The return of the “Mummy Worshippers”
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Chanting mummy worshippers have returned to plague a South Wales museum.
The mummy-obsessed visitors deserted Swansea Museum after CCTV cameras were introduced five years ago. But now they are back, sometimes spending hours prostrated before the remains of Tem Hor, a mummified priest who lived in Upper Egypt between 250 and 200 BC during the Ptolemaic Dynasty and was named after the god Horus.
The mummy worshippers – many wearing robes and head-dresses – stroll into the display room containing Tem Hor’s bandaged body and involve themselves in “unusual practices”, such as bow low in front of the mummy case and mumble what appear to be prayers or incantations.
The nearby Egypt Centre in Swansea Museum, which also has an extensive display of ancient Egyptian remains, has also been plagued by mummy worshippers.
One woman visitor claimed that she was the mother of a mummified baby who died 2,200 years ago. After approaching visitors to tell them she was also possessed by a dog god, she was eventually persuaded to leave.And in another particularly embarrassing incident, a woman chanted before a display case of dusty Egyptian death masks, explaining: “They’re possessed by trapped ancient spirits. I must release them.” The female visitor ignored requests to be quiet and it was only when staff at the Egypt Centre explained these particular artefacts were the modern creations of local schoolchildren taking part in a competition that she made her excuses and left.
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