Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities, then Department of Ancient Near East).
Keeper of Portable Antiquities and Treasure is head of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure, and head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
^"Adrian Digby (Biographical details)". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^"Biography of Malcolm McLeod". The University of Glasgow Story. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^Mack, Prof. (Brian) John. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U25799. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"Lissant Bolton". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^"Assyriology at the British Museum: Dr. Sidney Smith, F.B.A". Nature. 162 (4121): 645. 1 October 1948. Bibcode:1948Natur.162R.645.. doi:10.1038/162645b0. ISSN 1476-4687.
^Davies, (William) Vivian. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U13143. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 23 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"Neal Spencer". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^"Jane Portal". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^"Lawrence R H Smith (Biographical details)". British Museum. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
^Harris, (Terence) Victor. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U19219. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ abBland, Dr Roger Farrant. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U257974. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 23 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ abPiggott, Stuart (December 1972). "Prehistoric and Roman Studies. Commemorating the opening of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities. Edited by G. de G. Sieveking. xii + 282 pages, 68 figures and tables, 91 plates. London, The British Museum, 1971. Price £2". Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 38: 454. doi:10.1017/S0079497X00012469. S2CID 163634008.
^Longworth, Ian Heaps. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U24919. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"Stratford, Neil". The Dictionary of Art Historians. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
^Grueber, Herbert Appold. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U197302. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"Sir Edward Stanley Gotch Robinson". British Museum. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
^Walker, John. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U54997. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Mark Jones, Director — Victoria and Albert Museum at the Wayback Machine (archived 25 May 2011)
^"Philip Attwood". Numismatic Who's Who. CoinsWeekly. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^Barker, Harold. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2016. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U6481. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Bowman, Dr Sheridan Gail Esther. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U8324. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Saunders, David. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U245519. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"Obituary: D. E. L. Haynes". The Independent. 6 October 1994. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
^Cook, Brian Francis. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U11699. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 23 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"J Lesley Fitton". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^Sollberger, Edmond. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U169272. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Mitchell, Terence Croft. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U27732. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 24 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Curtis, John Edward. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U12627. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 23 February 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^"Jonathan N. Tubb". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^"Middle East: Staff". www.britishmuseum.org. British Museum. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
^Wilson, David (2002). The British Museum: A History. London: British Museum Press. p. 387.
^Wilson, David (2002). The British Museum: A History. London: British Museum Press. p. 390.
^"Obituary: John Gere". The Independent. 6 February 1995. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
^"John Rowlands, art historian – obituary". The Telegraph. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
^"Hugo Chapman". British Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2019.