SIX Egyptian mummies will make Queensland Museum their home until August, providing parents with an educational option when deciding on activities for the school holidays.
Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch officially launched the Queensland Museum exhibition, Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives on March 15.
The installation includes 200 objects and has come to Queensland exclusively from the British Museum.
“This amazing exhibition shows how cutting-edge science and technology can solve the riddles of the past,” Ms Enoch said.
“This exhibition uses high-tech scanning to reveal new details about mummification and ancient lives.
“People will be able to get a picture of what day-to-day life was like in ancient Egypt for these six individuals, who lived between 900 BC and AD 180. They include a female temple singer, a priestess, a wealthy married woman, a priest, a young man and a two-year-old boy.
“It is incredible to have this international exhibition come to Queensland. Following on from the Gladiators exhibition, this is the second major international exhibition within a year to bring some of the world’s rarest antiquities to our state.”
Queensland Museum Network’s Acting CEO Dr Jim Thompson said the mummies were still wrapped and enclosed in their beautiful coffins with their original condition respected and preserved.
“What’s new and exciting about Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives is that each mummy’s CT scans display on a screen and visitors can virtually unwrap them layer by layer,” Dr Thompson said.
Preserving the bodies of the dead was central to the ancient Egyptians’ beliefs in the afterlife.
Dr Thompson said researchers were surprised to see the different mummification methods used, which people will be able to view themselves via the interactive scans.
“More than 200 priceless objects from British Museum’s world-famous Egyptian collections are also on display to help paint a complete picture of how the mummies lived and died between 900 BC and AD 180,” Dr Thompson said.
Minister Enoch said fascinating international touring exhibitions like this were creating fantastic cultural tourism opportunities for Queensland.
“Queensland Museum is the most visited Australian museum, with a record-breaking 2.31 million visitors last year,” Ms Enoch said.
“Queensland Museum is also hosting World Science Festival Brisbane here from next week, and will include presentations on Ancient Egyptian medicine, surgery and mummification.”
Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives will be on display at Queensland Museum from March 16 to August 26.
Tickets are on sale now through mummies.qm.qld.gov.au.
