The new ancient Egypt section opened at the World Museum on Friday and, no doubt, will be very popular with the public. Apart from all the mummies and coffins there are some excellent displays of smaller items of jewellery, pottery, ornaments etc. Amazing how well the vibrant colours have lasted for thousands of years.
Pictured here is the curator, Ashley Cooke, standing between the base and top of one of the coffins – a clever idea, I certainly had a go at that.
One of the Museum’s great treasures – the vividly-coloured belt (picture below) of the last great Pharaoh, Rameses III – is on display for the first time since before the Second World War.
Dating from 1180 BC, the monarch probably wore it in battle while riding his chariot. This is a unique survival from the ancient world – there is nothing like it even in Tutankhamen’s Tomb.
Among the items on display are the mummy said to have inspired H Rider Haggard’s classic fantasy adventure She, about a beautiful queen who lives 2,000 years waiting for her lost love before shrivelling up into a pile of dust. The best-selling Victorian author was a keen collector of artefacts and helped popularise Ancient Egypt.
Visitors can ‘unwrap’ a mummy without it being touched using a computer interactive.
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/
