So, the Luxor casino, hotel, etc. in Las Vegas decided to abandon their Egyptian theme, or at least the "museum" part of it a few years ago. I don't pretend to understand why. I managed to visit the place once before the decision and there was much hilarity.
I did not, however, pay the admission fee to see their "museum/reproduction of the tomb of Tutankhamun" because a) I'm cheap and b) I figured the odds of being thrown out for being snarky were fairly high.
Apparently, the contents of the Tut tomb imitation are now in the possession of the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. In some ways, it's awesome to make these types of objects more accessible to the general public. But they aren't authentic. I'm not sure how carefully the original objects were reproduced. I'm not sure how well curated the exhibit itself was at the Luxor is is now. While providing access to objects is important, providing accurate information is at least as, if not more, important. As it is, I figure we'll go have a peek next time we visit my family in Vegas. I do find it curious that while the various stories stress the "care" with which the objects were recreated, I can find no reference to consultation with an Egyptologist for the exhibit.
Some news articles about the new exhibit:
Las Vegas Sun
KTNV
Las Vegas Review Journal
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