Tutankhamun Exhibition Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary

When it opened in 1987 it was the first of its kind and provided a spectacular recreation of Tutankhamun’s tomb and treasures. Over it’s last 30 years it has been internationally acclaimed and has given birth and inspiration to many other exhibitions all over the world.

The exhibition was inspired by the success of the 1972 British Museum exhibition ‘Treasures of Tutankhamun.’ It was such a popular exhibition however due to the damages sustained on the priceless artefacts the Egyptian Government decided that such treasures (like Tutankhamun’s mask) were not to leave Egypt again. Thus the Tutankhamun exhibition was born to overcome this problem.

Everything within the exhibition has been created using the same materials and methods, making the treasures shown identical to the originals. Allowing visitors to experience the beauty and story of the treasures without needing to travel to Egypt.

The Exhibition’s Director Dr Michael Ridley said “It's strange to think that it is now thirty years since we created the Exhibition and during that time it has gone on to be a major influence on many other exhibitions on Tutankhamun the world over.  He continued,  “Using new and innovative techniques we tried to create a totally new experience in an exhibition of this kind.  Our aim was to span time itself and make it possible for visitors to enjoy some of the excitement of what could be said to be the most fabulous discovery of the 20th century. “