By Melissa A. Eslinger

Lexington takes a blast from the past with a rare opportunity to see ancient Egyptian artifacts dating back as far as 5,000 years ago.

“Excavating Egypt: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum” is an exhibition from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology featuring more than 200 of William Flinders Petrie’s discoveries.

Janie M. Welker, curator of exhibitions for UK Art Museum, said she is excited to have the exhibit here and there has never been an exhibit of its kind in Lexington.

“The exhibit took a lot of organization even in just preparing the museum for its 224 pieces,” Welker said.

The exhibit has been traveling through the country and Lexington is its last stop, Welker said. People may not be able to see these pieces again for a very long time.

The artifacts in the exhibit have not been seen since they were secretly concealed in storage facilities in London at the beginning of World War II, according to the Art Museum’s Web site.

Welker said the exhibit is special because Petrie was one of the first to excavate methodically.

“He would record where he found artifacts, and keep the finds in what he called ‘tomb groups,’ ” Welker said. “So, it wasn’t just about finding fantastic things but about building history and a story about what went on.”

Welker said she hopes people will see that Petrie’s wish was for people and scientists to better understand, not only the royalty in ancient Egypt, but also aspects of every day life.

“It is hard to pick a favorite piece, but one of the most intriguing pieces is a doll that was found in a little girl’s tomb,” Welker said. “There are things from daily life like things that women used for cosmetics. It’s not just all about the royals.”

The exhibit opened to the public on Sunday.

Steve Emmel, part-time UK instructor of archaeology, said he found the exhibit useful for his class and plans to make it part of an extra credit opportunity. He said he was interested to see the many different artifacts of daily life in ancient Egypt and hopes his students will share the same interest.

Paula Johnson said the exhibit was wonderful.

“These items of such age make you really wonder about how long ago they were a part of these people’s lives,” Johnson said. “It is a wonder to look at something and think about it being from 3,000 B.C. – that’s over 5,000 years ago.”

Johnson also hopes that UK students will take advantage of the rare opportunity to see and learn about these artifacts.

The exhibit will be open to the public until June, 14. Admission is $10 for general public, $8 for senior citizens and free of charge for all UK faculty, staff, students and alumni. It is also open for free on Friday from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.