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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Martin OdlerORCiD
The conclusion first. The hype about the Grand Egyptian Museum (opened in November 2025) is true and deserved; it is worth the money and the abundant amount of time needed for a visit for anyone with an archaeological background that can drag along the rest of family, or for anybody else even vaguely interested in ancient Egypt. Using the words of a previous article in Antiquity, this is “one of the most important museological events of our century so far” (cited as an introduction to Plantzos Reference Plantzos2011: 613), or, as stated by Egyptian colleagues: “a new version of the (Pharaonic) ancient Egyptian museum” (Eissa & el-Senussi Reference Eissa, el-Senussi, Shaw and Bloxam2020: 1195), see also (Zakaria Reference Zakaria2024). Indeed, we might dare to consider it one of the most important museological events of our century because this is the largest museum globally dedicated to a single civilization, that of ancient Egypt. The main promise was to provide a sufficient space for the burial equipment of King Tutankhamun and, on this, the museum delivers impeccably, as well as on much more. This will be both its blessing and its bane, as I will try to exemplify below. But Egypt made its statement on heritage display clearly, and the world ought to listen.
Author(s): Odler M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Antiquity
Year: 2026
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 18/02/2026
Acceptance date: 26/01/2026
Date deposited: 05/03/2026
ISSN (print): 0003-598X
ISSN (electronic): 1745-1744
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10304
DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2026.10304
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