Exhibition to show mocked-up tomb with a view

THE REAL deal will never leave Egypt again, but the public, from next week, will get a chance to see a full scale mock-up of the most famous archaeological discovery of all time – the tomb of Tutankhamun and its treasures.

Until the discovery of his tomb by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, Tutankhamun, who died when he was a teenager, was one of the least known of all the pharaohs who ruled Egypt for 2,500 years.

He is now universally known thanks to the discovery which captured the imagination of the world.

A German exhibition company, Semmel Concerts, has recreated the tomb, its ante-room and its best known artefact – the death mask of Tutankhamun which was made from solid gold inlayed with semi-precious stones and quartz.

To access the mummified body of Tutankhamun, Carter had to negotiate four huge golden shrines followed by a stone sarcophagus and three coffins, the innermost one made of solid gold. It was only then that the death mask was revealed.

Nearly 6,000 objects were excavated from the tomb which was supposed to prepare Tutankhamun for the after-life. One thousand of them have been recreated for the exhibition which begins next Thursday in the RDS and continues until July.

The Egyptian authorities allowed the tomb and its death mask to be exhibited around the world from 1961 to 1981, but when some artefacts were damaged they grounded the exhibition.

Since 2004 some of the smaller artefacts have gone on display, but those who want to see the burial chambers, the throne, the golden chariot, the sarcophagus, the tomb and its death mask will have to go the Cairo Museum to do so.

All of the objects in the exhibition have been recreated using wood, metal, stone and plastics and all were made in Egypt.

About 80,000 people have pre-booked for the exhibition. Adult tickets are €16, but promoters MCD is to target school groups with a €6 ticket for each child. Ancient Egypt is a subject in the primary school curriculum.

The curse of the Pharoah’s tomb is almost as famous as its contents. Lord Carnarvon, the man who bankrolled the original excavations, died just four months after the tomb was discovered.

This exhibition almost did not make it to Dublin. It was buffeted on the high seas after it was shipped from Madrid in 15 trucks.

“We were panicking. We had to work around the clock to get it here,” said Irish promoter Noel McHale.

He claimed the only artefact more recognisable than the death mask of Tutankhamun was the Mona Lisa.

“Schoolchildren are fascinated by the treasures and the beauty of the objects. There is a healthy fascination with Egyptian culture. The curse has added to the legend and to the whole mystery of it,” he said.

The treasures date from 1,300BC, but the modern problems of Egypt are never too far away.

The Cairo Museum was damaged in recent weeks and the turmoil has twarted the attempts of the organisers to bring Egypt’s new minister for antiquities Dr Zahi Hawass to a sister exhibition in Manchester and Amr El-Ezaby, an Egyptologist, to give a series of lectures in Dublin.

For further information log on to: kingtutdublin.ie