Il Egyptian Museum of Turin celebrates i 200 years from the first deciphering of hieroglyphs, by the Egyptologist Jean Francois Champollion, with the new exhibition of Papyrus of the Kings, recently restored thanks to the collaboration between the Egyptian museum,University of Copenhagen andÄgyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung di Berlin. This is a very important document, composed of 300 fragments, assembled over almost two centuries, arrived in Turin with the Drovetti collection in 1824. Since last September 27th the "Royal List”Is once again visible to the public and will remain on display until the next one 21th November. In addition to the manuscript, the exhibition also includes aInfographic andinteractive installation useful for understanding the evolution of the papyrus over the centuries. This was done in collaboration with the Beetles (i.e. theAssociation of Supporting Members of the Egyptian Museum) and with the Consult for the enhancement of the artistic and cultural heritage of Turin.
The Papyrus of the Kings: a unique document in the world
The Papyrus of the Kings, known abroad as "Turin King List”, Is one of the most important archaeological finds in the collection of the Egyptian Museum of Turin. It is in fact a single document, drawn up in hieratic (with black and red ink), probably dating back to Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, according to experts during the reign of Ramses II (XNUMXth century BC). The papyrus shows a list of Egyptian rulers, from the unification ofHigh e Lower Egypt until that moment. The document also includes a sort of introduction on divine kings e semi-divine dating back to predynastic period of Egypt. The list is divided into eleven columns and reports the name of the rulers of Egypt with the duration of its reign. On the back there is another document, that is a tax register, also dating back to the time of Ramses II.
Unfortunately, some fragments of the list have been lost forever and it has not even been possible to go back to the exact period of its writing. However the Papyrus of the Kings remains a fundamental document for archaeologists and Egyptologists around the world, as it contains the duration of reigns of the various sovereigns that have followed one another in Egypt.
Open Lab: one night at the Egyptian Museum of Turin
The next 1 October, the Papyrus of the Kings will also be the subject of a conference at the Egyptian Museum on the occasion of the "Open Lab - Research night", Initiative linked to"European Researchers' Night 2022". During the event, which will be held in room 9 on the first floor of the museum, the person in charge of the Egyptian Papyrus Collection, Susanne Töpfer, and the Egyptology student at the University of Pisa, Enrico Ciccone, will retrace the various phases of the recent restoration work of the "Royal List". This is one of the eleven events scheduled at the Egyptian Museum during the extraordinary opening on Saturday night (from 19 to 24). The ticket price is 5 €, but it is necessary reservation required. Finally, from next December, the "Papyrus of Turin"Will become one of the main treasures of the new section dedicated to languages and scriptures of ancient Egypt. Not to be missed.
Featured photo: © Gianni Careddu - Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
