British Museum's Egyptian mummies travel to Australia

SYDNEY, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Six Egyptian mummies are on their way to Australia, the New South Wales (NSW) state government announced on Wednesday.

The city of Sydney has secured the Australian premiere of "Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives" from the British Museum.

NSW state Arts Minister Troy Grant said the exhibition would feature items from the British Museum's Egyptian Collection, which is the largest and most comprehensive collection outside Egypt.

"Six mummies who lived and died in Egypt between 1800 and 3000 years ago will be on display alongside almost 200 objects associated with funerary practices and daily life in this rich period in history," Grant said.

"The mummies from the British Museum collection have remained wrapped for thousands of years but using cutting edge technology we can reveal for the first time their burial secrets while maintaining their integrity and ensuring their preservation."

NSW state Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said the exhibition would be a major drawcard for visitors to Sydney.

"The Egyptian Mummies will travel to Australia for the first time, making Sydney the inaugural destination for visitors to meet these individuals and discover more about their stories," Ayres said.

"The exhibition is expected to deliver more than 3 million Australian dollars (2.22 million U.S. dollars) in overnight visitor expenditure and the NSW Government is proud to support the exhibition, through our tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW."

The exhibition will run from Dec. 10 to April 30, 2017.