Just the mere mention of Tutankhamun conjures up images of golden funerary masks gleaming in forgotten shadows, ancient tombs hiding storied treasures and a pharaoh, bestowed with great power at a very young age. At London’s new immersive exhibition all that rich history is interwoven with cutting-edge technology; a striking combination of past and present which brings the mysteries of Tutankhamun’s world to life once more.
Conscious it would only be here for a limited 14-week run, we headed over to its temporary home in Immerse LDN to see if those history lessons at school really only scratched the surface. Here’s our review of Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition…
Where exactly is Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition?
Your best bet for travelling to Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition is to get the tube. The Elizabeth Line takes you practically to the doorstep of Immerse LDN, just get off at Custom House station and a short wander will take you down to the dockside entrance. There’s also parking available, but this is subject to availability so you might want to book in advance.
First Thoughts
Gold. No, not the Spandau Ballet song. This was the word that floated around my brain on the day I visited Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition. It started the moment I stepped off the tube and the sun’s rare rays basked me in warm light, it continued as I wandered past the docks waters glinting furiously with each gentle ripple and it bounced around my skull as I explored eight rooms featuring gilded jewels, shining funerary masks and giant projections of cascading sands and glimmering gold dust.
It’s no secret ancient Egypt is a golden kingdom, rich not just in treasures but in history, mythology and tradition. This became very apparent as we strolled into the first room and were met with a succession of giant boards full of text and graphics giving us the lowdown on all things Tutankhamun. He might have had a fairly short rule, but it was a pivotal one. And, thanks to the monumental discovery of his almost intact tomb over 3,000 years later, he has also had a very long and enduring impact on our understanding of ancient Egypt. So, while the influx of information seemed fairly daunting, it did its job and left us enlightened on the story of boy pharaoh. More of a listener? Keep an ear out for the old-timey news reports that capture the excitement of the event at the time.
Of course, there would not be this extensive documentation of the ancient ruler without Howard Carter, the man who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. The exhibition looks at how the lives of these two people who lived centuries apart have become intertwined in the history books, acknowledging that without Carter’s crucial archaelogical find, they wouldn’t have the many artefacts that you can see before you – think a life-sized sarcophagus, lethal-looking daggers, engraved thrones, even sandals (not, in fact, flip flops like I first assumed). It’s his discovery that offered a glimpse into a previously buried piece of the past.
I would keep in mind that the majority of those artefacts are in fact replicas – fair enough, if they were the real deal I would imagine that security would be hovering in their masses, the insurance costs would make even Elon Musk shudder and a labyrinthine laser field would fill the rooms.
A particular highlight for me was the insight into Egyptian mythology. To be specific, the many dieties that shaped the very essence of ancient Egyptian civilization. Whether you recognise them from cinematic stories, Marvel comics (ahem Moon Knight) or the pages of your school textbooks, the tales of these gods and goddesses are endlessly fascinating. Like pieces of a puzzle, in this exhibition you’ll see mentions of them alongside various artefacts, and hieroglyphs of them on the walls, before it all slots together in the 8-metre-high video mapping room.
Immersive Elements
Ok, so now you’ve done your Tutankhamun deep dive, it’s time for a more visual immersion. This is when you switch from Indiana Jones, bespectacled professor, to Indiana Jones, whip-wielding adventurer. Or, in The Mummy terms, go from librarian Rachel Weisz to intrepid Egyptologist Rachel Weisz (aka Evelyn). I could go on.
So yes, Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition is an experience of two halves. Once you step into the projection room that’s your reading done and now you can simply sit back and soak up some mesmerising visuals. The room operates on a continous 35-minute cycle so everyone’s experience will be a little different. For us it was stepping into a waterfall of glittering sand, kind of like you have been sucked under the dunes and into a gilded world.
A world where gods forge people on a potter’s wheel using clay from the River Nile, where purple-bellied hippos drink under a starry night sky and giant avalanches of jewels and scorpions tumble across the walls. My favourite part was the voyage, where you appear to be swept along on the serpentine river into a paradisiacal land, likely Osiris’s eternal realm, filled with lush greenery, cerulean skies and an air of serenity. Oh, and lots of animals, which are always a highlight for me, even the digital kind.
Not immersive enough for you? Don’t fret, like levels in a game, the immersion is dialed up yet another notch in the virtual reality experience. We took a seat on a swivel chair (got to be able to swivel in VR), put on a headset and entered yet another realm.
Now, I don’t want to give away the whole shebang, but where before you might have dipped your toe in the afterlife, now is the time for an even deeper plunge. You are whisked away on a journey seemingly told from the perspective of Tutankhamun himself. Just watch out for spitting lava and keep your fingers crossed that Ammit ‘the devourer’ won’t, well, devour your heart if they deem you unworthy. What can I say, I’m still here.
The metaverse experience is up next. Once more you don a VR headset, but no sitting is required. This is the chance for more of a full-bodied interaction with the past, where you can step into the sand-dusted shoes of Howard Carter. We walked through the Valley of the Kings, flicked through tea-stained notebooks and listened to old melodies spout from a gramophone in Howard Carter’s base camp and got a taste of how it felt to explore the tomb using only the soft glow of a lantern. Oh, and you all appear as disembodied Howard Carters – an unexpected goldmine for laughter.
Speaking of laughter. I would also recommend popping your head in the photo booth that awaits you at the end. If you’ve ever been curious about how you’d look as a pharaoh this will answer those questions. Although, what we didn’t expect is for one of us to look like Dobby the house elf, wearing a golden headress – clearly there are still some mysteries that will never be uncovered.
To sum up this review of Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, I enjoyed this immersive journey into Ancient Egypt. While intensive at times, with a lot of reading on the cards, you’re not beholden to memorise every word and while it may enrich some elements of the experience you encounter it is ultimately a small facet of the bigger picture – literally.
Because big, striking visuals are where this exhibition thrives, playing on the inherent drama of ancient Egypt’s otherworldly gods and awe-inspiring afterlife where fate is literally held in a feather. Let’s just say you don’t have to be an archeologist to uncover the mysteries of Tutankhamun – just visit this exhibition.
