Permanent Gallery on Ancient Egypt

The interest and participation of schoolchildren and the public for the exhibition “Ancient Egypt: life and death along the Nile” led the Mateureka Museum to make it permanent; the small Egyptian section thus became part of the museum path. It is mainly aimed at those who, even for the first time, approach the world of pharaohs.

Interesting aspects of everyday life are presented in Ancient Egypt, also derived from a collection of ostraca from the village of Deir el-Medina, near Luxor and Information on the world of living (writing and hieroglyphics, religion, eating habits and astronomy, daily life, famous characters, centers and monuments) and the world of the dead (imbalsamation, funerary rituals, psychoastasia, book of the dead).

Synthetic but rigorous texts, spectacular illustrations, gigantographies, exhibited objects and reconstructions to the original Egyptian collections, some of which are wonderfully performed by artist Lidia Masi, are claimed to exhaust the egittological matter, will certainly stimulate the visitor the desire to deepen the knowledge of this wonderful and important civilization.

The reconstruction of a funerary chamber, with mummy and sarcophagus, conveys the same emotion that is felt in the Valley of the Kings, so much so that the selfie (autoscatto) with the mummy is highly appreciated by visitors.

Particular attention has been paid to science, astronomy and the teaching of ancient Egyptians. With some peculiarities, of which the Mateureka Museum is proud, such as the exhibition of 280 cartilages, with the names of almost all the pharaohs who have reigned for about 3,500 years, which has aroused the interest of Egyptian experts; or the possibility, for scholars, to deepen in their entirety the book of the dead, the main text of Egyptian religious literature, and Rhind mathematical papyrus (or Ahmes), the most important source of mathematical information from Ancient Egypt.

The logo depicts Neferti, the most beautiful and famous Egyptian queen, with Pharaoh Akhenaton, her husband, and a daughter who ideally, after 3,350 years, meet in Pennabilli under the sign of peace and love.