Mummies have hit Miami and we’re not talking about a horror film or a freak show. “Mummies of the World: The Exhibition” is a 7,000-sqare-foot traveling show now on display in downtown Miami at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.
It claims to be the largest collection of mummified remains and related artifacts ever assembled, with 40 mummified humans and animals, such as a lizard, a cat, and a falcon. Reviewers have described it as haunting, engrossing and somewhat creepy, among other choice adjectives.
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Veronica Orlovits' mummified remains were naturally preserved. Modern testing showed that she died at age 38.
According to the New York Times, many of the exhibition’s artifacts originate from a collection of 20 mummied remains at the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim, Germany. They were presumed destroyed or lost during World War II but were rediscovered in 2004 in the museum vaults, inspiring a German exhibition in 2007 from which this one developed. Two mummified remains reported to be the most striking are that of a crouching, tattooed woman, and an ancient infant from unknown origins in South America. Those come from a museum in Detmold, Germany. Other specimens come from US collections belonging to the Kansas City Museum, Buffalo Museum of History and Buffalo Museum of Science, among others.
Although you’ll see numerous remains of people and animals from ancient Egypt and South America who were intentionally mummified through ritualistic practices typically limited to the affluent, there are those who were mummified quite by accident. Very dry or cold conditions can create an environment for mummification without even trying.
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Some of the mummified animals on display were thought to have been prepared to travel with their owners in the afterlife.
Two such examples on display are that of Baron von Holz, a German nobleman found tucked away in the family crypt of a 14th century castle wearing his best leather boots and the Orlovits family, whose mummified remains were discovered in a long-forgotten crypt of a small church in Vác, Hungary in 1994.
The newest specimen being exhibited was mummified in 1994 at the University of Maryland for scientific research purposes and nicknamed MUMAB. The school studied ancient Egyptian mummification processes and replicated it on a donated body.
This exhibition is bound to attract curiosity seekers and those drawn to the macabre, but Frost Science is taking it so seriously that Dr. Cassie Freund, director of science communication at the museum, told Biscayne Times that she and one exhibit developer worked with bioethics experts from the University of Miami in preparation for the launch “to make sure we’re treating the individuals on exhibit with the dignity they deserve.”
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Visitors can see Baron Von Holz, a German nobleman who died during the Thirty Years' War.
“We want to keep a respectful and dignified aspect to this,” she continued. “We encourage people not to take photos out of respect for those mummified individuals and want people to respect them as they would their own ancestors.”
There is messaging on their website and onsite that explicitly states the gallery contains human remains, so parents beware. An educator guide is also available online in downloadable PDF form.
The remains were carefully transported to the museum in crates and moved into glass cases.
“Installation is a highly choreographed process … it happens very quickly,” said Dr. Freund. The need for speed is to ensure that the remains have little exposure to the outside elements and stay within temperature and humidity parameters.
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A mummified lizard.
But there is much more to see besides human and animal remains. You’ll get to experience 80 rare artifacts, state-of-the-art multimedia, hands-on interactive stations and cutting-edge 3-D animation that take visitors on a 4,500-year journey through past-cultures, history and science.
Some interactive highlights include scientific methods used to study mummified remains, including Computed Tomography (CT), DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating and on the other end of the spectrum, a compilation of the spells, hymns, and instructions in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which help lead the deceased through the obstacles of the afterlife – including gods, monsters, and confusing pathways on the way to eternal life.
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Visitors can see MUMAB, a mummy created in 1994 using ancient Egyptian mummification processes, at "Mummies of the World."
The blockbuster exhibition will be on display through September 4 and admission is included with the regular museum ticket price at no extra cost. Queues and lines will be used to control crowds as needed because, “We want to be respectful of the nature of the exhibition,” said Elizabeth Ricardo, Marketing and PR Director at Frost Science.
Visitors will be able to reflect on the experience and leave their own impressions of the exhibition behind in an activation developed by Frost Science exclusively for this show.
“Mummies of the World: The Exhibition” is presented by NEON and World Heritage Exhibitions, LLC.
If You Go
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80 rare artifacts are on display at Frost Science in "Mummies of the World: The Exhibition.”
“Mummies of the World: The Exhibition”
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
1101 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33132
Tickets range from $22.95 - $32.95
Depending on guest's age and day of the week
$15 for onsite parking
Open daily 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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Nes-Hor was an Egyptian priest who lived somewhere between 250-30 BCE. A detailed study of the symbols on his sarcophagus identified Nes-Hor's name, parents' names and occupation.
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Now on display in "Mummies of the World," the mummified remains of the Orlovits family were discovered in a long-forgotten crypt of a small church in Vác, Hungary in 1994.