THERE aren’t many moments in your life where you are surrounded by heaps of gold and mummified cats – but in a new experience, Egypt has been brought to the UK.
Ancient Egypt is probably something we all learnt about in school focusing on the Pyramids and Tutankhamun.
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But The Ramses & the Pharaohs’ Gold exhibition at NEON at Battersea Power Station in London allows visitors to explore the life and death of the Pharaoh Ramses II (also known as Ramses the Great).
While you might not know who he is, he was the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty but is often thought to be one of the most powerful rulers of the Egyptian Empire.
Upon entering the experience, a short film presentation sprawled across giant screens revealing details of Ramses the Great and how he reigned for 67 years.
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He built more monuments and statues than any other pharaoh including Abu Simbel, a 20-metre-tall statue of himself carved into a sandstone cliff.
He lived to about 90 years old, which was pretty impressive for someone of the Bronze Age.
But perhaps even more surprising is that he had over 200 wives and more than 100 children…
As the video ended, a set of doors swung open to reveal a statue at the entrance of the exhibition – I was about to step into ancient Egypt myself.
The room was dark with statues and objects subtly lit, allowing them to glimmer.
For the first half of the exhibition, I wove through stone statues, monoliths and intricate ornaments.
In fact, across the whole experience there are more than 180 Egyptian artifacts estimated to be worth over £100million and for many of them, it is their first time out of Egypt.
Though, one issue I found was that it is rather like seeing the Crown Jewels at points, where long lines of people steadily move past exhibits to get a glimpse of the artifacts.
At the mid-point, there is a clever 3D projection that recreates the Battle of Kadesh – where Ramses II used propaganda to achieve victory.
The second part of the experience turns to the Gold of the Pharaohs where it really does feel like you are entering the depths of a tomb, with the walls becoming sandy stone and the lighting lowering to feel like a dimly lit cave.
Throughout this part, I explored more artifacts from the era and since Ramses’ own tomb was looted, many of the gold items on display come from the Royal Tombs of Tanis.
My favourite part was definitely seeing the delicately mummified animals including several cats, a lion cub and even crocodiles.
Intricate jewellery glimmers and silver coffins stand tall, all before you reach the showstopper of the experience – Ramses II’s coffin.
Even though his gold was stolen, his wooden sarcophagus which protected his mummy for thousands of years, is considered to be one of the most significant artifacts in Egyptian history.
While Ramses II himself is not at the exhibition (to see his body you’ll have to head to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo) a large screen recreates what he would have looked like at different stages of his life and shows his body as it was discovered.
Fun fact – in 1976, Ramses II’s mummy was actually issued a modern Egyptian passport to travel to Paris, France, for fungal treatment and this meant his passport photo was of course, his deceased self with his occupation listed as ‘King (deceased)’.
Leaving the experience, you’ll enter a large shop where you can pick up souvenirs, such as your own Egyptian papyrus with your name written on it in hieroglyphs by a robot, for £10.
If you have worked up an appetite, there is also a cafe, as well as a VR Experience you’ll also find that at the end of the experience.
Popping on a headset, I flew through the temples of Abu Simbel and the tomb of Queen Nefertari.
In total, it lasts about 10 minutes and you sit on a golden-egg motion chain.
Though, it is definitely not one for those who easily get motion sick…
The exhibition is running until the end of August and tickets cost from around £24.55 per adult and £19.55 per child.
The VR experience costs an additional £14 per person.
The exhibition is recommended for children aged five and older, though I would say children under the age of 10 may get bored as there is a lot of reading involved in the exhibit and little interaction.
Also, as someone who knows a bit about Ancient Egypt already, at times the historical descriptions are complicated as they have a lot of information to take in.
The VR experience is great for children though and recommended for those aged eight-years-old and above.
If going as just adults, I would definitely recommend the audio guide which is narrated by celebrity historian Dan Snow.
It costs £5 per person.
In other attraction news, London’s ‘best family attraction’ is about to get even better – with huge new outdoor play area and cafe next month.
Plus, one of the UK’s most popular free attractions reveals £350million expansion – its biggest in 200 years.