Centred on eight mummies from the Manchester Museum’s world-class collection, this exhibition offers an insight into the hopes and fears of the wealthy in society. Those who could afford the expensive process of mummification hoped to cheat death. This ancient ritual harnessed the protective power of a range of Egypt’s many gods to immortalise the deceased. By being covered in gold, the Egyptians hoped to imitate the eternal radiance of the gods themselves.

The University of Manchester has led research on Egyptian mummies for over a century, having acquired many of its objects from archaeological excavations. Innovative visualisation technology is used to bring cutting-edge CT-scans to life. Importantly, the exhibition also asks why we are fascinated by mummies and what they might tell us about ourselves.

The exhibition includes 360 degree interactive CT-scans of each mummy on display, allowing the visitor to see beneath the wrappings. Audio-visual translations of texts bring the words of ancient people to life and iconographic visualisations animate the gods the Egyptians hoped to meet.