King Tut comes to the Windy City

The allure of the ancient Egyptian king, King Tut, is once again expected to be demonstrated this week when Chicago welcomes a display of the Pharaohs.

Already the exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum, which will be packed with the golden trinkets and treasure that adorned the iconic Egyptian period, has attracted 200,000 advance tickets for its opening this week.

With giant golden statues of guards supposed to watch over the tombs and a wealth of priceless golden masks to show, the exhibit has already piqued the interest of the Windy City.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities secretary-general, told reporters yesterday the show had helped spark a revival in the fortunes of Egypt's museums and had attracted many tourists to the country.

The Field Museum's acting curator, James L. Phillips, also a professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois, said at the time of the discovery of King Tut the world had been astonished by what was found.

"It was a spectacular discovery - a tomb untouched since antiquity, its inner sanctum never looted by tomb robbers," he explained.

Some of the golden artefacts and jewellery on show are a staggering 3,500 years old. The show will close at the end of this year.