7 Dec 2011

Nearly 800,000 visit Tutankhamun exhibition

10:14 am on 7 December 2011

A Tutankhamun exhibition at the Melbourne Museum attracted 797,277 visitors over eight months, before closing on Sunday.

The figure brings the worldwide audience for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs to more than 8 million people.

Figures issued by the Victorian state government show that 41% of the visitors were interstate and international visitors.

Another 95,000 people attended with a school or community group.

Tourism Minister Louise Asher says the exhibition was a triumph for the state and a big boost for the Victorian economy.

The ABC reports the exhibition featured Tutankhamun's golden canopic coffinette and the crown found on his head when his tomb was discovered in 1922.

Other artefacts taken from Tutankhamun's tomb or the tombs of his family members included statues of people and gods, coffins, chests, jewellery and ceremonial daggers.

The exhibition and its artefacts will now return to Cairo.