A free summer exhibition pairing an ancient Egyptian treasure with artwork by Swansea schoolchildren is now open to the public.
Ancient Egypt: magic and medicine has opened at Swansea University’s Egypt Centre, where it will run until 20 September.
At its heart is a cippus — a hieroglyph-inscribed stone, more than 2,000 years old, on loan from the British Museum.
To the ancient Egyptians, the cippus was a magical object, believed to shield people from dangers such as lions and crocodiles.
The protection came from spells carved into the stone, with the god Horus shown overpowering the threats and the face of the household-protector deity Bes above him.
Around it sits a burst of colour from much younger hands: brightly painted masks, collages, models and a full-sized sarcophagus made by pupils at Terrace Road and St Helen’s primary schools.
The children’s work earned its place beside the treasure through months of sessions with curators, after the schools were chosen to help bring the loan to the city.
The project is part of the British Museum in Your Classroom programme, which puts real ancient objects in front of children who might never otherwise encounter one.
Its high point came when the cippus itself travelled to both schools, letting pupils meet the 2,000-year-old object face to face.
Egypt Centre curator Dr Ken Griffin, whose own fascination with Egyptology started with a childhood museum trip, said the pupils’ enthusiasm had produced some wonderful art.
“We are so lucky to have been able to work with the British Museum on this project and to welcome this remarkable ancient Egyptian cippus to Swansea,” he said.
Teacher Tim Sudbury, from St Helen’s Primary, said the pride had been visible when the stone was displayed alongside the children’s creations.
“When the cippus visited our school and was displayed alongside their work you could see the sense of pride in the faces of the pupils and their parents,” he said.
He said the project had left the children far more curious about the ancient world.
John Stokes, head of national programmes at the British Museum, said the aim was to instil the wonder of meeting an ancient object first-hand and to inspire “a new generation of museumgoers.”
Visitors to the exhibition can also see the Egypt Centre’s own pieces, among them a 3,200-year-old ostracon — a limestone fragment once used to write a letter.
The centre, on Swansea University’s Singleton Park campus, holds thousands of Egyptian artefacts and is free to visit year-round.
For families looking for something to do over the summer, the exhibition offers a rare chance to see a British Museum object up close in Swansea.
Ancient Egypt: magic and medicine is open from 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday, until 20 September. Entry is free.
The launch was attended by schools, university staff, volunteers and Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, alongside some of the young artists whose work is now on show.
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