“Tutankhamun Town Centre”, Dorchester, 29/04/15.

Tags

Dorchester, Dorset, Egyptology, Karnak, signs, street furniture, The Tutankhamun Exhibition, Tutankhamun's Tomb

This made my travelling companion Mr. W smile. “Tutankhamun Town Centre” conjures up such spectacular images. Egyptology is not a specialist subject of mine, but the ruined temple complex of Karnak came to mind. Could you imagine rows of columns, like stone palm trees, covered in hieroglyphics, lining the High Street from the statue of Thomas Hardy [which is just off the High Street, but I’m sure you can stretch your imagination a bit further regarding this detail] to the River Frome?

On a serious note, the sign actually refers to The Tutankhamun Exhibition, which has been a permanent fixture in Dorchester since 1986. I haven’t visited the exhibition myself, but the its website informs me that, “All the exhibits have been carefully crafted by meticulous reference to the original antiquities, photographic records and detailed measurements and diagrams. Craftsmen and artists have recreated the treasures by using, wherever practicable, materials and methods used in making the originals, making the treasures shown in this exhibition identical as possible to the originals now in Egypt”.