Walk like an Egyptian to the Museum of St Albans

A free exhibition about the ancient Egyptians, their homes, work, alphabet, religion and hobbies, has opened at the Museum of St Albans in Hatfield Road.

Entitled Ancient Egypt Lives Forever, it runs until Sunday, May 17, and offers visitors an insight into the daily lives of Egyptians who lived during the time of the Pharaohs.

Items from their daily lives will feature alongside artefacts from the Egyptian world of the dead, illustrating funerary practices and preparations for the afterlife.

Among them will be the Faiyum Coffin which dates from the period when Egypt was part of the Roman Empire.

A number of Egyptian-related activities are on offer for children who have an opportunity to dress up, write their name in hieroglyphics, use colouring-in sheets or try the game of Journey to the Underworld.

A special programme of activity-led sessions for children has also been developed.

Alongside the exhibition, there will also be a series of talks on different aspects of Egyptology aimed at adults.

In the first of the talks from 2pm to 3pm this Saturday, February 7, at Verulamium Museum, Helen Strudwick, Curator of Egypt at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, will discuss Preparations for Death, including funerary processes and religious beliefs.

Tickets cost £7, available from the Museum of St Albans on 01727 819340.