Mummies, gold, and an obsessive belief in the afterlife – these concepts are all central to our image of ancient Egypt. But how important were they to the Egyptians, and how long did they survive after the last of the pharaohs? A new exhibition, Golden Mummies of Egypt, uses 108 objects to explore expectations of life after death during the relatively little-known Graeco Roman Period – when Egypt was ruled first by a Greek royal family, ending with Cleopatra VII, and then by Roman emperors.

The exhibition opens in February at Manchester Museum for its only European showing after an international tour that has included venues in the USA and China. On this episode of The PastCast, curator Dr Campbell Price discusses the artefacts on display and their significance to the Greek and Roman Egyptians and to modern visitors.

Campbell is also the author of an article on the exhibition in the latest issue of Ancient Egypt magazine, which is out now and is also available to read in full on The Past website. On this episode, Campbell spoke with Ancient Egypt’s deputy editor, Sarah Griffiths. Sarah also explains what readers and listeners can look forward to at the upcoming Current Archaeology Conference at UCL Institute for Education in London on Saturday 26 February, at which Campbell will be speaking.

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