The history of Alexandrian archaeology and of its archives is closely linked to the history of the city itself and of the institutions created by a cosmopolitan society that aimed to exalt ancient Alexandria, which was reincarnated in its eyes in contemporary Alexandria. Before the creation of the Municipality of Alexandria in 1890, and that of the Graeco-Roman Museum and the Archaeological Society of Alexandria in the following years, archaeology was most often in the hands of amateurs and collectors of diverse origins. At a time when cultural diplomacy was developing in the Eastern Mediterranean, Alexandria remained outside the scope of the great powers and state archaeological expeditions. The GRM, founded in 1892 had a specific status in Egypt, since it was financed by the Municipality and controlled by the Egyptian Antiquities Service. The first curator, Giuseppe Botti, was responsible for creating the exhibition rooms and cataloguing the collections, but also for enriching the collections through excavations and the generosity of private Alexandrian collectors. Under his direction, as under that of his successors, archaeology was essentially a rescue archaeology, which was reported to the Municipality on an annual basis, usually in detail. With few exceptions, the scientific archives of the directors are now kept in Italy and in Great Britain. The administrative archives of the GRM as well as the photographic archives are kept in Egypt. Rediscovered some fifteen years ago during the renovation of the Museum, they offer a different but equally interesting approach.