For the first time in more than a decade, a new permanent exhibit is open to the public at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Crossroads of Civilization explores how the ancient civilizations of Africa, Europe and Asia came together to form an epicenter of complex culture, creating not just a physical crossroads, but an intellectual one as well.
“Our creation of this exhibit is significant to the community not only because Egypt, Greece, Rome and Syria have been part of the focus of MPM’s field and lab research, and are popular with the general public, but they are part of the curriculum in local middle schools,” said Carter Lupton, MPM’s Curator of Ancient History.
At the center of the exhibit is stunning full scale recreation of King Tut's battle chariot, pulled by perfect recreations of ancient Arabian horses. It took more than 3,000 working hours to build.
Visitors will also be able to view Padi-Heru and Djed-Hor, the two Egyptian mummies in MPM’s collection. New digital sequencing technology allows visitors to peel back the layers of Padi-Heru to examine the details of his mummification and see an unexpected dramatic medical procedure on Djed-Hor.
Other interactive components include a digital exploration of the interior rooms of Medinet Habu, the temple of Pharaoh Ramesses III, an interactive touch-screen timeline of the earliest civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, large digital maps depicting the ebb and flow of ancient empires, and time-lapse videos of the making of the exhibition.
In all, more than 200 objects are on display.
