Tut Roadshow

Throughout my teen years I was fascinated by the stories that came from ancient history. I grew up being inspired by the amazing lives, accomplishments and stories of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.

In the late 1970’s I was given my first artifacts from the Middle East by David Currie. These were three bricks dating back to 605BC from Babylon, Iraq with King Nebuchadnezzar’s name stamped on them. These were genuine pieces not mere copies. These three bricks are still in my collection and you can see them in room 3 on the Tutankhamun Roadshow. That began my life-long journey of buying and collecting artifacts and pottery that gave evidence for stories from the ancient Hebrew Writings.

I was given the ability to personally visit many of these ancient locations and take pictures using a panoramic head so that I could tell stories that related to the ancient Bible Lands. I then completed a doctorate in Youth Ministry which specialised in the Importance of Experiential Learning in the lives of Young people. This led to my love of leading young people to experience these fascinating historical sites.

After completing a post graduate certificate in Archaeology I set up a higher education subject visiting important archaeological sites in countries throughout the Middle East.

Over the past twelve years, as a part of their degree, I have taken hundreds of university students to experience these fascinating locations following the footsteps of the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan through the Sinai desert, and tracing the foundations of Christianity in Israel, Greece, Italy and Turkey.

While in Egypt I loved the story of Howard Carter and his determined journey to discover the buried tomb of the forgotten Pharaoh Tutankhamun. This Pharaoh came from the eighteenth dynasty in the New Kingdom. I loved to see his treasures and thus I collected copies of artifacts from his tomb. My collection gradually grew until I had enough pieces to display these artifacts in a replica tomb complete with wall paintings.

These artifacts that I purchased in the Middle East were multiplied when I had the opportunity to purchase another private collection that began in the 1940s. This collection added greatly to the number of genuine pieces in my display including sacred urn from Saqqara, glass and lamps from ancient Roman times as well as a bowl from Phoenicia with a script.

I then purchased a semi-trailer to display these artefacts in a mobile museum and take them to communities throughout the east coast of Australia, especially into remote areas where students do not have access to the larger museums.

-Dr Wayne French (Founder)