Ramses and the Pharaoh's Gold Exhibition

As it was the school holidays last week, I decided to take my youngest son to see the new Ramses and the Pharoah's Gold exhibition at Battersea Power Station in London on Tuesday 7th April 2026. I had kept it a secret from him until the actual day and he only got to know exactly where we were headed when we stepped outside the tube station close by the venue and he saw the advertising signs.

Exhibition Flyer

I have a passing interest in Egyptology and warfare of the time (hence why I generally comment about these kinds of outings on the blog) but I have never actually studied the period. I have various qualifications in Palaeontology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeology and History (mostly Greek, Roman and Medieval), but the nearest I got to studying Egypt was probably just a few modules on the Levant and its environs.

So, this was going to be fairly new ground for me, and I think I was as exited as my son when he finally found out where we were headed this day. The exhibition itself runs through a potted history of Ramses' life and there is a selection of around 180 artifacts related to the 19th Dynasty and a few items from dynasties either side of his reign.

I won't go into too many details just in case anyone wants to see the splendour on offer, but I can say that I heartily recommend this exhibition for those with any interest in the period at all. It is a limited time-span exhibition, so will most likely nothing like it will be seen again in the UK for several years/decades.

That said, in keeping with this blog, there are a few exhibits/items that I would like to mention; there were a couple of weapons alongside the other dazzling golden jewellery on display, and one hall was devoted to the Battle of Kadesh - Ramses great victory over the Hittite Empire.

I was quite surprised to find out that quivers used in Egyptian warfare from this period were made of wood and painted to represent animal hide.

Bow and wooden quiver

There was also a very ornate bronze dagger on display.

Bronze Dagger

Some blurb about the dagger

The photos do not do the dagger justice - it really was a thing of beauty.

Anyway, we both thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition - we were in there for just over two hours. Despite it being a school break visit, it wasn't too busy, so we got the time to explore at our leisure and we were able to see and read about every item in that time. For what it was, it was not too expensive either. Unfortunately the exhibition hard-back guide book (that contains details of all the exhibits in glorious colour) was a little out of my reach at £45 - if I had the money, it would have been a must-have memento.