Discovering Ancient Egypt
This huge ancient Egypt exhibition featuring 200-plus objects is giving Queensland Museum Kurilpa a big blast from the fascinating past.
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Overview
When museums come to mind, so do two things typically found within their walls. For one, dinosaurs tend to feature across their halls of knowledge. So does digging into humanity's past, with no small amount of ancient artefacts. Off the back of two massive dinosaur exhibitions with Dinosaurs of Patagonia and Jurassic World by Brickman, the latest temporary exhibition at Queensland Museum Kurilpa focuses on ancient Egyptian history spanning 3,000 years of culture and innovation.
Hailing from the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) and having already delighted visitors at the Western Australian Museum in 2023 and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra since late the same year, Discovering Ancient Egypt is on now in southeast Queensland until Sunday, August 17, 2025. This showcase is filled with highlights, especially if you're interested in how ancient Egyptians approached the afterlife.
Queensland Museum Kurilpa, Discovering Ancient Egypt
Among its 200-plus items, ten sarcophaguses feature, alongside painted funerary coffins and papyrus sheets from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Discovering Ancient Egypt isn't just concerned with rituals and beliefs around dying, however, with the daily lives of ancient Egyptians, as well as their innovations, also a focus.
Helping to complete the exhibit: a 3D light projection of the Temple of Taffeh, a structure that was built when Egypt was a part of the Roman Empire, carved statues from the Saqqara necropolis and 34 pottery vessels from the Esna necropolis — sourced from Queensland Museum Kurilpa's own archives. For any amateur Egyptologists, a multitude of extracurricular events and programs are organised around the exhibit.
If you want to learn about Egyptian curses, jewellery, farming, or interpretations of gender, each topic (and more) will be the focus of expert-led Pyramid Talk sessions. There will also be a deep dive led by Dr Sally Wasef on her genetic research into sacred ibises and a talk by Dr Mary Hartley on the relationship between humans and dogs in ancient Egyptian times. Or if you simply want to enjoy a drink and bite to eat with DJs spinning tunes before exploring the exhibit after dark, visit on a Friday night in February after 5.30pm for The Pyramid Bar and Discovering Ancient Egypt: After Hours.
During its stint in Brisbane, Queensland Museum Kurilpa expects the exhibition to be a hit—because diving into Egypt's history always is for the institution. In fact, this type of blast from the past has proven to be among the ten most popular exhibitions at the venue.
Queensland Museum Kurilpa, Discovering Ancient Egypt
Discovering Ancient Egypt will be available at Queensland Museum Kurilpa until August 2025. For more information or to book tickets, visit the website.
Images courtesy of Queensland Museum Kurilpa
