The bodies of ancient “mummies” made the news again this month, when Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism opened one of the recently unearthed 59 wooden coffins.

Christina Riggs
A former museum curator, Christina Riggs is Professor of the History of Visual Culture at Durham University in the United Kingdom. She writes about the impact of colonialism on Egyptian archaeology, from mummy unwrappings to the photography of Tutankhamun’s tomb.