Community perspectives: understanding and voicing Cypriot heritage in Wales

Ersin Hussein presents a public engagement project centred on five Cypriot artefacts in the Egypt and its Neighbours display at the Egypt Centre at Swansea University. Funded by an Institute of Classical Studies Public Engagement Award in 2020 and launched in September 2021, the display exhibits 86 pieces from the museum's collection of around 300 non-Egyptological artefacts from Cyprus, Nubia, the Near East, Greece and Rome. With space needed for bilingual labels, the initial installation used brief geographical labels and QR codes linking to the museum's online database.

Hussein outlines two strands of work gathering community input on how the Cypriot objects are presented. The first is an exhibition at the Oriel Science Hub in central Swansea focussed on a small Cypriot terracotta horse from the display. Because the original could not be moved, students and staff produced archaeological illustrations, 3D models for handling, and an interactive digital 3D scan; photographing the horse also revealed a fingerprint or thumbprint on the clay. Visitors use a token voting system to record which mode of engagement they prefer.

The second strand uses focus groups combining object handling with discussions on perceptions of ancient and modern Cyprus, museum histories, and contested heritage. Hussein describes initial sessions with five external collaborators, four of them Cypriots living in the UK, working alongside students from her Ancient Cyprus module, to be followed by groups with museum volunteers and local stakeholders. She closes with the project's questions around co-creating trails or recordings in Greek, Turkish, Arabic, English and Welsh, and representing Cyprus through five objects within an Egyptian collection.