It's official: Canberra, like the rest of Australia and indeed the world, is in the grip of Egyptomania.
And the recent major exhibition of ancient artefacts at the National Museum of Australia has broken all visitation records, with nearly 209,000 visitors bringing $27.7 million into the ACT economy.
Discovering Ancient Egypt, which ran for 10 months and closed in September, demonstrated yet again that Australians have an untameable curiosity for ancient civilisations, with previous summer blockbusters including artefacts from Greece and Rome.
The Australian tour of the exhibit, developed in partnership with the Rijksmuseum, included the Western Australian Museum and the Queensland Museum also, but the success of it in the nation's capital was unprecedented for its 23-year history.
The museum show was part of a cohort of major Egyptian exhibitions in Australia, and with the vast array of items - including mummies - available for exhibiting at any given time of year, it's not hard to understand the enduring appeal.
Exhibition curator Craig Middleton, who led countless tours of the show, was thrilled with people's continued interest.
He said the show's point of difference was its alternative perspective of the ancient society, that was nothing like the glamourised versions seen in Hollywood.
"The main focus of this exhibition was really about uncovering the everyday, lived experience of Egyptians," he said.
"We weren't just talking about pharaohs."
The show focused on life, death, and imbuing meaning into the everyday experience, revealing ways of living and distinctly unique preservation techniques.
"The practices associated with death are probably some of the key things that draw people to Egypt," Mr Middleton said.
This new look into ancient Egypt had people visiting from all over Australia.
"Though the museum regularly sees visitors from Melbourne and Sydney, it was clear that for Egypt, people were willing to travel further".
And with ancient Egypt exhibitions in other museums around Australia in 2024 and 2025, Australia's curiosity for the subject is at no risk of going unfulfilled.
The next big show, opening December 13, will focus on Pompeii, and include 90 artefacts from the ancient Roman city as well as multisensory immersive experiences, such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
