As we are all aware, Halloween is quickly approaching. So, it wont be long before Brighton is swarming with people dressed in spooky attire. The time has come for everyone to put their creativity to the test and transform themselves into anything they like.
Of course, there’s also a bank of traditional Halloween costumes if anyone is stuck for ideas. Most of which strongly relate to the supernatural or death. This is unsurprising as Halloween originated from rituals to remember the dead and ‘hallows’, meaning saint or holy person.
The Past influencing our Present
Mummies, ghosts or skeletons drift around different Halloween themed events each year. All of which evoke thoughts of mortality, but have now been commercialised to seem fairly inoffensive.
The skeleton has somehow shifted into a fashion symbol and the mummy is continuously brought to life as a harmless cartoon.
Either we see the mummy at Halloween wrapped in toilet paper, or we see it on our TV screens. But this can only demonstrate the influence it’s had on our culture.
Maybe, it’s not the mummy itself which is so fascinating. Maybe it is the belief system behind the Ancient civilisation which caused them to perform mummification in the first place. Or maybe, it’s the objects preserved from so long ago. There are so many different reasons as to why it is such a famous part of history.
Ancient Discovery at Brighton Museum
Somewhere we can gain some more insight is Brighton Museum, where there’s a wonderful array of Ancient Egyptian artefacts. Many of which were found by Brighton born Egyptologist, Francis Llewellyn Griffith.
He contributed to a large collection, which can begin to create a more solid narrative of a completely different time. It becomes so easy to envisage the lives of an Ancient civilisation when looking at the items on display.
Objects of Fascination
There are commonplace objects, such as fishing nets, mirrors and jewellery, as well as items used for more ritualistic purposes. These are mostly funerary objects like coffins, canopic jars and animal mummies (which were also used as offerings to the gods). Such items can serve as physical examples of how important religion and magic was to the foundation of their society.
For all of these reasons, people find that they are drawn to the Ancient Egyptian part of the museum. As it leads to discovery about the past but also tells us about the human experience in general.
So this Halloween, why not bring your imagination to life by viewing all the treasures on show at Brighton museum?
