An exhibit focusing on one of ancient Egypt's most enigmatic rulers, Cleopatra, and featuring never-before-displayed artifacts, has opened in Philadelphia.
Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, on exhibit at the Franklin Institute, is a splashy show with videos, a glass walkway and lots of sound and light.
At the heart of the 150-artifact collection, which opened its doors Saturday, is an attempt to uncover the mystery behind the queen. None of the items at the exhibit have ever before been shown to the public.
Little evidence has survived of Cleopatra, who at 39 years of age chose a suicidal snake bite rather than surrender to the conquering Romans in 30 BC. The Roman general Octavian, later known as Augustus Caesar, ordered all her images destroyed.
Her life story has been subjected to much speculation and interpretation, largely through popular depictions, notably in a 1963 Elizabeth Taylor film.
"We know about Cleopatra through pop culture … [so] one of the reasons this is so special is that now, here, you're seeing her world," said exhibit designer Mark Lach.
The first part of the exhibit concentrates on discoveries made by underwater archeologist Franck Goddio, who has spent 20 years off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, excavating Cleopatra's palace and two temples. Earthquakes and tsunamis submerged ancient Alexandria more than 1,500 years ago.
Goddio has recovered some 20,000 objects. "We have found less than one per cent of what is there," says the French archeologist.
Items on display from Goddio's work include gold coins and 4.5-metre-high granite figures.
The second part of the exhibit includes finds of Zahi Hawass, a celebrated archeologist who is secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo.
He has been searching for the lost tomb of Cleopatra and her lover, the Roman general Mark Antony, and has uncovered mummies, jewelry and sculptures at three sites west of Alexandria.
The show will be at the Philadelphia museum until January, then is expected to tour the U.S. at five locations yet to be announced.
Source: CBC News