This research project seeks to understand better different publics attitudes and responses to the display of ancient human remains at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, with an initial focus on Egypt.
200 visitors were invited to complete an online survey upon their departure from the Museum between July and November 2022. The questions, which were predominantly qualitative and naturalistic in nature, aimed to capture the way visitors engaged with, reacted, and responded to the curation and display of human remains in physical and 3D visual formats within the Museum’s exhibitions. This component of the research was approved by the University of Sydney's Human Research Ethics Committee. Project No. 2022/379.
Concurrently, we are working closely with Egyptian descent communities. To date, the topic of human remains has formed part of two weekends of intensive focus groups held with 32 members of the Egyptian community from Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide in September 2022, and another in April 2025, a co-written discussion piece for Egypt’s largest online media platform in English, 'Egyptian Streets', and a meet and greet followed by a survey with people identifying as Egyptian from the local Sydney area. We also have an Egyptian museum professional on staff, and a community Whatsapp group. To read more about our Egyptian community engagement initiative, see here.
In October 2024, we also launched a new strand to this research by undertaking roundtable discussions in Egypt with 20 specialists who work closely with human remains both in museums and the field. This included decision makers in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, museum curators and conservators, field archaeologists, and university academics. The discussions were facilitated in English and Arabic by Dr Faten Kamal, Curator, Egyptian Museum Cairo.
Between mid-December 2025 and late January 2026, the Human Remains Research Project team and Chau Chak Wing Museum staff are undertaking anonymous observations in the Egyptian gallery around visitor engagement with the display of human remains and their digital imaging. We are interested to understand how visitors interact in the space, including the amount of time spent, what they choose to look at and read, and also their behaviour e.g. taking photos of the displays. We are interested to see if we can determine any changes or patterns of engagement before and after the re-naming and re-labelling of the gallery (see phase 2 of our study above) which introduces new narratives around ethical considerations for the care and display of ancient Egyptian human remains.
We are unable to obtain personalised consent for this study because of the risk of influencing visitor behaviour in the gallery. Visitors are randomly observed based on every third-fifth person, although school and OOSH groups are not within scope in this sampling process.
If you have participated in this study, and would like to receive more information, including a summary of the results, or to opt out at any time, please contact the Principal Investigator in this study:
Dr Melanie Pitkin, melanie.pitkin@sydney.edu.au, 9036 6485
For children
We are interested in understanding how kids engage with the display of human remains. Do you think it is strange? Are you fascinated? Somewhere in between?!
If you think you have been part of this study, but no longer want to be involved, please speak with your parent or guardian and ask them to get in touch with us.
This study has been approved by the University of Sydney’s Human Research Ethics Committee, 2022/HE0006.
The data gathered from this research informs a set of culturally specific guidelines for the display, care, treatment and interpretation of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains at the Museum.
Following on from this work, we have devised a three-phase plan to reframe the Chau Chak Wing Museum's approaches to ancient human remains.
Removal of the body parts on display in 'Pharaonic Obsessions' and 'The Mummy Room' and the installation of a new replacement display in the latter focused on funerary masks.
This was completed in 2024 and new labels were installed in the gallery to explain our decision making and invite further contributions to our visitor survey.
Take the Chau Chak Wing Museum human remains visitor survey.
Reframe the language and messaging seen across all physical and online platforms of the Museum.
This is being incrementally implemented in 2025 alongside the establishment of a new Human Remains Advisory Group and overarching set of guidelines that situates how we care for ancient human remains (Nicholson Collection) on Gadigal land.
Review, adapt and implement the project model to the wider Nicholson Collection of human remains from Cyprus, France and Jericho.
Throughout this process we are presenting and publishing widely at national and international conferences, and other public forums and community events, in peer-reviewed journals, and as part of media interviews.
In April 2024 we published the first of our culturally specific guidelines: Guidelines for the care of Ancient Egyptian Mummified Human Remains (pdf, 247KB). This document articulates how the Museum is responding to community input and details our holistic research methodologies, current philosophies regarding exhibition and display, how we store, conserve and provide access to the collection.
In July 2025, we published Chau Chak Wing Museum Guidelines for Ancient Human Remains (Nicholson Collection) (pdf, 389KB). It provides CCWM’s overarching approaches to caring for human remains from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and is designed to complement the culturally specific guidelines in development. This document allows us to articulate overarching principals in our practice and aims to provide an ethical, responsive, and transparent framework for international human remains in CCWM’s care, ensuring that human remains are given appropriate respect on Gadigal land.
Grant funding
Community consultation and engagement in Australia
Community consultation and engagement in Egypt
Published guidelines
Publications
Museum curation
Vistor engagment - Evaluation
Visitor engagement – Focus groups with Egyptian Descent communities
Australia
Egypt
Conference convening
Public talks and conference papers
Teaching
Visiting scholar invitations
This is a collaborative project comprising:
This project has been approved by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt.
This project has been approved by the University of Sydney's Human Research Ethics Committee. Project No. 2022/379 and 2024/HE001124.
Header image: The Mummy Room at the Chau Chak Wing Museum
Phone: +61 2 93512812
Email: ccwm.info@sydney.edu.au
Chau Chak Wing Museum
University Place
Camperdown NSW 2050
