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PRIFYSGOL CYMRU ABERTAWE,
UNIVERSITY OF WALES SWANSEA.

4 May 2007

Museums Journal unearths the Egypt Centre’s treasures

The Egypt Centre at Swansea University has featured in the April edition of Museums Journal, the journal for museum professionals.

In a review article called 'Attention to detail', Sharon Heal reports: “The mention of ancient Egypt usually conjures up dramatic views of pyramids, sarcophagi and architecture on a grand scale. But the tiny details of the civilisation are often forgotten.

“This is not the case at the Egypt Centre at Swansea University . The small scale of the institution – it is packed into two galleries attached to the university's arts centre – belies the richness and depth of the collection, but it does mean that the centre can focus on the smaller objects.”

The museum of Egyptian antiquities, which is split into the House of Life and the House of Death, is open to the public and is free of charge. It welcomes around 20,000 visitors each year.

The Centre comprises over 4,000 ancient Egyptian objects, and items on display include jewellery, pottery, and sarcophagi (coffins). It consists of part of the collection of the pharmacist Sir Henry Wellcome from the turn of the century, and it has been in the keeping of the University since the early 1970s.

Further in the item, Sharon Heal says: “The museum appears to be ticking all the right boxes: as well as the loan agreement with the BM ( British Museum ) it organises touring exhibitions, community outreach and education work. It also has an im press ive and longstanding volunteering programme that encompasses child as well as adult volunteers. Which is all the more amazing considering that it operates on a shoestring.”

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